This weekend is a big one for horse-racing, with American Pharoah going for the Triple-Crown. Here in Virginia, the horse has some special fans – people who know where he came from and hope he’ll bring new honor to the state.
It’s been more than forty years since Secretariat stunned the racing world with a spectacular win at Belmont.
“He is moving like a tremendous machine. Secretariat by 12. Secretariat by 13 lengths on the turn.”
The horse, born at Meadow Farm near Richmond in 1970, was special for many reasons. First – he was fast, setting track records not only at Belmont but at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness to win the Triple Crown. Those who loved the big red beast saw his promise from day one according to biographer Leeanne Ladin.
"He was considered to be as perfect of an example of a thoroughbred as you can find. They said that from the day he was born – how correctly he was put together. He had an enormous stride. His racing strike was 25.5 feet, covered in a single bound."
And after he died, an autopsy would further explain Secretariat’s incredible ability to race.
"The doctor who did it found out that Secretariat’s heart was 22 pounds. The normal thoroughbred heart is 8-10 pounds."
That remarkable feature could be traced to the animal’s mother – a brood mare called Something Royal, and it confirmed the conviction of farm founder Christopher Chenery, who believed it important to consider not only the stud when breeding horses, but the mare.
Chenery was a contrarian – making his fortune in finance during the Great Depression, and buying the farm in spite of its rundown condition and its location.
"His horse racing friends said, ‘You’re crazy. You need to be in Kentucky. That’s where the blue grass is. That’s the hub of horse racing. + His wife took one look at the place and called it Operation Rat Hole and wanted nothing to do with it. That’s how bad it was."
Today it’s clear – Chenery knew what he was doing . Meadow Farm was home to many winning horses, and now serves as a center for horse shows and the site of Virginia’s State Fair. When Christopher Chenery died, his daughter – Penny Chenery Twiddy – would also prove a shrewd business person, syndicating Secretariat’s services as a stud, even before he won the Derby.
He would go on to sire more than 640 horses, and he would unite a nation in celebration at a time of great social unrest.
"This was the time of Watergate and Vietnam, and people were feeling pretty dispirited, and he just lifted up everybody. He really became a rock start. He was on the cover of Time and Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. ESPN voted him one of the top 50 athletes of the 20th century and the only four-legged one in that top 50," says Leanne Ladin.
This year, Ladin – who leads Secretariat Tours at Meadow Farm – celebrated another remarkable milestone for the horse. The Caroline County farm where he was born has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. And there’s one more reason to plan a party in Secretariat’s honor – complete with carrot cake and mint juleps. He was the great, great, great grandfather of American Pharoah – a thoroughbred who could win the Triple Crown Saturday at Belmont.
