This could be one of the most unique Secretariat-related items ever offered at public auction. It is the original aluminum 15 x 23" offset printing plate The Wall Street Journal used to produce the front page of its October 5, 1989 edition, which included a mention of Secretariat’s death in Paris, Ky., the day before. The plate emanates from the Secretariat Archives, and its provenance and interesting backstory further enhances its historical significance and attests to the legendary Meadow Stable colt transcending the sport he helped shape. Secretariat was beloved by several generations of racing fans, and when the 1973 Triple Crown winner died at the relatively young age of 19 from complications of laminitis, the world mourned the loss. When an editor from The Wall Street Journal presented the printing plate to Penny Chenery upon the champion's death, he shared it was the first and only time the passing of a Thoroughbred had been acknowledged on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. The renowned finance and news publication had a print circulation of approximately 2 million readers at the time. Though small and limited in scope, Secretariat’s death was major news and garnered front page placement in the Journal’s "What's News" section, reading as follows: Died: Secretariat, 19, winner in 1973 of horse racing's Triple Crown, in Paris, KY., destroyed because of a hoof ailment. Among other news items in that edition: The House of Representatives voted to repeal the Medicare Catastrophic Care Act that had been enacted 14 months prior; security forces arrested three members of Manuel Noriega's high command; a Lebanese hijacker was sentenced by a U.S. judge in Washington to 30 years in prison; and a jury in Los Angeles recommended death in the gas chamber for Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker" serial killer who terrorized Southern California in 1985. This historic and unusual artifact has been kept in protected storage for nearly three decades, and now represents a symbolic vestige to the former days of printing press craftsmanship and a by-gone era in American journalism and newspaper publication.

Size: 15x23"