Kentucky Derby winning trainer KEN MCPEEK issued an invitation to retired NFL football star JASON KELCE to come and see MYSTIK DAN, the Derby hero, at the Preakness this Saturday following Kelce’s remarks on his belief Secretariat raced on steroids.
Kelce was speaking on the podcast New Heights that he does with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star TRAVIS KELCE, soon after Travis attended the 150th Derby at Churchill Downs. Travis Kelce talked about his ‘once in a lifetime’ first visit to the Derby.
“I’m a Derby guy now, man,” said Travis on the podcast (see links below). “It was so much fun.”
Kelce was photographed with other celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and there are videos of his cheering on his first winning bet.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am definitely going to try and experience again,” he said on the podcast. “It was fun just being part of the entire environment.”
Kelce wore a white pinstripe suit and a fedora with a blue feather and reportedly wagered on Forever Young in the Derby. The Japanese colt finished third.
In the podcast, Jason Kelce said all sports in the 1970s were awash in steroid use, including Secretariat. It was reminiscent of comments made on the Overdrive show on TSN a couple of years ago in which one of the hosts attended the races at Saratoga and declared that the horses looked as if they were on steroids.
Jason Kelce wrote on ‘X’ on May 9 –
Just going to put this out there, you know who else has enlarged hearts. People who take copious amounts of steroids. I’ll admit I don’t know whether Secretariat was on steroids or not, it’s impossible to know, because in 1973 when Secretariat won the triple crown there was not adequate testing available to find out. But, the fact this horse had unparalleled muscular stature and died with an enlarged heart, and raced at a time when steroids were extremely prevalent, without adequate testing, raises flags in my book. Thoroughbred steroid use dates back to the 60s at least. I’m not saying what Secretariat did was unimpressive, because he was likely also racing against other majorly juiced up horses of his time, and if Secretariat was indeed a natural horse, that would make his accomplishments all the more impressive. I just find it highly unlikely given the circumstances of where the sport was at at that time, how dominant the horse was in the era, and the records it still holds to this day. The enlarged heart in my mind is actually more evidence that at some point the horse was being juiced. There is a gene that some thoroughbreds carry that causes a larger heart, but this wasn’t just a larger heart, this was a heart large enough for the vet to say it was the largest heart he had ever seen. The horse was undoubtedly born with incredible natural mechanics and ability, and may have been natural, but I also think that it’s unlikely given the time it raced and what was happening with a lot of those horses and the lack of testing available.
Following a tremendous backlash from horse racing fans, Jason then posted:
Later McPeek responded
Jason, here’s an invite to Baltimore to meet Mystik Dan @PimlicoRC before the @PreaknessStakes
I’m glad to give you an inside look at our sport, bring your brother @tkelce and his girlfriend, I’ve forgotten her name
The New Heights podcast on Instagram HERE and Apple Podcast HERE:
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