Justify has been retired

[Carole Hanson]

Well I mean considering Penny Tweedy/Chennery had Riva Ridge almost win the Triple Crown the year before and Secretariat became HOY and champion 2yo all in one I'm sure she was fine And then when Secretariat was off winning the Triple Crown, Riva Ridge was a top older horse.


ETA: I see Stormy beat me to it

[Anne Conradt]

Who really knows--other than banks and financial institutions? And, they certainly aren't going to give it up.

The only way to find out would be from her. She is one of the few living from back then, after all.

I had a friend Fedex me the documentary she and her son made. "Penny and Red"

I got nothing from her interviews in that doc which indicated she was having financial difficulties at the time.

The only thing I got out of that, from her words, that was a little earth-shaking was the affair with her trainer, Lucien Lauren. Even when I heard her say it, I found it hard to believe. But, there it was.

I can't believe it never came out at the time. But, then again, I think I was only surprised because I was trying to imagine a world without social media. What people do behind closed doors should be their business ... and their power ... to air out or not. It shouldn't be the business of twitter, or facebook, or snapchat, or instagram ... or whichever X,Y, Z company wants to make money off gossip.

If she wants to air it out now, I say all the more power to her.

She said in other interviews that she thought people knew about the affair back then. They would see her car at Lauren's office all night; but she said even she was surprised no one ever said a word.

You know, when you think about it, it probably would NOT have been in horse racing's best interest to have their media darling golden girl's dirty laundry aired back then. She wielded a lot of press power. She was articulate, and intelligent, and she had a way with language. That brought a lot of new people ... and not just women ... to the sport.

She seems to be at peace with everything now, and that's all that counts. She did a lot for a sport we love.

Besides ... let's face it. She's 90+ years old and worth about 11 million and change ... and she probably doesn't give a rat's behind about what people know and what people don't know.

If she was going to talk about their affair ... I'm sure she would have had no problem whatsoever talking about financial difficulties back then.

It's a non-starter for her, because she certainly doesn't owe anyone now. That's for sure.

I came out of it liking her more now than I did before I saw or read anything else about her.

[Fanta Arcadia]

Her financial difficulties were a conglomeration of issues with the farm. As her father fell ill he wasn't replacing stock and they were spending/losing more than they were making among other things. Then when he finally passed away she had to syndicate Secretariat (hence why he retired at 3) and Riva Ridge, as well as sell horses like Capito (I think was the one) and many of their mares to pay off massive estate/inheritance taxes.

I doubt Penny is going to say anything more about an affair since she passed away last year. Even then her marriage at the time was incredibly rocky as she was bouncing back and forth from Colorado to where ever she was needed and at important races. It really put a strain on her and her husband, if you ever get the chance read Secretariat by Bill Nack.

Claiborne Farm went through the exact same thing when Bull Hancock died, around the same time, and Seth Hancock was named his successor. However, Claiborne was raising to sell for quite some time due to the decisions of the board set into place until Seth was deemed ready to take control completely. Seth eventually approached the board with the idea of starting to race again since they were raising really nice stock, and not long after that they got their first Kentucky Derby winner in Swale.

[Anne Conradt]

She passed? I didn't even know that. I don't keep up.

And, Claiborne went through the same thing? DIdn't know that either.

Thanks, Fanta. I think I will definitely read that book.

[Fanta Arcadia]

It was around September of last year, I believe.

They sure did, in fact they went through it right before Penny Chenery did. In Nack's book the last time Chenery saw Bull Hancock was right after Secretariat broke his maiden (or thereabouts) and he passed away just shortly after.

You're welcome, it is a wonderful book that goes into a great depth of detail about Penny's family and Secretariat's lineage.