Christopher Chenery
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Christopher Tompkins Chenery (September 16, 1886 - January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion, Secretariat.
Christopher Chenery was born in Richmond and raised in Ashland, Virginia. He was the brother of William L. Chenery, Editor-Publisher of Colliers Magazine. He studied at Randolph-Macon College and Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1909 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree. He then went to work as in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Alaska but his career was interrupted with service in the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War I. After the war, Christopher Chenery went on to a establish Chenery Corporation that became the controlling shareholder of the Federal Water Service Company. He served as the water, gas, and pipeline company's president. Chenery was involved in two cases before the Supreme Court of the United States that are considered landmark cases of United States administrative law. See SEC v. Chenery Corp., 332 U.S. 194 (1947) [1].
[edit] Meadow Farm
One of the founders of the New York Racing Association, Chenery made his home in the village of Pelham Manor, New York for nearly fifty years. However, he is best known for his 1932 purchase of Meadow Farm near his native Richmond, Virginia that bred and owned Thoroughbred racehorses.
On the farm property, Chenery operated Meadow Stud, Inc. as a breeding business and Meadow Stable, Inc. as the owner for the horses he kept for racing. His operations would produce and race the Champion colt and 1972 Kentucky Derby winner Riva Ridge, and superhorse, Secretariat, winner of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown. Among his other horses of note, Chenery owned and bred Hill Prince, the 1950 U.S. Horse of the Year and the 1958 U.S. Champion 2-yr-old colt, First Landing.
Christopher Chenery died in January of 1973 without seeing Secretariat's Triple Crown victory. His daughter Penny took over the management of the racing stable.
