Bill Nack, the author of those lines, passed away just two weeks before this year's Kentucky Derby. He was best known for his chronicles of Secretariat's life and death, and his book on Secretariat was the inspiration for the 2010 movie. As
Sports Illustrated's remembrance put it: "He stands among the best sportswriters in the history of the genre, and in many ways, among the best writers of any kind. When he stopped typing, he was a giant personality, full of endless good charm, disarmingly well-read and all times, given to entertain."