Penny Chenery
Penny Chenery | |
---|---|
Born | Helen Bates Chenery January 27, 1922 |
Died | September 16, 2017 | (aged 95)
Education | Smith College (BA) Columbia University |
Occupation(s) | Racehorse owner Breeder |
Known for | Secretariat Riva Ridge |
Board member of | Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association |
Spouse(s) |
John Bayard Tweedy
(m. 1949, divorced 1974)Lennart Ringquist (divorced)[2] |
Children | 4 |
Parent | Christopher Chenery |
Relatives | Hollis B. Chenery (brother) Margaret Emily Chenery Carmichael (sister) |
Honors | The Arlington Park Penny Chenery Distinguished Woman in Racing Award Eclipse Award of Merit (2006) Smith College Medal (2009) U.S. Racing Hall of Fame - Pillars of the Turf (2018) |
Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery (January 27, 1922 – September 16, 2017) (married names: Penny Tweedy until 1974 and later Penny Ringquist until 1980) was an American sportswoman who bred and owned
Early life
Penny Chenery was born in 1922 in
Chenery had a love of horses from a young age, and learned to ride at age five. Believing her appreciation for horses was inherited from her father, Chenery stated, "My father really loved horses. I think a parent often communicates his love to a child." She shared many of her father's interests and goals, including business. She attended the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, a prestigious girls' boarding school with an equestrian program. Chenery was captain of the Equestrian Team in her senior year. Following her graduation, she attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, majoring in American Studies.[5]
Career
After graduating in 1943, Chenery worked as an assistant for
When Chenery returned from Europe in 1946, her father was concerned that she had no employable skills, so he offered to pay her the equivalent of the highest job offer she could get if she would go to graduate school instead. Chenery decided to attend Columbia Business School where she was one of 20 women in a class of 800 men. At Columbia, she met John (Jack) Bayard Tweedy. At her parents' suggestion, she dropped out of school a few months short of her MBA to marry Jack. They moved to Denver, Colorado, where he practiced oil and gas law. They had four children: Sarah, Kate, Christopher, and John Jr. The Tweedys spent much of their time in Vail, Colorado because Jack Tweedy was one of the former members of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II who founded Vail Ski Resort in the early 1960s. He was later Chairman of the Board of Vail Associates.[4]
Chenery's life changed when her mother died suddenly and her father became ill in late 1967. He entered
Although Penny Chenery gets the credit for managing Secretariat's racing career, Christopher Chenery was the genius behind the matching of Somethingroyal and Bold Ruler to produce Secretariat. In 1965 he set up the deal by which two Meadow mares would be bred annually to top sire Bold Ruler, owned by Ogden Phipps. Each year the owners would flip for the right to choose among the foals. The Meadow sent their best mare Somethingroyal to Bold Ruler several times and had already produced a stakes winner, Syrian Sea, a full sister to Secretariat. In 1969, Penny Chenery who by then managed Meadow Stable, lost the coin toss. This gave her the right to first choice of the foals in 1970, but that year there was only one foal: Secretariat.[6]
After Secretariat, Chenery continued to breed and race horses under the Meadow silks with her greatest success coming in Saratoga Dew, who became the first New York-bred horse ever to win an Eclipse Award when the filly was voted the 1992 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.[7]
Accomplishments and accolades
In 1983, Chenery,
In 2003, the Arlington Park track established the annual "Penny Chenery Distinguished Woman in Racing Award". In 2006, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association honored her with the Eclipse Award of Merit for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in thoroughbred racing. In 2009, she was awarded the Smith College Medal for extraordinary professional achievement and outstanding service to her community.[9]
In 2018, The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame named Ms. Chenery a Pillar of the Turf, the highest honor given to owners and breeders of Thoroughbreds.[10]
Personal life and death
Chenery moved from Colorado to Long Island, New York, in 1972. She and John Tweedy divorced in 1974. In 1976, she married Lennart Ringquist, an executive in the motion pictures industry, divorcing in 1980.[6] She moved to Lexington, Kentucky in the early 1990s and in 2005 moved to Boulder, Colorado to spend her final years near her children.[4]
Penny Chenery died on September 16, 2017, at her home in Boulder, Colorado from complications from a stroke. She was 95 years old.[6]
Depictions in media
Chenery was portrayed by actress Diane Lane in the 2010 motion picture Secretariat, released on October 8, 2010. Chenery herself appeared in a cameo role in the film as a spectator at the Belmont Stakes. She was the subject of several books and articles as well as the 2013 documentary Penny and Red (Landlocked Films) made by filmmaker John Tweedy.
References
- ^ https://www.Kentucky.com/entertainment/movies one esq reviews/article44444970.html
- ^ Christine, Bill. "Penny Chenery's life, unscripted". Daily Racing Form. September 30, 2010.
- ^ nl.newsbank.com
- ^ ISBN 978-0-982-7019-0-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-982-7019-0-4.
- ^ a b c Goldstein, Richard (September 17, 2017). "Penny Chenery, Owner of the Triple Crown Winner Secretariat, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Horse racing.about.com
- ^ cs.bloodhorse.com - 2009-09-15
- ^ "Five Accomplished Smith Alumnae to be Honored on Rally Day 2009". Smith College. September 24, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Announces 12 New Pillars of the Turf". Thoroughbred Daily News. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
Further reading
- Chenery Tweedy, Kate; Meadows Ladin, Leeanne; Dementi, Wayne (2010). Secretariat's Meadow--The Land, The Family, The Legend. Dementi Milestone Publishing. ISBN 978-0-982-7019-0-4.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81133-3.
External links
- Penny Chenery at IMDb
- Secretariat.com - Penny Chenery
- The story of Secretariat on YouTube
- Video interview with Penny Chenery about Secretariat
- Video interview with Penny Chenery's Children about Secretariat
- Penny Chenery, owner of Triple Crown winner Secretariat, dies at 95
- Penny Chenery: Mentor, Leader, Supernatural Horsewoman, Klingon Warrior by Marion Altieri 2017