Secretariat, in the form of a 3,800-pound bronze monument, raced to his home state of Virginia to kick off the official 50TH anniversary celebration of his immortal Triple Crown of 1973. The “Secretariat Racing Into History” sculpture by renowned equine artist Jocelyn Russell traveled over 1,000 miles from the foundry in Oklahoma to Ashland to be unveiled on April 1. At 21 feet long and 11.5 feet tall, this is the largest monument of Secretariat in existence. It is as impressive as his track records in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont races, which remain unbroken after half a century.
Ashland had the honor of being the first venue of the multi-state Secretariat 50th anniversary tour due to longstanding ties to the Chenery family. Secretariat’s breeder Christopher Chenery grew up here, attended Randolph-Macon College, and founded Meadow Stable where Secretariat was born. Penny Chenery later ran the racing stable and managed Secretariat’s spectacular career. Her daughter Kate Chenery Tweedy lives in Ashland and is chair of the Secretariat For Virginia Committee of the Ashland Museum. The SECVA team is working to place the monument permanently in Ashland by the end of this year. This would be the first and only monument of the iconic champion here in his home state.
“Secretariat’s story truly would come full circle if the monument is placed in Ashland,” said Ms. Tweedy. “How fitting it would be to see this happen during this milestone Triple Crown anniversary.”
“I have always wanted this second edition of “Secretariat – Racing into History” to come home to Virginia,” said Ms. Russell. “This is literally where his history started.”
Read more about the Secretariat monument and enjoy lots of photos at www.secretariatforvirginia.com
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