The 2017 Big Sport of Turfdom award, which recognizes a person or group of people who enhance coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists, will be presented posthumously to Penny Chenery, the Turf Publicists of America announced Monday.
Chenery, the owner of 1973 Triple Crown hero Secretariat, philanthropist, and one of the industry's preeminent figures for five decades, won in a vote determined by the nearly 150 active members of the TPA, a trade organization of Thoroughbred racing publicists and marketing executives. She was also the winner of the Big Sport of Turfdom award in 1973.
“Mrs. Chenery was such an ambassador for our sport and was so incredibly generous in sharing of herself and the legacy of Secretariat all these many years to the media and fans alike,” said TPA President Rhonda Norby. “It is most fitting that she has been awarded the Big Sport of Turfdom a second time to bookend her incredible contributions to racing.”
The award will be presented to Chenery's daughter, Kate Tweedy, at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's annual awards luncheon Dec. 5.
“This honor is such an appropriate way to remember Mom's devotion to racing and to its fans,” Tweedy said. “Like the TPA, she believed in sharing the excitement of racing. She would be thrilled to be recognized once again in this way.”
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