It’s a good thing the connections of Secretariat had their confidence built up by their star’s performance in winning the Kentucky Derby, because they needed every bit of it to fend off the demons and bad omens that swirled around the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, May 19, 1973.

Bob Ehalt and Tom Pedulla became fast friends when they met on their first day at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1970. Bob soon introduced Tom to the joys of Thoroughbred racing.