Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend

Tag: Penny Chenery

  • Secretariat Birthday Celebration at The Meadow

    SECRETARIAT BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AT THE MEADOW MARCH 29-30 KICKS OFF 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF SECRETARIAT’S 1973 TRIPLE CROWN  Come Join Us Where the Legend Began!     Forty years ago in 1973,  the big red horse pounded the turf in the Belmont Stakes like a “tremendous machine” and clinched the first Triple Crown in a quarter-century.  Forty years…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Riva Ridge in Spotlight at Secretariat Festival

     For once, Riva Ridge shared the spotlight with his stablemate, Big Red, and in Paris, of all places.  Paris, Kentucky, that is, where the annual Secretariat Festival took place and where our new book “Riva Ridge – Penny’s First Champion” made its “world debut” on September 29. What better kick-off than to have Penny Chenery, the…

  • Setting Secretariat’s Preakness Record Straight…It’s About Time!

                                                One second.  That’s all that stands between Secretariat and a complete record-breaking sweep of the Triple Crown. If Penny Chenery and the president of the Maryland Jockey Club, Thomas Chuckas,  can prevail, this situation will finally be rectified after 40 years. As his fans know, Secretariat shattered the Derby and Belmont records, but his winning time in…

  • Secretariat Descendants Dominating the 2012 Derby!

    Secretariat is running in the Derby this Saturday!  Of the 20 contenders in the field, 16 of them can boast Big Red in their bloodlines.  (verified through www.pedigreequery.com)   The daughters of  America’s Super Horse  whose sons (Secretariat’s grandsons) established these dominant bloodlines are: Weekend Surprise – A.P. Indy; Terlingua – Storm Cat; and Secrettame – Gone West Of course…

  • 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…

  • October 4, 1989…Remembering Big Red

      It’s hard to believe that 22 years have passed since Secretariat died on October 4, 1989.    It’s hard to believe because, in many respects, his presence seems stronger than ever.    Kate Chenery Tweedy and I see the unquenchable passion for this horse firsthand as we travel around the country doing book talks and signings for “Secretariat’s…

  • The Holy Grail on the Secretariat’s Meadow Tour…the Foaling Shed

    Visitors are often moved to tears when they see it.  They touch the wooden door reverently.  They walk inside the stall, looking around in quiet awe. They snap photo after photo, not wanting to leave what many consider hallowed ground. It’s a modest little structure of whitewashed barnboard.  Its appearance could be called “unprepossessing,” to…

  • 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,…