Ron Turcotte, Secretariat's Triple Crown-Winning Jockey, Dies At Age 84

Ron Turcotte, who was one of the most accomplished jockeys in horse-racing history, died Friday at the age of 84.

Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reported his family released a statement through longtime business partner and friend Leonard Lusky.

"The world may remember Ron as the famous jockey of Secretariat, but to us he was a wonderful husband, a loving father, grandfather, and a great horseman," the Turcotte family's statement said.

The statement also revealed he died of natural causes in his home in Canada.

Turcotte won more than 3,000 races, including when he prevailed two times each at the three Triple Crown events of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Most famously, he rode Secretariat to the Triple Crown in 1973 in a performance that still stands up more than 50 years later.

Secretariat's time of 2:24 and 31-length victory in the Belmont that year remains the record.

Secretariat's Triple Crown was also the first for the sport since Citation did so in 1948.

While Turcotte won plenty of races and also captured the Kentucky Derby in 1972 with Riva Ridge, it was his time with Secretariat that placed him firmly in horse-racing history.

"He was the type of horse that you'll never see again," Turcotte said in 2023. "He was doing something that you've never seen before and will probably never see again."

Whyno noted the jockey's career ended in 1978 when he suffered injuries that made him paraplegic after falling from a horse during a race. But he continued to advocate for fallen riders into his retirement.

Turcotte was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1979.