Tag: Chris Chenery
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Happy Birthday, Penny Chenery
We want to be the first to send the “First Lady of Racing,” Penny Chenery, our warmest wishes for a Happy Birthday on January 27! Last year was a milestone birthday at age 90, but this year will also be very special for Penny. It marks the 40th anniversary of Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown of 1973. His…
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REMEMBERING CHRISTOPHER T. CHENERY, FOUNDER OF MEADOW STABLE
We’re interrupting our “Ancestors of Secretariat” series to take a moment to remember the visionary founder of Meadow Stable, Christopher T. Chenery. He died 40 years ago on January 3, 1973 at the age of 86. The man who created “an empire built on broodmares” in Caroline County, Virginia, never lived to see his greatest…
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Secretariat’s Ancestors…Nasrullah, The Irish Rogue
(second in a series) The potent influence of Nearco became personified in America by his talented but tempestuous son, Nasrullah. Foaled at the Aga Khan’s Sheshoon Stud in Ireland in 1940, Nasrullah earned an impressive reputation as a champion racehorse in Europe. Though he would not duplicate Nearco’s unbeaten record, he won five of…
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Before there was Big Red…there was “the Great Red Fox”
A century before Meadow Stable, home of Hall of Famers Secretariat, Riva Ridge, Hill Prince and Cicada, put Doswell, Virginia on the racing map, Bullfield Stable in nearby Hanover County dominated the American racing scene. Its most famous son was a long-striding chestnut stallion named Planet, also called “the great red fox.” He was…
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Viva Riva! Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Riva Ridge’s Derby Victory
In 1969, a muddy-bay colt with floppy ears would be saved from the floodwaters of Hurricane Camille at his Virginia farm. Later, he would rescue the same farm as it was sinking into debt and preserve it as the launching pad of its greatest champion. Though he would be swept aside in the…
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The Secretariat Birthday Party Goes On!
Some of you may have heard the sad news that The Meadow, which was owned by the State Fair of Virginia, has been closed to the public. The Fair (a private, not for profit organization) was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 8 when the bank did not accept its plan to reorganize. This was heart-breaking…
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Secretariat’s Descendants…from the Homestretch to the Homefront
This new series will look at some of Secretariat’s most famous progeny and how the mighty stallion of Meadow Stable continues to fire the blood of some of the best racehorses on the track today. We will also look at the descendants whose most important contributions have been made, not on the homestretch, but on…
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Next Stop on the “Secretariat’s Meadow Tour”…the Yearling Barn
On our virtual tram tour of The Meadow, you’ve seen The Cove where the broodmares and foals grazed, and the Stallion Barns. Now we’ll take a look at the Yearling Barn, where both Secretariat and Riva Ridge stayed as colts. The Yearling Barn originally built by Chris Chenery still stands, and like the Stallion Barns,…
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Secretariat’s Meadow Tour…Next Stop, The Stallion Barns
As we continue our “virtual tram tour” of the historic grounds of The Meadow, Secretariat’s birthplace, we’re moving from the Cove to the Stallion Barns. These are the original barns built by Chris Chenery, founder of Meadow Stable. There is the L-shaped Stallion Barn, where Chenery’s office was located, and the West Stallion Barn. Perhaps…