Secretariat/ Tainted Triple Crown?

On the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s impressive Belmont run I’ve been reading up on him.

Came across this article :

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Speculation, allegations, rumor, and hearsay from Jim Squires in his new book, “Headless Horsemen,” reviewed by Ray Kerrison in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr Squires believes steroids were first used in ­racing in the 1950s. He makes some startling claims about earlier horse-racing champions. He alleges that 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat may have raced on steroids. “There are oldtimers who insist that even the magnificent physical stature of the great ­Secretariat was not all genetic and his early problem settling mares” — that is, breeding — “may have been a by-product of steroids.”

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It’s worth noting the horse had a tell tale symptom of steroid use: an abnormally large heart

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The average Thoroughbred's heart weighs about 8.5 lbs. Secretariat's heart weighed nearly three times that number!

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Could it be that people are afraid to face the truth since Secretariat represented hope during the trouble times of Watergate, the Vietnam War (ending), and 1st Wave Feminism?