Sham was spent after a hotly contested 6 furlongs with Secretariat at 1:09 4/5 in the 1973 Belmont. I remember getting off work at 4 pm that Saturday and it was very humid in NY for early June. I got home in time to see that Belmont and when they went 6 fl in 9 and change I expected both Sec and Sham to lose!! You could see Sham was TIRED and he was finished after 6 fl!! He did not lift his legs too well then and his ears went down: a sure sign of fatigue. Injured or not Sham would be well beaten that day.
Grass races are faster than dirt because a horse’s foot does not slip and slide even one inch on grass as it does on dirt. The horse’s feet get back into its next stride quicker and easier on grass as can be seen in PG Johnson’s film studies of horses feet action on grass surfaces. PG Johnson is the only trainer to win at least one race a year at Saratoga for 32 straight years.
