Penny Chenery, First Lady of Racing, Dies at 95

[George II]

Source: BloodHorse

Owner of Secretariat was an ambassador to the sport.

By BloodHorse Staff Today, 2:33 PM

Helen "Penny" Chenery, owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat and a well-loved figure in her own right as a champion of Thoroughbreds and women in business and sports, died Sept. 16, in her Colorado home following complications from a stroke. She was 95.

Chenery's children announced her death through Leonard Lusky, her longtime friend and business partner.

Following Secretariat's retirement from racing, Chenery became an ambassador for Thoroughbred racing and remained so, even after the champion's death in 1989. She served as the first female president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

She became one of the first women admitted to The Jockey Club, helped found the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and 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. Chenery received the 2006 Eclipse Award of Merit for lifetime contributions to the Thoroughbred industry, and 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.

Read more: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/223650/penny-chenery-first-lady-of-racing-dies-at-95

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Aside from her horse ownership, she was very active in a number of charitable organizations almost to the end.

From the article, "She threw herself into every social, charitable, civic, educational and political pursuit to which a respectable housewife* was allowed, from the Junior League to Planned Parenthood."

She was a wonderful, loyal person. She'll be missed.

*sounds derogatory but remember this was the 1940s and 1950s!

[MuseRider]

1. Awww she did live long

but it is still sad.

I loathe what horse racing has become and will not watch it anymore but I think it was quite a lot different then. It sounds like she was trying to change some of that. She certainly knew her horses.

[Corgigal]

2. Met her at the secretariat festival

Very nice lady, she did a lot for us secretariat lovers. He has a beautiful statue at the horse park in Lexington Kentucky because of her funding. Thanks Mrs. Chenery.

[George II]

4. She did so much for racing charities, and general charities too....

....(like working for Planned Parenthood in the 1940s!)

For decades she attended the Belmont Stakes and worked at a booth near the paddock with Ron Turcotte, signing autographs to benefit racing charities. The last time I was at the Belmont Stakes was in 2010, and even at 87 years old was still doing it.

[shenmue]

3. Rest in peace

[hamsterjill]

5. I thought it was great when she congratulated Baffert on his triple

A special club, of course.

My sympathies to her family and friends.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. I remember her as Penny Tweedy back then.

Rest in Peace, sweet lady. You were one-of-a-kind.

[Bayard]

8. That's what I thought!

She used to be Penny Tweedy.

[jaysunb]

7. Classy Lady RIP n/t