Photo:

Ron Flatter – edited

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.