Photos courtesy of Donna Gilman Dennehy of Eagle Point Farm.
By contributing writer Leeanne Ladin
The same Ashland track Secretariat would come to train on served as the inaugural venue of the Camptown Races. Immortalized in legend as well as song, Big Red and Camptown Races both began in the Center of the Universe.
Camptown Races all started thanks to an Ashlander. In 1953, Ed Gilman, a lifelong horseman, and founder of Eagle Point Farm of Ashland, suggested a “country race meet” as a way to raise money for the Ashland War Memorial, honoring those who fought in World War II. Mayor Dick Gillis dubbed the event the “Camptown Races” after the popular song. Later it would even have its own “Doo-Dah Parade.”
Christopher T. Chenery, owner of nearby Meadow Stable, offered his horse farm as the first venue. The inaugural Camptown races were run on the same track at The Meadow where a young Secretariat would start to train about 18 years later.
Over 3,000 spectators came to the inaugural running of the Camptown Races on June 6, 1953. Subscribers paid $100 each for a five-year parking spot while admission for the general public was one dollar.
Presentation of the Chenery Challenge Cup at the Camptown Races.
The initial program featured a variety of races: a farmer’s race with work horses, a ladies’ race, a Quarter Horse race, two Thoroughbred races and even a mule race. Each winner received a silver trophy.
By 1958, race fans and race horses were coming to the Camptown Races from well beyond central Virginia. One newspaper described the event as the “country cousin to the Kentucky Derby.”
Eventually, the Camptown Races outgrew the facilities at Meadow Stable. The event was moved to Mannheim Farm in Ashland where its success continued to grow. This enabled proceeds to be shared with other organizations such as the Ashland Youth League, Ashland Fire Department, Ashland Rescue Squad, and several others.
Though the races were discontinued many years ago, the community spirit exemplified by Chris Chenery, Ed Gilman and others lives on in many ways in Ashland. The enthusiastic support for the Secretariat statue is a prime example. Fundraising efforts to permanently install the “Secretariat Racing into History” monument in Ashland are ongoing. You can learn more about Secretariat for Virginia’s efforts at www.secretariatforvirginia.com
