Secretariat's family tree includes 663 kids and 19 horses in this year's Kentucky Derby
There's only one horse not a part of the tree.
Secretariat's family tree includes 663 kids and 19 horses in this year's Kentucky Derby originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Secretariat's family tree spans almost the entire world of modern thoroughbred horse racing.
That includes the 2026 Kentucky Derby, in which 19 of the 20 horses competing can claim to be descendants of the legendary 'Big Red. ' In fact, it really works out to 22 of the 23. Three horses have scratched as of Friday morning, but all three of their replacements also have Secretariat in their bloodline.
It's actually a downgrade from 2025, when every single horse in the field had Secretariat in their lineage. At this point, it's hard to find a horse at this level who doesn't hail from Secretariat in some way. How many kids did Secretariat have?
Secretariat officially sired 663 registered foals. His stud career began in 1974 and continued until he died in 1989. Secretariat's direct children themselves weren't necessarily huge winners, but his blood line carried down into more success.