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Viva Riva! Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Riva Ridge’s Derby Victory

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                                                                                 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 wake of the national adulation for his charismatic stablemate, he never gave up.  Riva Ridge, the forgotten champion of Meadow Stable, most assuredly earned his place in racing history and in the hearts of his fans.

This is an excerpt from our upcoming book “Riva Ridge – Penny’s First Champion” (by Kate Chenery Tweedy and Leeanne Meadows Ladin) due out in September.  This coming Saturday, May 5, 2012 marks not only the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, but the 40th anniversary of Riva’s Derby victory of 1972.  

 And Riva is getting some long-overdue recognition!   We are delighted that the Kentucky Derby Museum is hosting a party in Riva’s honor on Sunday, May 6.  (see http://www.derbymuseum.org/event_calendar.html)

To fully appreciate the signifciance of Riva’s victory in the 98th “Run for the Roses,”  here is another excerpt from our book. 

(from Chapter 4 – The Thirty Year Road to the Derby)

“I knew he was the best horse in the race, he was feeling good and had worked good over the track which was very fast. Everything was to his liking and I could smell the roses,” said Ron Turcotte.

The “Golden Boy” of Meadow Stable did not disappoint. Riva broke well out of the gate, grabbing the lead right away.  Bumped in the initial rush, he quickly recovered with no trace of his old timidity.  Galloping easily, he held off a challenge by Hold Your Peace as the two drew away from the field.

 Bill Nack, author of “Secretariat – The Making of a Champion,” described Riva’s Derby run.  “Riva toyed with Hold Your Peace like a cat with a mouse.  His attitude was ‘come and get me.’ I thought that day that Riva looked like a Triple Crown winner.”

No Le Hace also tried to make a run at Riva, but the bay colt sailed across the finish line under a hand ride by Ron. Winning by three lengths, Riva became only the thirteenth horse to win the Kentucky Derby wire to wire.  He posted a time of 2:01 4/5, the seventh fastest on record.

Mom (Penny Chenery is Kate Tweedy’s mother) could not contain her elation. She was sitting with Bull Hancock’s family and literally beating on Clay Hancock as she shouted “We’re winning! We’re winning!”

The Kentucky sun shone brightly on Virginia’s Meadow Stable that day as Granddaddy’s Derby jinx finally lifted. The stars had indeed lined up in our favor.  Lucien had trained Riva to peak at the perfect time.  Ron had kept Riva off the rail where the deep soil of the “cuppy” track could have tired him. This allowed the colt to sprint to the front where the field of fifteen couldn’t block him. The chancy, last-minute tactic of widening the blinker slits had helped Riva keep his challengers in sight.

The saying goes that the Kentucky Derby is the “most exciting two minutes in sports.”  Riva’s  two-minute run symbolized the culmination of a dream that kindled in an old horseman’s heart more than thirty years prior to May 6, 1972.  My grandfather Chris Chenery had defied all the skeptics when he founded Meadow Stable on the dilapidated land of his ancestral homeplace in Caroline County, Virginia in 1936. Breeding for both speed and stamina, he had sent three strong Derby contenders to the post (including Riva’s sire First Landing)  as well as many notable stakes winners. Now my mother too had defied all the skeptics and fulfilled her father’s lifelong ambition.  Her unshakable determination and perseverance, along with a solid belief in the homely bay horse who could run like a deer, had brought her far from those first tentative days of running a racing stable.

                                                         (end of excerpt)

Kate and I will be at Churchill Downs with Penny this Saturday watching the latest crop of Derby hopefuls vie for their place in racing history.  And we will be remembering Penny’s  first champion,  Riva Ridge, his speed, his spirit and his all too brief moment in the spotlight.

Here’s a link to Riva’s Derby on YouTube.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItlAMVUlo4M

by Leeanne Meadows Ladin

Co-author “Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend”

Author Adventures with Big Red on the Red Carpet

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In the spirit of Secretariat’s record-smashing performance in the Derby, you could call the Kentucky leg of our “Barnstorming Book Tour” the “Every Furlong Faster” tour.

Kate arrived in the Bluegrass State direct from the red carpet, having attended the “Secretariat” movie premiere in Hollywood.  Her first book event was the Secretariat Festival in Paris, KY on October 2. 

Our publisher (Wayne Dementi) and I left Richmond, VA at 7:00 am on Sunday, October 3 to rendezvous with Kate for the Kentucky premiere that evening.  We arrived in Lexington around 4:00 p.m., with plenty of time (I thought delusionally) to primp and preen for this elegant occasion.  That notion was quickly dispelled when we learned that we needed to be at the Kentucky Theatre well before the starting time of 6:00 p.m.

 There I was, rather bedraggled after nine hours on the road. Likewise, Kate had been signing at the World Equestrian Games all day. It was like a starting gate clanged open. We set a new world’s record in getting “glammed up” and thank heaven, there were two bathrooms downstairs at the home of our gracious host !  

In the end, it didn’t really matter. When Diane Lane stepped out of her limo in front of the theatre, looking sleek and impossibly beautiful, no one else existed on or near the red carpet. She was so gracious and poised in her strapless gown, unfazed by the cold drizzle that had the rest of us shivering.  Then Kate’s mother, Penny Chenery, arrived in her limo, resplendent in a shimmering blue evening jacket. The crowd happily greeted her as one of their own. Penny lived in Lexington for many years before moving to Colorado and still keeps a few racehorses here.

Kate, Wayne and I walked the red carpet  behind Penny.  I had not expected to do that and was very proud to be part of that entourage as the Disney team waved us through.  Kate shared the stage with Governor Steve Bashear and Disney officials and welcomed the audience on her family’s behalf.

This was my third time to see the Secretariat film and it was every bit as thrilling as when I first saw it in Denver. Punctuating  the enjoyment were the exuberant reactions of the Kentucky  audience, who cheered each time Diane Lane as Penny showed her mettle in a challenging situation. They left no doubt that Penny Chenery still reigns as “the First Lady of Racing.” 

And just as if it were June 9, 1973 again,  everyone was shouting and clapping and even crying as Secretariat thundered across the screen in his Belmont,  a blaze-red Pegasus taking flight above the turf and lifting a nation with him.

As if that experience was not enough, I was fortunate to sit at a table during the reception after the movie with several Hall of Fame jockeys. Let me unabashedly drop a few names:  Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet, Steve Cauthen. They all signed a copy of “Secretariat’s Meadow,”  as did Otto Thorwarth who plays Ron in the movie. I also collected signatures from  Governor Bashear AND  Diane Lane, who wrote a special inscription to my husband who has loved her since “Lonesome Dove.”  I later accosted Calvin Borel in the lobby and he signed my program.

Meanwhile our intrepid publisher, who I had vainly tried to chaperone, got his picture taken with Diane Lane.  He would be the first to tell you that the nine-hour drive from Virginia was worth it!

That was just our first night in Kentucky.  More to come on our visit to Claiborne Farm and signing at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Leeanne Ladin

left to right:  Kate Tweedy, Charlie Stone, Bill Nack, Leeanne Ladin, Tom Foley (who played Jim Gaffney in the movie)  

Kate, Charlie Stone, Bill Nack, Leeanne, Tom Foley

Secretariat’s Meadow Galloping into Kentucky

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Our Barnstorming Book Tour is going along at a fast clip!  October will kick off with a crowded field of events!

First,  Kate and Penny will be going to LA for the long-awaited premiere of the Secretariat film on Sept. 30. We will look for them on the red carpet!  Or maybe it will be a blue and white carpet for the Meadow Stable colors?  

Then our jet-setting Kate lands in Paris, KY for the Bourbon County Secretariat Festival on October 2 where she will be meeting and greeting fans and signing “Secretariat’s Meadow.”  On October 3, she is signing at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington for our good friends with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.  That evening, Wayne Dementi (our publisher)  and I meet up with Kate for the special screening of the film and a book signing.

On October 4, we have signings at the International Equestrian Festival in Lexington and at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville. Wayne and I have to get back to Richmond on October 5, but Kate stays to continue signing at WEG and IEF through October 6.

On October 7, Kate rejoins us in Richmond for another round of book events  through October 14. The complete schedule for the book tour is posted on www.secretariatsmeadow.com  We promise to post lots of pics and video.  Be sure to check our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Secretariats-Meadow-The-Land-The-Family-The-Legend/107942289227260?v=wall#! for for daily updates from Kentucky!

It’s starting to feel like Secretariat’s Derby where he ran every furlong faster!

Leeanne Meadows Ladin

co-author, “Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend”