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equidaily.com: NewsLast week Equidaily.com's front page of racing-related links posted a link to a sports memorabilia auction that claimed to be offering authentic 'Ron Turcotte Secretariat Race Worn Silks'. The auction features the top and pants of a jockey's outfit and the description states, "This set of silks and pants was worn by Turcotte while racing Secretariat in 1973."
Shortly after the link appeared on Equidaily some of the internet horse racing forums buzzed with questions about the authenticity of the item. We here at Equidaily also got some feedback about the silks -- most notably from jockey Ron Turcotte himself. In an email entitled, "Phony Silks & Pants" Turcotte alleges that the items up for auction are not authentic. He goes on to list a number of distinguishing features on the authentic silks he wore, both top and pants -- we won't repeat them here as a roadmap for any potential forgers, but one item we can note, Turcotte says that "none of them had my name embroidered on the inside of the collar." This certainly seems to contradict the authenticity of the items offered for auction because as the description states, "The silks are embroidered 'Ron Turcotte' in white in the collar." An accompanying photo displays the name stitched into the collar.
Turcotte also notes that he owns all the Meadow Stable silks that were made for him and they "are all stored away in a safe place under lock & keys."
After corresponding with Mr Turcotte, Equidaily.com engaged in some further internet sleuthing and came up with some interesting tidbits. The auction site offering these items is Lelands.com. Their website says, "Lelands is the largest and most respected Sports Auction House in the world."
The description for this auction states that items of this magnitude "will surely never be seen again." Interestingly however, it seems as though the very same items were sold by Lelands about two and a half years ago. A May 2003 auction webpage shows what appears to be the same jockey outfit under the auction title, 'Ron Turcotte Racing Silks and Pants Worn for Secretariat'. It appears that on that occasion the set sold for $11,910.33.
We emailed Lelands late last week asking just what the procedure is that they use to authenticate items. We also asked if the current auction offering is the very same set that sold in May 2003 (with a description claiming, "Racing silks are a rare commodity, as they almost never come to market."). And we wondered if, in fact, the silks were the same ones that sold in 2003, why would the current seller have a reserve of only $3,500 after buying them for over $11,000? To date we have received no reply.
We also emailed American Heritage Autographs & Collectibles -- they're named on both auctions as supplying a Letter of Authenticity -- and we asked them about their methods for authenticating the jockey's silks offered for auction. To date we have received no reply.
In another interesting development, further internet searching turned up a May 2005 auction for '1973 Ron Turcotte Riding Pants Worn on Secretariat'. This time an auction website called Heritage Sports Collectibles sold only the jockey's pants. The description though is eerily similar stating, "While it was highly uncommon for race worn gear to be notated with the date or event after use, it is certain that they indeed saw action aboard Secretariat during that historic Triple Crown season of '73." The current auction reads, "Although it cannot be determined which race(s) he wore these silks in, it has been established with certainty that they were worn in 1973 aboard Secretariat."
The Heritage Sports Collectibles auction included a Letter of Authenticity from "Dan Knoll & Dave Bushing/ SCD Authentic". We emailed them with questions about their authenticating procedure. To date we have not received a reply.
The common thread for all three auctions seems to be something called, the "Sport of Kings Society." The current auction says, "These items were obtained from the Sport of Kings Society." The May 2003 auction, "Originally obtained from the Sport of Kings Society." And the May 2005 pants auction, "An included letter of provenance from 1989 explains how the original collector came to acquire the pants through contacts in The Sport of Kings Society."
A Google search for "Sport of Kings Society" turns up six results - five relating to the auctions already mentioned and the sixth being what appears to be a racing fan's personal website dedicated to collecting racing memorabilia. At the bottom of the page it mentions the Sport of Kings Society, "A non-profit club for collectors of horse racing memorabilia based in the U.S. They mail out a quarterly newsletter by, and for, all members. Sorry, no web page or e-mail is available for this group." The name and mailing address of their Sec/Treasurer is included. We sent a note to him asking about these items, we'll update if we get a response.
Finally, Equidaily did some amateur authenticating of our own. We searched the internet for photos of Secretariat and Turcotte wearing the Meadows Stables silks. And then we compared them to the silks being offered for auction.
It certainly seems as though the photographic evidence shows two distinctly different designs between the silks Turcotte is shown wearing, and the silks offered at auction.
Given that knowledge -- along with the claims by Mr Turcotte himself that he is in possession of all the silks he wore while riding Secretariat, plus the fact that the auction house and authentication service have not offered any support of their methods, we can only say, let the buyer beware.
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