The Kentucky Oaks began as a companion to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, much as the English Oaks at Epsom serves as the female version of the prestigious Derby.
There should be no mention of the mighty Triple Crown champion Secretariat without pointing to jockey Ron Turcotte as an integral member of a dynamite team.
It might appear from watching replays of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 1973 as if Turcotte was merely a passenger taken for a wonderful ride by the gleaming colt they called “Big Red.” But Penny Chenery, Secretariat’s owner, knew better.
Few breeders and owners have defined an era as Calumet Farm did in the 1940s. What started as a Standardbred farm in the 1920s transitioned into a nursery for a long list of racing immortals in the 1930s.
A son of a butcher turned business magnate, Joseph E. Widener was a visionary architect of modern American racing, known for transforming Hialeah Park into a world-class destination and leading Belmont Park through a pivotal era of elegance.
As a titan of the sport and a dedicated preservationist, he combined his passion for fine art with a commitment to racing’s aesthetic and structural integrity. His lasting legacy remains in the pedigrees of the sport’s athletes as well as his tireless efforts to elevate the social and cultural prestige of the American turf.
