Bill Text: VA HJR205 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Secretariat Racing Into History.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-29 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ205ER) [HJR205 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR205-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Town of Ashland will unveil Secretariat Racing Into History, a statue dedicated to one of the greatest racehorses in the history of the sport, Virginia's own Secretariat, who won the coveted American Triple Crown in 1973; and
WHEREAS, Secretariat, also known as Big Red, was foaled and raised on a farm in Caroline County by his owner and breeder Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery, who famously received the horse as the result of a coin toss between her and her fellow stable owner and breeding partner Ogden Phipps; and
WHEREAS, Penny Chenery's father, Christopher Chenery, grew up in Ashland, attended Randolph-Macon College, and founded the nearby Meadow Stable, where Secretariat was born in 1970; and
WHEREAS, with his exceptional size and strength, Secretariat impressed immediately and appeared destined for racing greatness; he won every race with the exception of his debut and a disqualification in his first year of racing and would go on to earn 1972 Horse of the Year honors; and
WHEREAS, in his second year of racing at age three, Secretariat became the first thoroughbred since 1948 to win the American Triple Crown, along with the unprecedented feat of breaking track records in all three races; and
WHEREAS, Secretariat's 1973 campaign included a track record time of 1:59 2/5 at the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 1973, a stakes record at the Preakness Stakes with a time of 1:53 on May 19, and included an American record for 1 1/2 miles on dirt with a time of 2:24 at the Belmont Stakes on June 9; and
WHEREAS, Secretariat was a celebrated icon of his day, leading news headlines and appearing on the covers of several major publications, bringing new fans and attention to the sport of horse racing; and
WHEREAS, Secretariat had been syndicated for a record-breaking $6.08 million at the beginning of his third year and would later appear in the pedigree of several other champion racehorses, becoming the leading broodmare sire in 1992; the two most recent Triple Crown winners, American Pharaoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018, were descendants of Secretariat; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown victory was celebrated throughout the Commonwealth and the United States; and
WHEREAS, in February 2024, the Town of Ashland accepted a magnificent 3,500-pound bronze statute by sculptor Jocelyn Russell, Secretariat Racing Into History, which will be placed at Reynolds Family Plaza, a planned park at the intersection of England Street and Railroad Avenue; and
WHEREAS, the Secretariat Racing Into History statue toured several racing tracks in 2023 and will be the first permanent monument to Secretariat located in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the momentous occasion was made possible through the Secretariat for Virginia Committee, which is chaired by Kate Chenery Tweedy, the daughter of Penny Chenery and granddaughter of Christopher Chenery, who brought her family's legacy full circle by facilitating the monument's placement in Ashland; and
WHEREAS, Secretariat Racing Into History will stand as an emblem of Secretariat's excellence, a gleaming beacon for regional tourism, and a dramatic focal point for educating the public about the region's illustrious history in horse racing; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Secretariat Racing Into History, a monument to the achievements and legacy of one of the Commonwealth's greatest athletes; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Town of Ashland as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the significance of the Secretariat Racing Into History monument as a symbol of the high regard in which Secretariat is held by the horse racing community to this day.
