Meet Secretariat Owner Penny Chenery Oct. 21 2012

Ms. Chenery and Secretariat

Here's a chance to meet Colorado's most successful horse owner and the matriarch of modern horse racing, Penny Chenery (owner of the legendary throroughbred Secretariat) on Sunday Oct. 21, 2012 from 2-4PM in the Great Hall at Cherokee Castle in Douglas County.

Why am I writing about an October event in June? Because the $30 tickets are going to sell out fast! And really, if you are a lover of horses, of horse racing or of women who break through the glass ceiling, you won't want to miss this event.

Secretariat at Preakness - Ron Turcotte Up

Penny Chenery and daughter Kate Chenery Tweedy will be on at Cherokee to discuss "Secretariat's Meadow -- The Land, The Family, The Legend" a new book co-authored by Kate. Naturally copies of the book will be on sale. During the event, Kate will also delve into Secretariat's career and legacy.

Penny Chenery will be available for autographs and book signing and there will be a Q&A and viewing of Big Red's Triple Crown races. Enjoy the beautiful Castle, the stories of Big Red, a cash bar and hor d'oeuvres for your $30. Purchase tickets and get more info here. Am I going to be there? You betcha. And I'm going to buy one of the books as well. I am a shameless fan of that Big Red horse.


Ms. Chenery  was one of the first women to hold a high profile in the tough sport of horse racing, a legend in her own right. She was portrayed by actress Diane Lane in the 2010 Disney family film, "Secretariat."

Turcotte, Chenery and Big Red

In interviews Chenery marvels at the volume of mail she still receives, especially through the website Secretariat.com, and she remains delighted that her horse still holds a special place in people’s hearts. “Secretariat was a hell of a horse,” she says. "He remains an accessible icon whose strength, beauty and courage were incorruptible.” 


And while Secretariat died in 1989, he still racks up headlines. On June 21 the Maryland Racing Commission voted 7-0 in a special hearing to change the official time of Secretariat's 1973 Preakness, making it a new Preakness record.  It's kind of a long story and an old racing controversy, but essentially the newfangled electric timer in use at Pimlico Racetrack for the 1973 Preakness recorded Secretariat's winning time as 1:55, a clocking that became a source of controversy after two indie clockers from the Daily Racing Form timed the race at a much faster 1:53 2/5.  Current digital technology allowed officials to revisit the race, and the horse's winning time.

"For me, revisiting this dispute on a new day is matter of resolution -- for historians, for sportswriters and for racing fans," said Chenery, who traveled from her Boulder home to attend the Commission meeting. "Their voices are supported by sound evidence, and they deserve to be heard."

Indeed, if you want to see a really, really fast animal, check out this iso-cam of Secretariat's staggering Preakness performance, narrated by his jockey Ron Turcotte.

Penny Chenery, Secretariat's Owner, Celebrates 90th Birthday in Denver

Penny Chenery, the first lady of thoroughbred horse racing and the owner of the great champion horses Secretariat and Riva Ridge, celebrated her 90th birthday Jan. 27 in Denver. What a celebration!

Mrs. Chenery in 2010

In addition to being the star of a 2010 Disney film Secretariat, or Big Red as his fans like to call him, won the coveted Triple Crown with a 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes in 1973. Watch his amazing victory, and see Mrs. Chenery's gleeful reaction to the race's finish here. The mighty-strided Secretariat set U.S. racing records that remain today, and although he died in 1989 he continues to be an equine icon to horse lovers around the world.

Mrs. Chenery  was one of the first women to hold a high profile in the tough sport of horse racing, a legend in her own right. She was portrayed by actress Diane Lane in the Disney family film, "Secretariat."

Mrs. Chenery lives in Boulder. Her family has longtime ties to Denver and she even rode to hounds with our own Arapahoe Hunt, back in the day.

Mrs. Chenery, trainer Lucien Laurin and Big Red

Here's another Colorado connection for Secretariat fans: Mrs. Chenery's other Kentucky Derby winner (1972) and Hall of Fame champion, the imposing stallion Riva Ridge, shares his name with a ski run in Vail.

The horse was named by Chenery's brother-in-law, John Tweedy, a soldier in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, who fought in 1945 at the fierce battle at Riva Ridge in the North Apennine mountains of Italy. Another soldier in the 10th Mountain Division, Pete Seibert, founded Vail resort in 1962 and promptly named one of the resort's more notorious ski runs Riva Ridge.

Riva Ridge

And just so you know, it wasn't Secretariat that saved Chenery's stable, a bit of fiction perpetuated by the Disney movie "Secretariat." It was, indeed, the great Riva Ridge who saved the Chenery farm by winning the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and setting numerous U.S. track records. "I have the greatest admiration for Secretariat, but I love Riva Ridge,” Mrs. Chenery has admitted. In private, her nickname for him was Golden Boy. A book about Riva's career currently is in the works.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Chenery! If you would like to send her a birthday greeting, go here.  More on her birthday celebration, Secretariat and Riva Ridge, here.