Remembering a Great Horse
My hometown welcomes Secretariat back for good
I got back to Ashland just in time.
Secretariat was born after I left, but Hanover County is welcoming home its native son.
Born of a carefully arranged marriage (politely put) at nearby “The Meadow” in 1970, Secretariat won the Triple Crown when I was long grown and he was three. While at it he set speed records in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Preakness.
Secretariat has spawned movies, TV shows, stories and a few statues; the above is surely #1. A bronze by Jocelyn Russell it shows Secretariat with jockey Ron Turcotte winning the Kentucky Derby.
‘Racing into History’ has recently been on a 50th anniversary tour, but now the extraordinary horse is home again. In the center of Ashland VA, widely known as the Center of the Universe. On the campus of Randolph-Macon College, in time for a rare visit of my own.
Happy homecoming to us, Secretariat.
