Secretariat’s Birthplace Named to National Register of Historic Places

Meadow Farm image by John Musgrove via Wikimedia Commons
Edited Press Release
The birthplace of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, located in The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County, Va., has been named to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service.  
Known as the Meadow Historic District, the designation includes the foaling shed where Racing Hall of Famer Secretariat was born on March 30, 1970; his training barn, where he wore his first saddle and bridle; the yearling barn where he stayed as a colt; and a yearling barn annex, stallion barn, horse cemetery, well house and pump house.
The Meadow Historic District was named to the Virginia Landmarks Register on March 19. The property, which dates back to 1805, is owned by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.
“I am thrilled that the birthplace of Secretariat is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Penny Chenery, who owned and raced the legendary Thoroughbred. “The timing of the announcement could not be better as everyone is hoping for a Triple Crown winner at the Belmont Stakes on June 6.” 
American Pharoah, winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness, will try to become the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Belmont Park. Secretariat broke a 25-year drought in winners when he captured the Triple Crown in 1973 and appears in the pedigree of American Pharoah. 
Leeanne Meadows Ladin, Secretariat tourism manager at The Meadow Event Park and co-author of “Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, the Family, The Legend,” coordinated the research and documentation for the nomination process. Instrumental in the two-year effort were the George Washington Regional Planning Commission, planners Diana Utz and Danny Reese, historic preservationist Eden Brown, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the Caroline County Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
Ladin gives the “Hoofprints of History” tours of Secretariat’s birthplace year-round by appointment.
THE MEADOW - BIRTHPLACE OF SECRETARIAT