Derby winner California Chrome has a revered Virginia connection with Secretariat

California Chrome, winner of the 140th Kentucky Derby, carried many hopes and dreams across the finish line on May 3. He also carried the DNA of the horse whose Kentucky Derby record still stands, 41 years after he won that race and the 1973 Triple Crown.

California Chrome is a great-great-great grandson of Virginia’s own Secretariat, who was born at what is now The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County, according to a news release from the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, which owns the venue has developed a tour program around the farm’s equine heritage.

The Derby winner traces his lineage to Secretariat through his sire, Lucky Pulpit, a grandson of A. P. Indy, 1992 Horse of the Year and one of thoroughbred racing’s most influential stallions. A. P. Indy, in turn, is a grandson of Secretariat, the news release said.

California Chrome’s Derby victory immediately prompted speculation about a possible Triple Crown win. That means he also would have to win the Preakness Stakes in Maryland on May 17 and the Belmont Stakes in New York on June 7.

“Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown since it was established in 1919. Only one of those 11 horses has broken all three track records—Secretariat. So far, 41 years later, all three of his records still stand,” said Leeanne Ladin, Secretariat tourism manager at The Meadow.

When Secretariat captured the Triple Crown in 1973, he was the first horse to do so in 25 years. In 1977, Seattle Slew took the crown, followed by Affirmed in 1978. Thoroughbred racing has gone without a Triple Crown winner for 35 years.

California Chrome’s owners and trainer have defied the skeptics so far. Their California-bred colt was trained on a Quarter Horse track near Los Angeles, far from the fabled bluegrass pastures of Kentucky. The Derby marked the colt’s fifth straight win; he remains undefeated as a 3-year-old.