Descendants of Secretariat: How the Bloodline Lives On

More than fifty years after he won the Triple Crown, Secretariat is still everywhere in Thoroughbred racing, even though he is not always easy to spot in a pedigree. His descendants have shaped the modern breed so completely that in 2025 every horse in the Kentucky Derby field traced back to him. This is the story of how one stallion’s bloodline spread that far, why it mostly traveled through his daughters, and where you can find it today, including in our own pastures.

How many foals did Secretariat sire?

Secretariat sired 663 named foals during a stud career that ran from 1973 until his death on October 4, 1989. Of those, 341 were winners and 54 were stakes winners. It was a large book of foals, and it gave his blood a wide head start. But what made his line endure was not how many foals he had. It was which of them passed his quality on, and that turned out to be mostly his daughters.

Does Secretariat’s bloodline still exist today?

Yes, and it sits closer to the surface of modern racing than almost any other. By the 2020s his descendants filled the sport’s biggest races. In 2025, the entire Kentucky Derby field descended from Secretariat. His blood did not just survive, it became part of the foundation of the breed.

Why Secretariat’s daughters mattered more than his sons

Here is the part that surprises people. As a sire of sons who became great sires in their own right, Secretariat was something of a disappointment. There was open criticism at the time that he did not produce male offspring of his own ability. His lasting influence came through his daughters instead, and as one account puts it, his legacy is assured through the quality of his daughters, many of whom became outstanding producers.

Two of those daughters changed the breed:

• Weekend Surprise produced A.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and a leading sire, as well as Summer Squall, who sired 1999 Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic.
• Terlingua produced Storm Cat, one of the most influential stallions of his era.

Both of those grandsons founded male lines that still dominate today. So much of Secretariat’s reach runs through grandsons and great-grandsons by way of his daughters, not through his own sons.

Notable descendants of Secretariat

A short list of well-known names shows how the line branched out:

• Lady’s Secret, a champion racing daughter of Secretariat, was the 1986 Horse of the Year.
• Risen Star, a son of Secretariat, won the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes in 1988.
• A.P. Indy, out of the daughter Weekend Surprise, was the 1992 Horse of the Year and a foundational sire.
• Storm Cat, out of the daughter Terlingua, became one of the most important sires of the modern era.
• Tapit, a descendant of A.P. Indy, is a champion sire carrying the line into today’s stallions.
• Wise Dan, Horse of the Year in 2012 and 2013, traces to Secretariat through his dam’s line.

The same pattern repeats across the sport, which is how an entire Kentucky Derby field came to share a single ancestor.

Secretariat and the off-track Thoroughbred

Because his blood is so widespread, a great many ordinary Thoroughbreds carry Secretariat somewhere in their family tree, including horses who never won a famous race and are now beginning second careers. A horse does not have to be a champion to descend from one. If the term is new to you, our guide to what an OTTB is explains where these horses come from.

Secretariat’s bloodline at Mane Characters

This is where the story comes home. Several of the horses in our care descend from Secretariat, and between them they carry both of his great daughter-lines.

Through the A.P. Indy line, by way of the champion sire Tapit:

• Silver Tap, sired by Tapit himself
• Misty, a daughter of Tapizar, who is a son of Tapit

Through the Storm Cat line:

• Starship Kitty, by Tale of the Cat, a son of Storm Cat

And more of the herd trace back to Secretariat through other branches of the family tree, including Bailey, Khan, Natalie, and Ricky.

None of them are famous. That is rather the point. The same blood that runs through Triple Crown winners and Horses of the Year also runs through everyday horses who needed somewhere to land when their racing days were done. Caring for them, by name, for as long as they need it, is the work here at Maplehurst Stock Farm in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky.

You can meet the herd or sponsor a horse.

Every horse, a tale to tell. Every tale, a Mane Character.

Frequently asked questions about Secretariat’s descendants

Does Secretariat’s bloodline still exist?

Yes. It is one of the most widespread bloodlines in modern Thoroughbred racing. In 2025, every horse in the Kentucky Derby field descended from Secretariat.

How many foals did Secretariat sire?

He sired 663 named foals during a stud career that ran from 1973 until his death in 1989.

Did Secretariat’s bloodline pass through his sons or his daughters?

Mainly his daughters. Daughters such as Weekend Surprise and Terlingua produced the influential sires A.P. Indy and Storm Cat, which is how most of his modern descendants trace back to him.

Can an ordinary horse be a descendant of Secretariat?

Yes. Because his blood is so common in the breed, many everyday Thoroughbreds, including off-track Thoroughbreds in second careers, descend from him. Several horses at Mane Characters do.

This article draws on public Thoroughbred pedigree records, including the Britannica and Wikipedia entries for Secretariat, A.P. Indy, Storm Cat, and Tapit.