Diane Lane and Penny Chenery as Grand Marshalls
Louisville, Ky (April 10, 2010) — The Kentucky Derby Festival is pleased to announce that actress Diane Lane and Secretariat owner Penny Chenery will serve as Grand Marshals of the 2010 Republic Bank Pegasus Parade on Thursday, April 29. Retired jockey Ron Turcotte, who rode Secretariat to horse racing’s Triple Crown in 1973, will also be honored in the Parade. Lane, an Academy Award-nominated actress, portrays Penny Chenery in the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures’ film, “Secretariat,” scheduled to be released in October. Turcotte rode Secretariat to victory in the 1973 Kentucky Derby in a still-standing track record time of 1:59 2/5.
“The Kentucky Derby Festival is absolutely thrilled to have acclaimed actress Diane Lane and horse racing luminaries Penny Chenery and Ron Turcotte serve as Grand Marshals of the Pegasus Parade,” said Mike Berry, President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival. “We’re very excited about collaborating with Walt Disney Studios to celebrate the release of ‘Secretariat,’ which tells the story of Penny Chenery’s unlikely rise to fame as owner of arguably the greatest Thoroughbred race horse of all time. Diane, Penny and Ron have become fast friends over the course of filming this movie and it will be wonderful to have them in the parade. The legendary Secretariat will also be saluted in the parade by the appearance of a large inflatable balloon, custom-designed in the horse’s likeness and racing colors.”
Diane Lane has been a major motion picture actress since 1979, when she appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in the film, “A Little Romance.” She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in the 2002 movie, “Unfaithful,” for which she received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress. Chenery, 88, was the breeder and owner of the legendary Secretariat, as well as 1972 Kentucky Derby winner Riva Ridge. From 1976 to 1984, she served as president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Turcotte, a member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame, rode Secretariat to victories in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, as well as guiding Riva Ridge to victories in the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
The Pegasus Parade – the Derby Festival’s founding event – is one of the more than seventy events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The first parade was organized by just a handful of volunteers in 1956 on a budget of $640. The Derby Festival is now an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation.
Mark Ciardi, Randall Wallace, Secretariat's exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney and actress Diane Lane in the Belmont paddock.
