Penny Chenery, Racing Pioneer, 1922-2017
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 PENNY CHENERY, RACING VERRAZANO COLT ON TOP AS BOOK 3 CONCLUDES by Jessica Martini PIONEER, 1922-2017 LEXINGTON, Ky - Brisk trade continued as the Keeneland September Yearling Sale finished its first week of action with the second and final session of the Book 3 portion of the 12-day auction Sunday. Steve Young bought the top-priced offering of both Book 3 sessions, going to $625,000 to purchase a colt by Verrazano, a day after paying $525,000 for a son of Pioneerof the Nile. During Sunday=s session, 245 yearlings grossed $26,875,500 for an average of $109,696 and a median of $80,000. The buy- back rate was 31.18%. Over the two Book 3 sessions, 498 yearlings sold for $58,268,000. The average was $117,004 and the median was $90,000. Sunday=s $625,000 topper was one of 15 to bring $400,000 or more. Cont. p11 (click here) IN TDN EUROPE TODAY QATAR RACING’S AUSTRALIAN VENTURE Kelsey Riley talks to David Redvers about Qatar Racing’s Penny Chenery and Secretariat in a 1973 Sports Illustrated growing presence in the Australian bloodstock scene. Click or photo shoot | Jerry Cooke/Getty Images tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. Helen Bates >Penny= Chenery, who bred and raced 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat under the Meadow Stable banner, passed away Saturday at the age of 95 following complications from a stroke. Penny=s children announced her death through Leonard Lusky, her longtime friend and business partner. Revered for both her stable=s accomplishments on the racetrack as well as her class off the racetrack, Chenery was known as AThe First Lady of American Racing@ by many. Born Jan. 22, 1922, in New Rochelle, New York, Chenery was immediately enamored with and was riding horses as early as age five. AI had the horse bug,@ she recalled. AI wasn=t >National Velvet.= Horses were just my friends.@ After attending high school in Virginia, Chenery attended Smith College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1943. Two years later, at the behest of her father, Southern Natural Gas Company founder Christopher Chenery, she volunteered to join the Red Cross, traveling overseas to assist soldiers. AYou had to be 23 to go. They thought younger girls weren=t mature enough. And they were right,@ she once recalled fondly. Cont. p3 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Monday, September 18, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editor Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Remembering Penny Chenery. Penny Chenery stands in the winner’s circle after Riva Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Ridge’s victory in the 1972 Blue Grass S. Coverage continues on page 3. | Keeneland photo Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] WOODBINE “WIN AND YOU’RE INS” 6 Social Media Strategist Capla Temptress (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) took down the GI Natalma S. Justina Severni and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Untamed Domain (Animal Kingdom) captured Director of Customer Service the GII Summer S. at Woodbine Sunday, both earning berths in the Vicki Forbes Breeders’ Cup. [email protected] Marketing Manager GREEN MASK INJURED, RETIRED Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen 10 Top GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint contender Green Mask (Mizzen Mast) Director of Information Technology was injured in a Sunday morning workout and will be retired, according to Ray Villa trainer Brad Cox. [email protected] WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor TODAY’S GRADED STAKES Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN EST Race Click for TV [email protected] European Editor 2:45a Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen-G2, NAK -------------- ----- Emma Berry 7:15p Presque Isle Downs Masters S.-GII, PID TJCIS PPs TVG [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 16 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 Penny Chenery, 1922-2017 (cont. from p1) of trainer Lucien Laurin, Meadow Stable=s 1971 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile Riva Ridge turned those dreams into reality in the 1972 Run for the Roses before adding the Belmont S., but the best was yet to come. Chenery was responsible for the breeding of Somethingroyal to Bold Ruler in 1969 and the resulting foal, named Secretariat, won seven of his nine starts at two in 1972, following his stablemate as champion 2-year-old. In 1973, Secretariat became the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter-century, punctuating the sequence with his towering 31-length success in the Belmont. In October 2010, the motion picture >Secretariat= premiered with actress Diane Lane cast as Chenery. Chenery herself had a cameo in the movie as a fan at the Belmont. Penny Chenery at her Laurel Hollow, NY home in 1973 Jerry Cooke/Getty Images Chenery enrolled in the Columbia Business School upon her return to the U.S. and was one of just 20 women in her class. During her time at Columbia, she met her future husband John Bayard Tweedy, whom she wed in 1949. For the better part of the next two decades, Chenery lived an unassuming life as a housewife and mother in Denver while immersing herself into social, charitable, civic, educational and political pursuits, from the Junior League to Planned Parenthood. She and her husband helped raise the initial capital for the Vail ski resort, where Jack was the first Board Chairman Penny Chenery celebrates Secretariat=s Triple Crown victory Neil Leifer/Getty Images and General Counsel, and Penny=s father was a major investor. Chenery=s father, who had founded Meadow Stable, took ill in In 1983, Chenery joined Martha Gerry and Allaire du Pont as the late 1960s and passed away in early 1973. Original plans the first women to be admitted as members of The Jockey Club called for the sale of Meadow Stable, which had become and served the industry in a variety of roles, including president unprofitable, but Chenery was keen on keeping a dream of her of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) father=s alive--namely a victory in the Kentucky Derby. She took and a member of the executive committee of the American over management of the racing stable, with the help of her Horse Council. She was also president of the Grayson-Jockey siblings, Margaret Carmichael and Hollis Chenery, and her Club Research Foundation and was a driving force behind the father=s business secretary, Elizabeth Ham. Under the guidance creation of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. In 2006, TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 16 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 she was the recipient of the prestigious Eclipse Award of Merit. In a testament to Chenery=s wide-reaching influence on the In 2012, Chenery was the Honor Guest of the Thoroughbred game as a whole, numerous racing personalities took to Twitter Club of America=s annual Testimonial Dinner. and other forms of social media to express remembrances and AI am just tickled to win this award,@ said Chenery of the reflections about her life Sunday. Eclipse Award of Merit. AI=ve had a wonderful time in racing, "Whether as the owner of Secretariat, the brilliant Triple with the fans, my peers, and of course, the horses. The greatest Crown Champion she campaigned nearly a half-century ago--or sight in racing is seeing your horse with your silks on coming as a leader and ambassador for the sport she loved--Penny down the stretch in the lead. The second greatest thing is seeing Chenery led an extraordinary life that touched Thoroughbred a foal born. That=s God=s gift to us.@ racing fans and others in a unique and personal way,@ said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. AThankfully, her legacy will live on for many generations to come." Chenery created the Secretariat Vox Populi Award annually honoring racing's most popular horse, as well as the Secretariat Foundation, which assists and supports various charities within Chenery is survived by four children: Sarah Manning, Chris the racing community. In recent years, she advocated for Tweedy, Kate Tweedy and John Tweedy; and by seven laminitis research and care advancement as well as efforts to grandchildren: Elena Grath, Alice McGrath, Chris Manning, ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs in racing, pledging Amanda Tweedy, Paige Tweedy, and Marcus Tweedy. her support to the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) as recently AWe are deeply proud of our mother, her accomplishments, as recently as 2016. and her courage,@ said daughter Kate Tweedy. AAs we mourn her loss, the example of her strength, her intelligence, and her enduring spirit continue to inspire us.@ While the family requests that its privacy be respected for an initial week of mourning, Lusky says that plans for a future public memorial service will be announced soon. AWe have always been overwhelmed and amazed by the love and support Mom received from her many fans,@ John Tweedy said. AWe look forward to a time soon when we can celebrate her life in a way that honors that legacy.@ In lieu of flowers, the Secretariat Foundation is offering special Penny Chenery Memorial fundraising projects on behalf of selected equine-related charities.