Bricks and Mortar Earns Secretariat Vox Populi Honor

Horse racing fans have spoken, and they voted 5-year-old turf king Bricks and Mortar the winner of the 2019 Secretariat Vox Populi Award in the year-end online poll.

Created by Secretariat's owner, Penny Chenery, the annual award recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.

Bricks and Mortar, a third-generation grandson of Secretariat, was undefeated in 2019. He was chosen by a record number of fans representing all 50 states and nearly 40 countries.

The annual Vox Populi Day Celebration will take place at Santa Anita Park Jan. 11, with a poster giveaway and other festivities that will commemorate the 10th year of the award. 

After being sidelined for 14 months with a neuromuscular condition that affected his ability to gallop, Bricks and Mortar staged a comeback in 2019. He had six wins in as many starts at six tracks, including the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T), Manhattan Stakes (G1T), Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes (G1T), and Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). His triumphant return to racing attracted a fan following that grew with each anticipated start and ensuing victory.  

"The 2019 racing season offered varied and interesting stories of equine stars, and Bricks and Mortar was a standout among them," said Kate Chenery Tweedy, Penny Chenery's daughter and the family historian. "Bricks and Mortar's comeback is a favorite plot in American sports lore—the return of a champion. We congratulate his connections and look forward to the presentation of the Secretariat Vox Populi Award trophy in January." 

Owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, Bricks and Mortar was trained by Chad Brown and piloted by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

"The well-being of all our horses is our primary concern," Klaravich Stables owner Seth Klarman said. "When Bricks and Mortar was injured, we wanted to give him whatever time he needed to have the best chance for a full recovery. And did he ever recover! We are grateful for the fans who voted for Bricks and Mortar, who is truly the horse of a lifetime."

Bricks and Mortar was one of six nominees submitted by the Vox Populi committee and presented to thousands of voters worldwide who spoke as the "Voice of the People" in online polls at Secretariat.com and AmericasBestRacing.net, where the Vox Populi was featured in the inaugural Fan Choice Awards. Other nominees were Belvoir Bay, Maximum Security, Midnight Bisou, Mitole , and Omaha Beach . Voters also had the option to write in their own candidate. 

Bricks and Mortar joined a list of cherished racing stars who have also received the Vox Populi Award: Winx (2018), Ben's Cat (2017), California Chrome  (2016 and 2014), American Pharoah  (2015), Mucho Macho Man  (2013), Paynter  (2012), Rapid Redux (2011), and Zenyatta (inaugural 2010).