Chenery Celebrated at Keeneland

by Jen Roytz

Racing industry professionals and fans came together Monday in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion to honor the life and legacy of Helen “Penny” Chenery who, at the age of 95, passed away Sept. 16, the birthday of her beloved father Christopher Chenery, founder of Meadow Stable.

Emceed by former jockey and NBC horseracing analyst Donna Brothers, the celebration of Chenery's life and legacy featured heartfelt stories and tributes by John Tweedy, Sally Hill, Kenny Rice, Amy Zimmerman, Charlie Davis, Dell Hancock, Pat Day and Kate Tweedy.

Known by millions for the exuberance and candor she displayed during Secretariat's storied career, the accounts given by her family and friends gave insight into someone who attained celebrity status in both horse racing circles and in the eyes of the mainstream public, but also offered glimpses of Chenery that few were afforded the opportunity to see. NBC sportscaster Kenny Rice reminisced about watching on television as a teenager as Secretariat left his mark on history, and also being taken by the “everyday housewife-looking” owner celebrating and offering witty interviews about her larger-than-life horse. Throughout his career, Rice interviewed Chenery on several occasions and the two had developed a camaraderie and friendship over the years.

“She had the rare ability to make a casual acquaintance, a stranger, a friend, feel like the most important person in the room when you met her…I really believe Penny would have been the first female president if she had chosen to run in the 70s. Then again, she had too much honor and dignity for politics,” said Rice. “It was indeed a special gift that she possessed…I truly think his legacy would have been different had Penny been different.”

The service also included several video montages of Secretariat's career and Chenery's cherished role as the ambassador for his legacy.

“I really felt that racing was going to lose if we didn't loosen up and include the fans,” said Chenery in a clip from an interview she once did with journalist and friend, William Nack. “The horse can't talk, and I can, so it's my job to let the people into my world so they could share the excitement.”

Her friends remembered her as a trail blazer and trend-setter in the most lauded sense of the phrase, inspiring throngs of young girls to not only follow horse racing as avid fans, but to pursue careers in, what was at the time, an overwhelmingly male-dominated sport.

“For us [young girls], we never knew a time when women weren't in racing because of a woman named Penny Chenery,” said Amy Zimmerman, NBC television producer and Vice President of Business Coordination at Santa Anita, who developed a friendship with Chenery over her career after sending her a letter about Secretariat as a child and receiving a photograph of him from Chenery in return.

Chenery's family was on hand as well, sharing with the audience glimpses of Chenery not as “Penny,” but as their mother.

“In her last week, we were lucky to share many heartfelt words, and I think we shared everything we needed to say,” said Kate Tweedy, Chenery's youngest daughter and, in her later years, her traveling partner.

She spoke of the many lessons learned from her mother, recounting what she and her siblings felt was her mantra.

“If you were going to do something, make the most of it. If you were going to dress up, make a classy statement. If you were going to speak, you might as well choose precise and memorable words. If you were going to run a racing stable, you might as well learn all you can about the business and show up in the cold dawn for morning workouts, you might as well choose the best people to work with and you might as well demand top performances from them,” said Tweedy. “It was a heck of a lesson for a mother to teach her kids, and as you heard today, it was a legacy that resonated all across her large acquaintance.”

HOW MEADOW STABLES' GRAND DAME CHANGED MY LIFE by Carly Silver

Growing up, the life of horsewoman Penny Chenery, of Secretariat and Riva Ridge fame, was as far from mine as possible. While she was born into a world in which the surnames Hancock, Phipps, and Whitney were bandied about with ease, I–a suburban Connecticut '90s baby who had never so much as set foot in Kentucky–felt a feverish desire to connect with the elusive world of the Bluegrass. I was clueless as to how to grasp the mirage in the distance–but from the first time I picked up Raymond Woolf's beautifully illustrated Secretariat at ten, I could sense a kindred spirit bubbling up from the glossy pages.

Obstacle after obstacle reared its ugly head, placing themselves squarely in Penny's path. There were personal tragedies, ranging from the death of her father to the breakdown of her marriage; furthermore, in the 1970s, many looked askance at a woman running a prominent stable. But Penny always found another gear, surging forward to close the seemingly endless gap between her and the success she craved. She immersed herself in the world of the Meadow, learning about the industry at the knee of trainer Lucien Laurin and Arthur “Bull” Hancock Jr., legendary master of Claiborne Farm. At home, in my parents' Connecticut living room, I armed myself with thick reference books with names like Edward L. Bowen, Abram S. Hewitt, and the Blood-Horse emblazoned across embossed front covers.

As Penny hung on fiercely to her father's legacy, I resisted every attempt made to dissuade me that this passion was one I'd never use. In my adolescence, I joined “Kids to the Cup,” run by the late horsewoman Trudy McCaffrey. The organization took horse-loving youngsters behind the scenes of major races across the country and introduced them to all aspects of the sport. After War Emblem captured the 2002 GI Preakness S., Bob Baffert put the trophy on his head in the winner's circle. When I asked him why, the caustic conditioner quipped, “Because I'm a damn fool.”

Suddenly, next to me was soft-spoken Bobby Frankel, just as shyly confident as I'd imagined, or the venerable Bob and Beverly Lewis, whose hands I shook with reverence reserved for monarchs.

Two of the most familiar figures I came across were Charlsie Cantey, then a commentator for NBC Sports, and renowned turf journalist Steve Haskin. My journalist mother advised me to take their business cards–the words you never know echoed throughout our conversations–and I proceeded to forge ahead with Penny-like chutzpah. In spring 2004, I conducted an exhaustive study of the pedigree of one Smarty Jones, then a graded stakes-winning, up-and-coming Derby contender. Something about the Pennsylvania-bred reminded me of both Penny and myself–he boasted the hint of blue blood and the grit of a Chenery, complemented by the out-of-left-field talent and hard-grinding determination of a Silver.

After synthesizing my findings–Smarty had the quick-footed Elusive Quality as a sire and a female family tracing to the immortal broodmare La Troienne–I compiled my findings in an article, which I then e-mailed to both Steve and Charlsie. And when the diminutive chestnut colt rocketed down the Churchill Downs stretch on the first Saturday in May, 2004, no one screamed themselves hoarser than one bespectacled 13-year-old in a Connecticut family room. Soon after, an e-mail from two of my own heroes popped into my AOL inbox, exclaiming, “Well done, young lady!”

Later that month, as a young pedigree pundit, I began writing my first regular series of article features: a column called “Teen Tracks” for BloodHorse.com, which ran through the mid-2000s.

As I write this, I have just turned 27. I have spent more than half of my life in the pursuit of Thoroughbreds. The Tweedy family and the world just conducted a public ceremony of Penny's life at Keeneland; as it has so many times before, my heart will canter down to the Bluegrass in support. Penny's memorial inspires me to rededicate myself to my passion, to set lofty goals and work endlessly until I meet them.

That pattern has never changed…From those humble afternoons spent poring over weighty volumes–which I still own and consult–I now regularly write for leading industry publications, attend races all over the world, and most importantly, have achieved a well-balanced life. As soon as I leave my job five days a week, I remove my editor cap and don the helmet of a horse racing journalist, entering the world of Thoroughbreds virtually and connecting with a love that still runs true. So, although we were always worlds apart, in the end, her inspiration has meant that truly little separated us in the end.