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Riva Ridge
Riva Ridge (April 13, 1969 – April 21, 1985) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1972.
Often remembered simply as a stablemate of Secretariat, Riva Ridge was a successful racehorse in his own right, winning 17 of his 30 starts and two championships: American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse in 1971 and American Champion Older Male Horse in 1973. Contrary to popular belief, Riva Ridge's success was largely responsible for saving Meadow Stable from financial ruin.
Riva Ridge was a light bay stallion who stood 16 hands high. A son of First Landing out of Iberia (by Heliopolis), Riva Ridge is related to Man o’ War through his dam (mother), Iberia. Riva Ridge and his sire were owned and bred by the Meadow Stable of Christopher Chenery in Doswell, Virginia. Secretariat, the Triple Crown champion in 1973, was owned and bred by the same stable.
Riva Ridge's name came from Chenery's daughter Penny and her husband, John Tweedy, honoring their favorite ski run at Vail, Colorado. Tweedy had trained with the U.S. Army's Tenth Mountain Division in Colorado in 1943, but later served in Burma with the OSS. Upon his return from the war, he and fellow veterans from the Tenth Mountain division founded Vail Ski Resort in Colorado in 1962. They named the longest run "Riva Ridge" after a costly but important strategic victory by the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division on February 18 in the North Apennine mountains of Italy.
In 1971, Meadow Stable was struggling financially. Christopher Chenery was very ill, and Penny wanted to save the operation, at odds with her siblings Hollis and Margaret, who wanted to sell it. Following Riva Ridge's success as a two-year-old, however, Hollis and Margaret stopped pushing for her to sell the farm.
A winner of the Eclipse Award at age two and four, Riva Ridge was ridden mainly by Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte, who also rode stablemate Secretariat a year later. He was trained by Lucien Laurin.
Riva Ridge was described by Penny Chenery as a very timid and unassuming horse who "ran to get away from [other horses]." He was nicknamed "Old Pea Head" while racing.
Riva Ridge made his racetrack debut on June 9, 1971, at Belmont Park. Despite going off at 2-1 odds, Riva Ridge was bumped at the start and finished seventh. With blinkers added, he then won in both maiden and allowance company, having broken on the lead in both races. In his stakes debut in the Great American Stakes, he again disappointed as the favorite, finishing eighth.
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Riva Ridge
Riva Ridge (April 13, 1969 – April 21, 1985) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1972.
Often remembered simply as a stablemate of Secretariat, Riva Ridge was a successful racehorse in his own right, winning 17 of his 30 starts and two championships: American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse in 1971 and American Champion Older Male Horse in 1973. Contrary to popular belief, Riva Ridge's success was largely responsible for saving Meadow Stable from financial ruin.
Riva Ridge was a light bay stallion who stood 16 hands high. A son of First Landing out of Iberia (by Heliopolis), Riva Ridge is related to Man o’ War through his dam (mother), Iberia. Riva Ridge and his sire were owned and bred by the Meadow Stable of Christopher Chenery in Doswell, Virginia. Secretariat, the Triple Crown champion in 1973, was owned and bred by the same stable.
Riva Ridge's name came from Chenery's daughter Penny and her husband, John Tweedy, honoring their favorite ski run at Vail, Colorado. Tweedy had trained with the U.S. Army's Tenth Mountain Division in Colorado in 1943, but later served in Burma with the OSS. Upon his return from the war, he and fellow veterans from the Tenth Mountain division founded Vail Ski Resort in Colorado in 1962. They named the longest run "Riva Ridge" after a costly but important strategic victory by the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division on February 18 in the North Apennine mountains of Italy.
In 1971, Meadow Stable was struggling financially. Christopher Chenery was very ill, and Penny wanted to save the operation, at odds with her siblings Hollis and Margaret, who wanted to sell it. Following Riva Ridge's success as a two-year-old, however, Hollis and Margaret stopped pushing for her to sell the farm.
A winner of the Eclipse Award at age two and four, Riva Ridge was ridden mainly by Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte, who also rode stablemate Secretariat a year later. He was trained by Lucien Laurin.
Riva Ridge was described by Penny Chenery as a very timid and unassuming horse who "ran to get away from [other horses]." He was nicknamed "Old Pea Head" while racing.
Riva Ridge made his racetrack debut on June 9, 1971, at Belmont Park. Despite going off at 2-1 odds, Riva Ridge was bumped at the start and finished seventh. With blinkers added, he then won in both maiden and allowance company, having broken on the lead in both races. In his stakes debut in the Great American Stakes, he again disappointed as the favorite, finishing eighth.