The annual Secretariat day in downtown Ashland, Va., will be held Sunday, March 30, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT in the Reynolds Family Plaza at Randolph-Macon College.
Secretariat for Virginia announced the free, family-style event on the late Hall of Fame champion’s 55th birthday will happen around the Secretariat Racing into History monument statue.
Festivities will include live music from several groups, new Secretariat merchandise, food trucks, birthday cake, an art exhibit, local vendors, kids’ activities such as stick-horse races and more.
The Ashland Theatre will host a free showing of the Disney movie “Secretariat” at 11 a.m. EDT, and the Ashland Museum will be open to show historic Secretariat and Meadow Stable memorabilia.
To cap off the day, fans may stroll across the railroad tracks for a horsey happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT at Studio 54. Ashland Meat Company and Oakdale Winery will cater this $20 ticketed event. There will be live music by Faron Hamblin and a display of the Secretariat time capsule.
The March 29 program includes a Secretariat tram tour at the Meadow event park from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT. Kate Chenery Tweedy and Leeanne Meadows Ladin, co-authors of Secretariat’s Meadow – The Land, The Family, The Legend, will narrate the tour of the historic barns where Secretariat was foaled and first trained. This is a fundraiser for Secretariat for Virginia. Tickets are $30 each.
Oakdale Farm will host the Big Red Bash on March 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. EDT. This Secretariat for Virginia fundraiser will feature grazing tables, private-label Secretariat wine, live music by the Self-Righteous Brothers and a big, beautiful chestnut descendant of Secretariat named Sooleymon, nicknamed Big Mac. Just like Big Red himself, he loves posing for the camera. Tickets for the Big Red Bash are $100.
The following week, Tuesday-Thursday, April 1-3, Jocelyn Russell will conduct a sculpting workshop at the Hanover Arts and Activities Center in downtown Ashland. This is a special opportunity to experience hands-on instruction from the acclaimed artist who created Ashland’s Secretariat Racing into History monument. Information and price details are on Russell’s Facebook page.
Further details about the Secretariat day events are on the Secretariat for Virginia website.
Secretariat was foaled March 30, 1970, at Meadow Stable, which was founded by Christopher Chenery, who grew up in Ashland. Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, and his astonishing track records have not been broken since.
The Secretariat Racing into History monument in Ashland is the first and only statue in Virginia of the legendary champion in Virginia.
