HCJI Staff 

Ron Turcotte, the Canadian jockey whose name is forever linked with Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown victory in 1973, has died at age 84. His family, through longtime business partner and friend Leonard Lusky, said he passed away of natural causes on August 22, 2025 at his home in Drummond, New Brunswick. 

Humble Beginnings in New Brunswick 

Ronald Joseph Morel Turcotte was born in July 1941 in Drummond, New Brunswick, the second eldest in a family of 12 children. He left school at just 14 to work alongside his father in the lumber trade, where he also cared for the family’s draft mare, Bess, who dragged logs through the forest. That early experience with horses proved formative. 

Photo: Michael Burns Photography 

At 18, he left home for Toronto in search of construction work. When a strike halted building jobs, he headed to nearby Woodbine Racetrack looking for employment. There, he began at the very bottom — mucking stalls and hot-walking Thoroughbreds at E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm in 1959. Within months he was breaking colts and galloping them in the mornings. Before long, he was donning silks as an apprentice jockey. 

His first official ride came on August 2, 1962, aboard Northern Dancer at Fort Erie Race Track. The little bay colt, who would go on to become one of the greatest sires in Thoroughbred history, delivered Turcotte his first win in a five-and-a-half furlong maiden race for Canadian-bred horses. 

By the end of that year, Turcotte had ridden 180 winners, making him Canada’s leading jockey. A year later, he left for the United States to compete on larger circuits in Maryland, New York, and Delaware, quickly becoming the top rider at nearly every track where he appeared. 

Rise to Stardom 

Turcotte’s career ascended rapidly. In 1965, he gained national recognition when he piloted Tom Rolfe to victory in the Preakness Stakes. By then, he had developed a partnership with fellow Canadian, trainer Lucien Laurin, which would prove pivotal. Under Laurin’s guidance, Turcotte guided Riva Ridge to victory in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1972. 

The following year, Turcotte and Laurin teamed with Secretariat, Meadow Stable’s powerful chestnut colt, to etch their names permanently into sporting history. 

Secretariat and the Triple Crown 

In 1973, Turcotte guided Secretariat through one of the most extraordinary campaigns in racing. Together they won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and finally the Belmont Stakes, sweeping the Triple Crown for the first time in 25 years. Each race set a speed record — times that still stand today. 

In the 1973 Belmont Stakes, Secretariat ridden by Ron Turcotte set a track record that still stands today. Photo: Charles LeBlanc/Flickr 

The Belmont, in particular, cemented their legend. Secretariat surged to a jaw-dropping 31-length victory in front of a stunned crowd, with the iconic photo capturing Turcotte glancing back over his shoulder as the rest of the field lagged hopelessly behind. 

Secretariat’s dominance made Turcotte a household name. In 1972 and 1973, he was North America’s leading stakes-winning jockey. He became the first rider since 1902 to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies (with Riva Ridge and Secretariat) and the first jockey to claim five victories in six consecutive Triple Crown races — a feat not equaled until 2015. 

Of Secretariat, Turcotte once said: “I’ve ridden many good horses, but Secretariat was the best by far. He did the same thing that any horse does but did it better and faster.” 

Honours and Recognition 

Turcotte’s achievements brought him international acclaim. In 1974, he became the first member of the Thoroughbred racing industry appointed to the Order of Canada. He was voted the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1979 for career excellence and sportsmanship, following fellow Canadian Sandy Hawley. That same year, he entered the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Inductions into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame (1980) and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (1980) soon followed. 

After his racing accident in 1978, Turcotte became a tireless advocate for injured riders, fundraising for disability programs and lending his voice to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. 

In 1984, he received the inaugural Avelino Gomez Memorial Award, bestowed annually on a Canadian-born jockey who makes significant contributions to the sport. Decades later, in 2015, his hometown of Grand Falls, New Brunswick unveiled a statue immortalizing Secretariat and Turcotte crossing the Belmont finish line. 

Tragedy and Advocacy 

Turcotte’s racing career ended abruptly in 1978 when he was thrown from his mount, Flag of Leyte Gulf, at Belmont Park. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. 

Though devastating, the injury revealed his resilience. Turcotte became a tireless advocate for injured riders, fundraising for disability programs and lending his voice to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. 

“While his courage as a jockey was on full display to a nation of adoring fans during that electrifying time, it was after he faced a life altering injury that we learned about the true character of Ron Turcotte,” said New York Racing Association president and CEO David O'Rourke. "By devoting himself to supporting fellow jockeys struggling through similar injuries, Ron Turcotte built a legacy defined by kindness and compassion.” 

A Family Man and Lasting Legacy 

Turcotte married, raised a family, and remained deeply rooted in his native New Brunswick throughout his life. For his family, his fame as a jockey was only part of who he was. “The world may remember Ron as the famous jockey of Secretariat, but to us he was a wonderful husband, a loving father, grandfather, and a great horseman,” the Turcotte family said in a statement through Lusky. 

A life-size bronze sculpture of Secretariat with jockey Ron Turcotte and groom Eddie Sweat. Photo: Alamy/Sally Weigand 

As the years passed, Turcotte also became the last surviving member of Secretariat’s celebrated team. The colt died in 1989, groom Eddie Sweat in 1998, trainer Lucien Laurin in 2000, owner Penny Chenery in 2017, and exercise rider Charlie Davis in 2018. 

Woodbine chairman Jim Lawson called him “a true Canadian icon whose impact on horse racing is immeasurable.” Churchill Downs president Mike Anderson echoed that sentiment, adding, “Ron Turcotte was an icon and will forever be fondly remembered as the trusted partner of legendary Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner Secretariat, arguably the most popular Thoroughbred in history. Ron’s many accomplishments on the racetrack and his deep passion for horse racing brought countless fans to the sport. He will be greatly missed.” 

Remembering a Legend 

Over the course of his career, Turcotte amassed more than 3,000 victories, yet it is the three in 1973 that remain his defining achievement. Secretariat’s records endure, as does the memory of the man who guided him with poise and courage. 

He is remembered not only for his brilliance on the racetrack, but also for the dignity, resilience, and compassion he showed in the decades that followed. 

Related: Book Review: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty

With files from CBC.ca and msn.com

Main Photo: Ron Turcotte at a public appearance for Legendary Triple Crown-Winning Jockeys at the Empire State Building, New York, NY June 10, 2016. Photo: Alamy/Everett Collection Inc