Penny Chenery Inducted to 2018 Hall of Fame 'Pillars of the Turf' Committee
PENNY CHENERY INDUCTED TO 2018 HALL OF FAME ‘PILLARS OF THE TURF’ COMMITTEE
One of Twelve Racing Luminaries Recognized by National Museum of Racing
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (May 23, 2018) — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Pillars of the Turf Committee has elected 12 new members to the Hall of Fame. The 2018 Pillars of the Turf inductees are: Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin, August Belmont I, Cot Campbell, Penny Chenery, John W. Galbreath, Arthur B. Hancock, Sr., Hal Price Headley, John Morrissey, Dr. Charles H. Strub, William Collins Whitney, Harry Payne Whitney and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney.
The 12 Pillars join the previously announced selections of the racehorses Heavenly Prize and Preakness and trainer William Lakeland in the class of 2018. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Aug. 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion. The event is open to the public and free to attend.
The Museum’s executive committee approved a measure in January allowing the Pillars of the Turf Committee to select as many as 12 inductees in both 2018 and 2019 to address the significant backlog of worthy candidates, as this Hall of Fame category was established only five years ago.
Chenery (1922-2017), a native of New Rochelle, N.Y., was a daughter of Christopher T. Chenery, founder of the famed Meadow Stud in Virginia. She successfully guided the family’s ancestral farm and racing stable through a period of uncertainty and led it to the highest ranks in the sport and business of thoroughbred racing. Chenery was raising a family in Colorado when her father’s health deteriorated to the point that Meadow Stud and the racing stable were threatened. She chose to take on the challenge and was foremost among Mr. Chenery’s children in her determination to continue operation of the breeding farm and racing stable. The champion Riva Ridge emerged to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont for Meadow Stable in 1972. That same year, Secretariat won his first of back-to-back Horse of the Year honors, helping to steady the Meadow operation. In 1973, Secretariat became a cultural phenomenon and won the Triple Crown, setting stakes records in each of the three races, including a 31-length victory in world-record time in the Belmont. Later that year, Secretariat was retired to Claiborne Farm, where he went on to sire Horse of the Year Lady’s Secret and Belmont winner Risen Star.
Chenery became a respected leader in the sport, serving as president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association from 1976 through 1984. She was also president of the Grayson Foundation and was welcomed into The Jockey Club in 1983. Chenery was a leading advocate for the health and welfare of retired thoroughbreds and served as a driving force behind the formation of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. In 2005, Chenery was voted the Eclipse Award of Merit and in 2012 was the Thoroughbred Club of America’s Honored Guest.
The Museum’s Pillars of the Turf Committee is comprised of D. G. Van Clief (chairman), Edward L. Bowen, Bob Curran, Jane Goldstein, Ken Grayson, Jay Hovdey, G. Watts Humphrey, Bill Marshall, Daisy Phipps Pulito, Barry Schwartz, Mary Simon, Stella Thayer and Gary West. For more information about the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, please visit www.racingmuseum.org.
