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From: Caroline County, Virginia
Board of Supervisors
Re: Movie About Local Native Son Secretariat
Date August 9, 2007
Percy Ashcraft, County Administrator



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Jim Gaffney, the exercise rider for Caroline County’s legendary Triple Crown winner, Secretariat, has alerted County officials that the Disney corporation is in pre production for a movie about the great thoroughbred, “Big Red”. Jim Gaffney has been approached by Disney to lend his technical support to the project.

The movie is to be based on the book by sports writer, Bill Nack, Secretariat: the Making of a Champion. Both Gaffney and Nack have been frequent guests of Caroline County, participating in commemorative events sponsored by the Board of Supervisors.

As the movie and entertainment trade publication, Variety, recently reported the details:

“Disney has nabbed the rights to the life story of Penny Chenery, owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Pic will be scripted by Mike Rich and produced by Mayhem Pictures' Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray. The trio have collaborated before in respective roles on inspirational sports films "The Rookie," "Miracle" and "Radio." Rich also scripted religious drama "The Nativity Story."

Chenery, known as the "first lady of racing," owned a thoroughbred breeding business that introduced Secretariat to the racing world. The dominant horse became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, taking the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. In 1974, Secretariat was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and ESPN has listed him at 35th on its list of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century, one of only three nonhumans on the list.”

Caroline County has been busy over the last six years to rejuvenate the image of Secretariat in the minds of racing fans and citizens of the Commonwealth. In 2003 the County honored Secretariat’s 30th Anniversary of his breaking all of the Triple Crown racing records (in spite of the broken official clock at Maryland’s Preakness Stakes). Attending was Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, Jockey, Ron Turcotte, and exercise rider, Jim Gaffney. Other events have been held at the Virginia Bazaar and Meadow Farm.

The County approved a rezoning of Secretariat’s birthplace, Meadow Farm on Rt. 30, to be used as the grounds for the State Fair of Virginia, and to keep the property intact as a memorial to the County’s great racing champion. The property was threatened to be sold in ten acre lots had the State Fair not purchased the property. Within the proffers the State Fair offered the County was a museum or display honoring Secretariat.

Prior to the Fair’s purchase of the Meadow, the Board of Supervisors created a non-profit corporation to create a museum to Secretariat and acted as the corporation’s first Board of Trustees. The corporation was turned over to a stellar group of equine leaders in Virginia and that group has been the creative core to create a museum at the State Fair Grounds honoring Secretariat and all Virginia horses. Among the new Trustees for the museum is Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery.

The State Fair with its tradition of equine events and agricultural displays, and educational mission was the ideal location for the Secretariat museum at Meadow Farm.

The State Fair will be up and running (2008) by the release of the Secretariat movie, likely in 2009. The Fair will also be in operation during the 35th Anniversary year of Secretariat’s Triple Crown victories. The county is already in conversation with the Fair regarding commemorative events in 2008.

Contact for Information:
Gary Wilson, Director
Caroline County, Department of Economic Development
804.633.4074
gwilson@co.caroline.va.us