There are no pace percentiles or speed figures on this page — none were published for most of these horses, and none are invented here. Running styles are stated only as the charts and period reporting document them, and are labeled as such. Anything the public record we found does not state is marked ? or left out.
The Reference Run — Secretariat: The 1973 Triple Crown (5 Weeks)
Why he is the reference column
Secretariat's run was not a streak measured in years — it was three races in five weeks, each finished in a time that remains the stakes record for that race more than fifty years later: the Kentucky Derby in 1:59⅖, the Preakness in 1:53 (as corrected by the Maryland Racing Commission in 2012), and the Belmont in 2:24, won by 31 lengths. Every other run on this page is measured against a different axis — length of streak, perfection of record, size of fields beaten — so he stands here as the anchor, not as a contestant in a single ranking.
Full race-by-race sheet: Historical Look Back No. 1 — Secretariat's Triple Crown, 1973.
Cigar — 16 Consecutive Wins
★ The Run — Cigar
Cigar began his career as a turf horse who had won once in 11 grass starts. Sent east to trainer Bill Mott and switched back to dirt at Aqueduct on October 28, 1994, he won by eight lengths — and did not lose again for 22 months. Jerry Bailey rode the last 15 wins of the streak. Cigar raced stalking or pressing the pace and could also lead (documented in race accounts throughout the streak); period writers described the versatility, in owner Allen Paulson's words, as there being "no way to defend against him."
| # | Date | Race | Track | Note from the public record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 28, 1994 | Allowance (dirt switch) | Aqueduct | First start back on dirt under Mott; won by 8 |
| 2 | Nov 26, 1994 | NYRA Mile (G1) | Aqueduct | First Grade 1 win, by 7; the race is now named the Cigar Mile |
| 3 | Jan 22, 1995 | Allowance | Gulfstream Park | By 2 lengths |
| 4 | Feb 11, 1995 | Donn Handicap (G1) | Gulfstream Park | Holy Bull dueled him early, then broke down and was pulled up |
| 5 | Mar 5, 1995 | Gulfstream Park H. (G1) | Gulfstream Park | By 7½, "as rider pleased" |
| 6 | Apr 1995 | Oaklawn Handicap (G1) | Oaklawn Park | Struck in the face by a rival rider's whip in the stretch; rallied to win by 2½ in 1:47.22 |
| 7 | May 13, 1995 | Pimlico Special (G1) | Pimlico | Led throughout in a field with little other early speed; 1:53.72, under a hand ride |
| 8 | Jun 3, 1995 | Massachusetts H. (G2) | Suffolk Downs | Carried 124 lb; by 4 in 1:48.74 |
| 9 | Jul 2, 1995 | Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) | Hollywood Park | Top weight 126 lb; by 3½ in 1:59.46 |
| 10 | Sep 16, 1995 | Woodward Stakes (G1) | Belmont Park | 1–10 favorite; by 2¾ in 1:47.07 |
| 11 | Oct 7, 1995 | Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) | Belmont Park | Beat 3-year-old Thunder Gulch's challenge; by 1 in 2:01.29 — the closest call of the streak to that point |
| 12 | Oct 28, 1995 | Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) | Belmont Park | By 2½ in 1:59.58 on a muddy track — then the fastest Classic ever run; completed a 10-for-10 season |
| 13 | Feb 10, 1996 | Donn Handicap (G1) | Gulfstream Park | Carried 128 lb, conceding 11–18 lb; by 2 |
| 14 | Mar 1996 | Dubai World Cup | Nad Al Sheba, Dubai | The inaugural running; overcame a foot abscess, a 6,000-mile trip and a poor break to beat Soul of the Matter by less than a length |
| 15 | Jun 1996 | Massachusetts H. (G2) | Suffolk Downs | Carried 130 lb before the largest crowd in the track's history |
| 16 | Jul 13, 1996 | Arlington Citation Challenge | Arlington Park | A race created for the attempt to tie Citation; carried 130 lb and pulled away late — 16 straight |
| — | Aug 10, 1996 | Pacific Classic (G1) | Del Mar | The streak ends: drawn into a three-horse speed duel through three-quarters in 1:09⅕, Cigar tired to second as Dare And Go (40-1) closed past him, beaten 3½ |
Day-of-month is shown only where the sources consulted state it; three streak races are dated by month. Cigar won once more after the streak (the 1996 Woodward) and closed his career third in the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic, beaten a head and a nose for the win — $185 short of becoming the first $10 million earner.
Zenyatta — 19 Straight, Beaten Once, By a Head
★ The Run — Zenyatta
Zenyatta's running style is the most thoroughly documented on this page, because it never changed: break slowly, settle at or near the back — she trailed by 16¼ lengths a quarter-mile into her final race — then circle the field with one sustained run under Mike Smith, who rode her last 17 starts. Seventeen of her wins came in graded stakes, 13 of them Grade 1. Most were on California synthetic surfaces; she won both of her Oaklawn Park dirt starts.
| Season | Starts | The documented record |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2-2-0 | Two late-season wins at Hollywood Park (maiden, then allowance) to open the career |
| 2008 | 7-7-0 | Apple Blossom (G1, dirt, Oaklawn), Milady (G2), El Encino (G2), Vanity (G1), Clement L. Hirsch (G2, track record 1:41.48), Lady's Secret (G1), and the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (G1) at Santa Anita |
| 2009 | 5-5-0 | Milady, Vanity, Clement L. Hirsch (now G1), Lady's Secret — then the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita: last early, first at the wire, the first female to win the Classic |
| 2010 | 6-5-1 | Santa Margarita, Apple Blossom (dirt), Vanity, Clement L. Hirsch, Lady's Secret — win No. 19 — then the Classic at Churchill Downs |
| Final | Nov 6, 2010 | The one loss: Breeders' Cup Classic, Churchill Downs (dirt). Unhurried and reportedly uncomfortable early, 16¼ lengths back after a quarter, she closed through the field and fell a head short of Blame. Sports Illustrated's account: she "made a riveting run" and "finally lost a race, but… burnished her legacy" in doing it. |
Look back — the pace picture, as documented
Zenyatta is the mirror image of the front-runners elsewhere on this page: her races were decided by how much ground one closing run could make up, and the public record of both Classics turns on the same number — roughly 15–16 lengths behind after the first quarter in each, a position she converted into a win at Santa Anita in 2009 and missed by a head at Churchill Downs, on dirt, in 2010.
Personal Ensign — 13 Starts, 13 Wins, Retired Unbeaten
★ The Run — Personal Ensign
Personal Ensign's streak covers her whole career — and it survived a fractured pastern that cost her nearly a year after her second start. Randy Romero rode all but one of the 13. Eight of the wins were Grade 1s, six of them in her final season, including one against males.
| Season | Starts | The documented record |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 (age 2) | 2-2-0 | A maiden win and the Frizette Stakes (G1) — then a fractured pastern, five screws, and nearly a year away |
| 1987 (age 3) | 4-4-0 | All at Belmont Park: two September allowances on her return, the Rare Perfume (G2), and the Beldame (G1) eight days later |
| 1988 (age 4) | 7-7-0 | Shuvee, Hempstead, Molly Pitcher, the Whitney Handicap (G1) at Saratoga — beating champion Gulch and the rest of a male field by 1½ — Maskette, Beldame (beating Winning Colors), and the Breeders' Cup Distaff |
| Finale | Nov 5, 1988 | Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), Churchill Downs, sloppy track: Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors was loose on an easy lead and Personal Ensign, struggling with the surface, trailed by five lengths at the top of the stretch. She ran her down in the final yards to win by a nose — and retired unbeaten. McGaughey, mid-race: "I didn't think she was going to win." |
Personal Ensign raced from off the pace in her documented big wins — the Distaff rally is the signature example — which is why her perfect record ended on the closest possible margin rather than a runaway: perfection, in her case, was a nose wide.
Citation — The Streak Cigar Was Chasing
★ The Run — Citation
Citation's streak is the one on this page with a gap in it, and the gap is part of the record: the streak began in the spring of his 3-year-old season, carried through the entire 1948 Triple Crown, stopped at 15 when an osselet injury ended his season, sat untouched through the whole of 1949 — and resumed in January 1950 for exactly one more win. Trainer Jimmy Jones's documented assessment of the colt: "My horse could beat anything with hair on it." Eddie Arcaro, who took over the mount during 1948, said Citation "was so fast he scared me."
| Stage | When | The documented record |
|---|---|---|
| The trigger | Apr 1948 | Second to Saggy in the Chesapeake Trial at Havre de Grace — the last loss before the streak; Citation reversed it in the Chesapeake Stakes days later, and the streak was on |
| Wins 1–15 | 1948 | A 19-for-20 season: Kentucky Derby (by 3½), Preakness (by 5½), the Jersey Stakes between legs, Belmont (by 8, in 2:28⅕, tying Count Fleet's stakes record), Stars and Stripes, American Derby, the one-mile Sysonby and — three days later — the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, a walkover in the Pimlico Special, and the Tanforan Handicap on Dec 11 for win No. 15 |
| The gap | 1949 | No starts. An osselet (ankle) injury from the Tanforan sidelined him for his entire 4-year-old season |
| Win 16 | Jan 11, 1950 | A six-furlong allowance at Santa Anita, thirteen months after win No. 15 — the streak reached 16 |
| The end | Jan 26, 1950 | La Sorpresa Handicap, Santa Anita: carrying 130 lb and conceding 16 lb to Miche, beaten a neck. Later that year Noor beat him four times, twice in world-record time; in between, Citation set a world record of his own, 1:33⅗ for the mile in the Golden Gate Mile |
Look back — why this streak held for 48 years
Streaks are usually a story about scheduling as much as ability — Citation's is the exception on this page, because his 16 included a Triple Crown, a two-mile Gold Cup three days after a one-mile stakes, and a walkover, all inside a 20-start season. When Cigar tied the mark in 1996, Arlington Park had to create a race (the Citation Challenge) to give him the stage; when Zenyatta passed it in 2010, she did it the other way — one track circuit, one running style, nineteen times.
Man o' War — 20 of 21
★ The Run — Man o' War
Man o' War was a front-runner in the documented record — chart calls of the era describe him leading and "cantering" home — and he was asked to carry weight almost immediately: 130 lb by his fourth start as a 2-year-old. Joe Palmer's documented verdict on the style: "Man o' War did not beat, he merely annihilated." He never ran in the Kentucky Derby: Riddle believed 1¼ miles in early May was too far for a young 3-year-old — a judgment the rest of the 1920 season makes difficult to argue with.
| Season | Starts | The documented record |
|---|---|---|
| 1919 (age 2) | 10: 9-1-0 | Debut at Belmont Park, June 6 — won by 6, "cantering" per the Daily Racing Form chart. Six straight wins to open the career, then the loss (below), then three more wins including the Hopeful and the Belmont Futurity |
| The loss | Aug 1919 | Sanford Memorial Stakes, Saratoga — 2nd to Upset. In the barrier-start era (no starting gate), Man o' War was circling with his back to the line when the webbing rose; he started roughly ten lengths behind, was boxed in during the running, conceded 15 lb to the winner, and missed narrowly — a neck in the New York Times account, a half-length in later chart summaries. He beat Upset in their other meetings, including the 1920 Preakness. Note: the often-retold story that this race coined the word "upset" is a folk tale — the word in its sporting sense predates 1919 — and this page does not print it as fact. |
| 1920 (age 3) | 11: 11-0-0 | Preakness (Upset second, beaten 1½), Withers (a U.S. record for the mile), Belmont Stakes by 20 lengths in 2:14⅕ — a world record for the 1⅜-mile distance then in use — Dwyer, Travers (track record that stood 42 years), Stuyvesant, Lawrence Realization, Jockey Club Stakes, Potomac Handicap, and a closing match race at Kenilworth Park against Sir Barton, the 1919 Triple Crown winner, won by 7 |
Weights ended the career as much as age did: Riddle retired him at three rather than campaign him under the extreme handicap weights he was expected to carry at four.
The comparison — what can honestly be put side by side, and what cannot
| Horse | The run | Length | How it ended | Documented signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenyatta | Wins to open a career | 19 straight | Beaten a head, final start | Deep closer; ~16 lengths back early in both Classics |
| Cigar | Win streak, ages 4–6 | 16 straight | Speed duel; 2nd to Dare And Go | Versatile — led, stalked or pressed as the race required |
| Citation | Win streak, 1948–50 | 16 straight | Beaten a neck conceding 16 lb | Triple Crown inside the streak; full season lost mid-streak |
| Personal Ensign | Entire career | 13-0, retired | It didn't — she retired unbeaten | Finale won by a nose after trailing by 5 in the stretch |
| Man o' War | Entire career | 20 of 21 | Retired at 3, unbeaten after August 1919 | Front-running; Belmont by 20 lengths under a hold |
| Secretariat | Triple Crown, 5 weeks | 3 races | Retired later in 1973 | Three stakes records, all still standing; Belmont by 31 |
What CAN be compared across eras: streak lengths and perfect records (a win is a win in any decade); documented margins in the same race across years (Secretariat's 31 in the Belmont against Man o' War's 20 in the same race, at a different distance — see below); records that still stand (Secretariat holds all three Triple Crown stakes records; Man o' War's Travers record stood for 42 years); and the weight a horse was asked to carry (Cigar's 130 lb at six, Man o' War's 130 lb at two).
What CANNOT — and this page will not pretend otherwise: raw final times across eras. Tracks differ (the Belmont Stakes was run at 1⅜ miles in 1920 and 1½ in 1973; surfaces, drainage, and rail placements have all changed), timing differed (hand timing in fifths for most of these horses, electronic hundredths for the modern ones), and no speed figure honestly bridges 1919 and 2010. Earnings are likewise printed per horse but never ranked here — a $249,465 career in 1920 and a $9,999,815 career in 1996 are facts about purses, not about horses. The honest cross-era questions are the ones in the table: how long the run lasted, what ended it, and whether the record book still carries the name.
That is also where this look back leaves it: Zenyatta owns the longest run, Personal Ensign the only perfect one, Man o' War the nearest thing to a perfect one, Citation and Cigar the shared 16 that bookend half a century — and Secretariat, in five weeks, the three lines in the record book that none of the others were chasing.
Sources: Wikipedia, "Cigar (horse)" (race-by-race account and race record) and BloodHorse/Kentucky Horse Park reporting of his death (career line 19-for-33, $9,999,815); American Classic Pedigrees and BloodHorse, Zenyatta (20 starts, 19-1, $7,304,580; stakes lists by season) and Sports Illustrated's account of the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic; National Museum of Racing and BloodHorse, Personal Ensign (13-for-13, $1,679,880; 1988 season and the Distaff); National Museum of Racing and ESPN, Citation (45 starts, 32-10-2, $1,085,760; the 1948–50 streak and its end, Jan 26, 1950); America's Best Racing/Equibase and TwinSpires, Man o' War (21 starts, 20-1-0, $249,465; the Sanford Memorial and the 1920 campaign). Secretariat facts are carried from Look Back No. 1 and its cited charts only. Times are shown as the sources publish them — in fifths for the hand-timed eras, hundredths where modern timing applies. Margins are as published with the charts or in the cited accounts.
Keep reading
Historical Look Back No. 1 — Secretariat's Triple Crown, 1973 →
The Morning Line Is Not a Prediction →
How to Read a Pace Card: Finding the Lone Speed →
What 207 Races Taught Us About Projecting the Lead →
The story version of this look back — the streaks, told as narrative — runs as a feature on the Daily Pace Card blog.