Shirley Bennett describes herself as “a small mom (without the pop) operation, which, by the grace of God, continues to grow”. She currently has 15 (soon to be 17) Secretariat descendants.  Shirley's goals were motivated by Penny Chenery’s courage to "never give up", and she intends to follow in her footsteps as described by Penny during an interview with the producer of the 2010 Secretariat movie, "I just want to keep honking his horn." Shirley established “Breeding With A Mission“ program to reproduce new generations of Secretariat bloodlines as close up to first generation pedigree positions as possible. She began with a daughter from Secretariat’s last foal crop, plus a granddaughter, and two AP Indy granddaughters. With limited resources of funds available, her goals are motivated by Penny’s courage to "never give up" despite the hurdles and ney-sayers she encounters along the way.

 

The game plan is to keep breeding her Secretariat mares to current champion sires like Midnight Lute who is a fourth generation Secretariat descendant and make sure they get to the racetrack. The other goal is to open the door to the general public who love horse racing but don't own thoroughbreds, and would like to be part of her to honor Penny’s dedication to thoroughbred racing.

 

With 15 Secretariat descendants, including a daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter, she has produced four crops and a fifth on the way, all of which includes sires that carry Secretariat bloodlines.  Visit the (“sired by” link on the Racing/roster tab) to preview the stallions. With a new crop due next spring by Pollard’s Vision and Magna Graduate the Secretariat Family Tree continues to grow.