The First Lady of American Racing, Helen Bates ‘Penny’ Chenery, who bred and raced 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, passed away Saturday at the age of 95 following complications from a stroke. 

Born Jan. 22, 1922, in New Rochelle, New York, Chenery was immediately enamored with and was riding horses as early as age five.

“I had the horse bug,” Chenery said recalled. 

Chenery’s father, who had founded Meadow Stable, took ill in the late 1960s and passed away in early 1973. She took over management of the racing stable, with the help of her siblings, Margaret Carmichael and Hollis Chenery, and her father’s business secretary, Elizabeth Ham. Under the guidance of trainer Lucien Laurin, Meadow Stable’s 1971 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile Riva Ridge turned those dreams into reality in the 1972 Run for the Roses before adding the Belmont Stakes. 

Though Christopher Chenery’s Meadow Stud was the official breeder of the great Secretariat, although the breeding was actually planned by Penny Chenery. She entered into a unique foal-sharing arrangement to breed two mares each in 1968 and 1969 to Claiborne Farm’s Bold Ruler, owned by the Phipps family. If two foals were produced, the Phipps family would retain one and the mare owner the other, with a coin flip to decide first pick. Chenery sent Somethingroyal (Princequillo) to be bred to Bold Riler in both years and the foal-sharing agreement between the two parties stipulated that the winner would receive first choice of the foals of 1969 while the loser would get first pick of those foaled in 1970. The coin toss took place in the fall of 1969 in the office of A.G. Vanderbilt, then chairman of the New York Racing Association, with Claiborne’s Arthur ‘Bull’ Hancock serving as witness. Ogden Phipps won the coin toss and selected Somethingroyal’s foal of 1969. A filly named The Bride, she never won a race. Chenery left with the rights to Somethingroyal’s as-yet unborn produce, a colt foaled Mar. 30, 1970 who would become Secretariat.

The Big Red won seven of his nine starts at two in 1972. In 1973, Secretariat became the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter-century, punctuating the sequence with his towering 31-length success in the Belmont. In October 2010, the motion picture ‘Secretariat’ premiered with actress Diane Lane cast as Chenery. Chenery herself had a cameo in the movie as a fan at the Belmont.

For Penny Chenery, Secretariat's Triple Crown spring was also a season of love.

In a new documentary film produced by her son, John Tweedy, Chenery reveals that during the 1973 campaign she had an affair with her champion racehorse's trainer, Lucien Laurin.

The Life of Secretariat's Owner premiered Friday at Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Lexington to kick off Paris' annual Secretariat Festival, a celebration of the horse's achievements and a chance for fans to talk to Chenery and others linked to Secretariat.

Chenery said of Secretariat, "The greatest sight in racing is seeing your horse with your silks on coming down the stretch in the lead. The second greatest thing is seeing a foal born. That’s God’s gift to us.”

Chenery created the Secretariat Vox Populi Award annually honoring racing’s most popular horse, as well as the Secretariat Foundation, which assists and supports various charities within the racing community.

Secretariat died Oct. 4, 1989 after a battle with laminitis and is buried at Claiborne. In recent years, she advocated for laminitis research and care advancement as well as efforts to ban the use of performance-enhancing drugs in racing, pledging her support to the Water Hay Oats Alliance as recently as recently as 2016.

“Whether as the owner of Secretariat, the brilliant Triple Crown Champion she campaigned nearly a half-century ago–or as a leader and ambassador for the sport she loved–Penny Chenery led an extraordinary life that touched Thoroughbred racing fans and others in a unique and personal way,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “Thankfully, her legacy will live on for many generations to come.”

“We have always been overwhelmed and amazed by the love and support Mom received from her many fans,” her son John Tweedy said. “We look forward to a time soon when we can celebrate her life in a way that honors that legacy.”

Claiborne’s Dell Hancock reflected on Chenery "She was a beautiful woman, very well spoken and she did a great deal for our sport through her wonderful racehorse and more.”

The Secretariat Foundation is offering special Penny Chenery Memorial fundraising projects on behalf of selected equine-related charities. For details, visit Secretariat.com.