Bill Nack on Secretariat. Part 1/4: The early years

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Nack at the Kentucky Horse Park several years ago during a Secretariat event. He was such a wonderful man to speak to about Big Red. RIP Bil Nack. I know the first thing you did on the other side was to find your old friend Secretariat.

William Nack was one of the finest writers to cover horse racing. He truly loved the horses and the racing industry. He was the writer who tried to dash across the racetrack at Pimilico the moment after Ruffian broke down in the Match Race with Foolish Pleasure in 1975. There is video of Mr. Nack nearly getting run over by Foolish Pleasure as he finished the race. Mr. Nack loved racing, however, he admitted himself that seeing Ruffian break down and her subsequent death soured him on the sport. His human nature just loved the horses too much, he decided not to continue covering horse racing, since the death of Ruffian hit him very hard. He was a fine man, well spoken and most certainly, well written.

He was the man. He loved racing, and he especially loved Secretariat. Honest reporting.

The best biographer for Secretariat! Bill Nack LOVED Secretariat. Thank you Bill.

Secretariat was the best thing about the Seventies. Thank you, Mr. Nack, for your love of Secretariat.

If you are Secretariat fan, you have to love Mr. Nack. The love he has for the Big Red is evident in every word he utters.

Sometime in the late '70s, Sports Illustrated put out an article called "Secretariat and me" by Ron Turcotte. Of course Ron was the jockey on Big Red during his fabled Triple Crown run in '73. I watched that series as a young man. When the article came out, I cut it out of the magazine and put it on a bulletin board where it remained for the next 40+ years. Every now and then I'd read it, reveling in Ron Turcotte's account of the world's greatest horse. Sadly, Turcotte had an accident in '78 which left him paralyzed yet his love for Secretariat never wavered. He often would visit the horse as he roamed the pastures of Claiborne Farm. When he showed up, Big Red always remembered him. The horse would stick his tongue out and Turcotte would "shake" it. It was such a touching article. I discovered that my dentist of the past 5 years virtually worshipped horses and the Old West. He had pictures of horses and cowboys scattered all through out his office. He even wore cowboy boots to work. I knew he'd enjoy the article on Secretariat and Ron Turcotte so I decided to give it to him. Sure enough, he found it every bit as entertaining as I did. The magic between a mercurial horse and his rider is something special. I made the right choice.

My favourite sports writer of all time! For such a brilliant man (& YES he was brilliant) he also had this wonderful way of mixing intellect with just being a regular guy. A brilliant wordsmith! Not was he only smart, nice, and kind? He was no coward! As evidenced by him volunteering for the Army after graduate school & being involved in the Ted Offensive! To say that Bill Nack was a great scholar & great soldier would be an understatement! William Nack was a GREAT human being! A mixture of intellectual, pragmatism kindness, bravery, and a sense of hope for our youth! Thank you William Nack for being a beam of hope in an otherwise dark world! RIP Billy, lol We all know that you’re hanging out with your old buddy Secretariat! God bless ya Bill!

I love to hear this story. Anything about secretariat makes my heart patter and my eyes cry

All these years every detail like it was yesterday. Secretariat was just wonderful. And I watch his races almost every morning for my feel good.

RIP Mr. Nack...the world was a better place when you were in it.

Secretariat’s legend lives. All three year old’s in this weird year of 2020’s Belmont Stakes were descendants of Secretariat. Amazing

Secretariat.....One word, that's all you need to know. Legendary.

I know Mr Nack is somehow close to Secretariat is heaven. Such a pair, these two.

I love listening to Mr Nack. He has such a wonderful way of telling a story. Especially when he’s talking about Big Red. I’m going to get a nice big framed picture of Ron turning to look back on the home stretch of the Belmont. That is an awesome photo.

Bill Nack is the best - all class. Thank you, Bill Nack

Mr Nack, What a wonderful story teller! Rip sir! What a kind way of unfolding a great piece of history! Thank you sir!

Recently watched Secretariat for the 3rd time. What a horse and story! Mr Bill Beautifully chronicled it. What a writer!

I was a Green Beret for 15 years. Retired now, but once you've served in Special Forces, you're a Green Beret for life. Thanks for saying that. But I always tell people there's no need to thank me for my service to my country. Because America is my country, too.

Tremendous story of the early history of the great one. Thank you so much