As a teenager he picked up work where he could, and finally landed a good job digging postholes and mending fences at Laurin’s thoroughbred training farm in Holly Hill. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. He was buried just as his baby sister was instructed. When Laurin took on the Meadow Stable string in 1971, Sweat was assigned to the most talented colts, including 1972 Kentucky Derby winner Riva Ridge, and then the 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. "People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is," Sweat told Sports Illustrated. But Sweat would go out of his way to talk to Turcotte and keep him updated on the horse. As "Big Red" rose to View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for Eddie Sweat. His family couldn't afford the expenses, so the Jockey Club Foundation, which helps needy people in racing, paid for the funeral, the Sun reported. Sweat was very sick. Sweat would heft manure from his horse’s stall, and toss in fresh straw to fluff out a soft bed. . ' (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff)“Before Secretariat, people around the horse didn’t become immediately famous, as well,” Doolittle said. (AP Photo/stf)With his connection to Laurin, Sweat had access to some of the best horses in the field. Mostly cloudy skies early. Groom Talk was probably the way Secretariat heard it.Eddie Sweat got his first glimpses of thoroughbred racehorses in his hometown of Holly Hill, S.C., where he was born in 1938. As Secretariat's star was rising, Eddie Sweat came back home to Orangeburg County for a visit.Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, passes the twin spires of Churchill Downs during the running of the 99th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky. on May 5, 1973. The 145th Kentucky Derby is Saturday in Louisville.Everyone knows about Secretariat, but few know about Sweat — the horse’s best friend. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their requestYou are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Through thick and thin, sunshine and pouring rain, the great horse’s personal caretaker was always at his charge’s side.During Secretariat’s first season, as a two-year-old in 1972, trainer Lucien Laurin switched Sweat from stable star Riva Ridge – who had just won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes – to grooming Secretariat, a horse Laurin was beginning to envision as perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime champion.
Once arrived, Sweat and Davis would manage the horse through the stay, and then return – the trust of the trainer and the horses’ owners riding with them.During the weeks leading up the Kentucky Derby, when Secretariat began to capture unprecedented worldwide attention, Sweat and Davis spent every minute of every day with Secretariat. Secretariat's career earnings were more than $1.3 million, but his South Carolina-born groomer, Eddie Sweat, had to have a charitable organization pay for his funeral. No one from Secretariat's inner circle was present. The owner talks to the trainer, the trainer talks to the jockey. He is survived by his bride of 71 years. /., -Secretariat was unveiled at the Kentucky H_orse Park , , ' . Some, perhaps, not with the best of intentions.Most days were not so pressure packed, of course. A life-sized statue of Secretariat and groomer Eddie Sweat was unveiled in 2006 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Provided Kentucky Horse Park.“All those people who work on the backside, they never get ahead,” said Bill Doolittle, a horse racing historian and author of several books about the Kentucky Derby. "He really deserved it. Because everyone around Secretariat became a celebrity, Eddie Sweat was a celebrity, too, in a way. Maybe an occasional goat around to keep a nervous horse company. “Me and Eddie had planned to have us a big pot of pinto beans, with ham hocks and some spices. Triple Crown winner Secretariat, is shown at Aqueduct Race Track in New York, Nov. 6, 1973, as the three-year-old colt made a final appearance before going to stud at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. Others are, from left, Mrs. John Tweedy, owner, Lucien Lauren, trainer, and Eddie Sweat, groom.
(AP Photo)Penny Chenery, owner of Secretariat, hugs jockey Ron Turcotte in the Winner's Circle at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, after Turcotte rode Secretariat to a record win in the 99th Kentucky Derby in 1973. My Prayer go out to all of his family.We send our love and prayers to everyone. Others are, from left, Mrs. John Tweedy, owner, Lucien Lauren, trainer, and Eddie Sweat, groom. Pedigree for Eddie Sweat, photos and offspring from the All Breed Horse Pedigree Database.