Secretariat's Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend

On March 30, 1970, Secretariat drew his first breath in a little white foaling shed on a historic farm called The Meadow in Caroline County, Virginia. Three years later he would leave the nation breathless as he captured the Triple Crown, setting supersonic track records and giving a dispirited nation a new American hero.

Much has been written about Secretariat’s spectacular racing career and a major feature film by Disney about the great racehorse will soon be in theatres. However, the complete story of Secretariat’s Virginia birthplace and the Chenery family who raised and raced him has never been told...until now. Secretariat’s Meadow –The Land, The Family, The Legend is by Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Penny Chenery (Tweedy) and granddaughter of Christopher T. Chenery, who founded the Thoroughbred farm in 1936.

An author and family historian, Kate Tweedy collaborated with Leeanne Meadows Ladin, a Virginia writer, to tell not only Secretariat’s story but the saga of an enduring piece of land where an “empire built on broodmares” produced an immortal son. Penny Chenery wrote the foreword to Secretariat’s Meadow and shared over 200 exclusive photos from her private collection for the 160-page pictorial history. The narrative is enriched by Kate’s vivid recollections of The Meadow as a child and her eyewitness account of the magic and the mayhem surrounding her mother and “Big Red” during the Triple Crown races in 1973. This book will appeal to horse lovers and history buffs alike.

The book website is secretariatsmeadow.com, which links to the book’s Facebook page. The authors’ “Barnstorming Book Tour” blog is at secretariatsmeadowblog.wordpress.com. You can listen to author book discussions at blogtalkradio.com/freereinradio.