Groundshaker
The Last Horse Bred and Raced by Meadow Stable
Born on February 14, 2011 Groundshaker was the last horse bred and raced by Secretariat's renowned owner Penny Chenery, and the last to carry the famed blue and white colors of the Meadow Racing Stable.
A great-great-granddaughter of Big Red himself out of her Meadow Stable homebred dam Cotton Anne, Groundshaker descends from Secretariat via his distinguished daughter Terlingua and her well-bred son by Mr. Prospector — Pioneering. Groundshaker was sired by the popular stallion Quiet American, whose most famous progeny was Real Quiet, winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness before placing second in the Belmont Stakes by a nose, denying him his place in history as a Triple Crown champion.
A 2011 Valentine's Day baby, Groundshaker was born at Glenary Farm near Lexington, Kentucky and was originally named "Annie Get Your Run" in honor of Ms. Chenery's close friends Anne and Cot Campbell.
Never-before-published photos of Groundshaker as a foal and her dam Cotton Anne at Glenary Farm in Kentucky.
However, when the sweet-natured bay filly grew up to be a massive 17 hands she was then aptly renamed "Groundshaker." A series of minor ailments and setbacks delayed her racing debut until her 4-year-old season.
In 2015, racing in the name of the Meadow Stable and partner Leonard Lusky and trained by Jonathan Sheppard, whom Ms. Chenery greatly admired, Groundshaker had a very brief career consisting of only two unplaced efforts in maiden company on the Atlantic coast circuit. Not all horses are destined for the winner's circle and she was retired from racing in 2016, rather than being bred. Groundshaker was then moved to The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia, located on the very land where Secretariat was foaled and raised. Despite Groundshaker's less-than-stellar accomplishments on the track, here she was considered racing royalty and treated accordingly, greeting guests and being admired by thousands of visitors during her nearly five years there.
Penny Chenery, whose father Christopher T. Chenery established the Meadow Stable in 1936, said it was only fitting for Groundshaker to play this role in the ongoing preservation of The Meadow's heritage.
“Groundshaker needed a new job and a new home,” said Mrs. Chenery in 2016. “She is the last horse I bred and raced, so her stay at The Meadow will bring our story full circle. As we mark the 80th anniversary of my father’s founding of Meadow Stable, Groundshaker will be a living, breathing, beautiful thread to that treasured past.”
"Groundshaker needed a new job and a new home. She is the last horse I bred and raced, so her stay at The Meadow will bring our story full circle... a living, breathing, beautiful thread to that treasured past.
~Penny Chenery
Groundshaker posing at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia.
Following the rise of Covid and the subsequent shuttering of the Meadow Event Park tourism program, Groundshaker returned to Kentucky in 2021. She now resides not far from where she was born at the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited Old Friends farm. Established by Michael Blowen in 2003, Old Friends offers a dignified retirement for over 130 former racehorses and breeding stallions at their Lexington facility.
"Groundshaker’s arrival at Old Friends was sensational," said Blowen. "She’s a lot like Penny. Self-assured, modest and self-effacing but there’s no question about who’s in charge. Just ask her paddock mate, Silver Charm’s daughter, Private Charm. And, if anyone is thinking about a birthday present, she adores Mrs. Pasture’s cookies."
Taking her place amongst the farm's other celebrity equine retirees — including a trio of Kentucky Derby winners: Silver Charm, Big Brown and I'll Have Another — Groundshaker now enjoys her daily splendor in the Bluegrass.
"[Groundshaker] is a lot like Penny. Self-assured, modest and self-effacing but there’s no question about who’s in charge."
~Michael Blowen, Founder of Old Friends Farm
Groundshaker now enjoying her retirement at Old Friends Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.
Old Friends will be open for 2026 tours beginning on March 9. Learn more and find out how you can visit this luminary mare and other beloved Thoroughbreds in retirement, visit the Old Friends website.