Shirley Bennett came out of retirement after she tried to save the life of a son of a famous Hall of Fame thoroughbred. That mercy mission turned into a new life assignment to help “Keep the Secretariat Legacy Alive”. Five years later, she dedicates her time and efforts to the welfare of four foal crops of Secretariat descendants. Her mission has taken on a life of its own to honor Penny Chenery’s contributions to the world of thoroughbred racing.
She signed the photograph of my chestnut mare named Secretariat's Fire, and asked the name of the sire. Her eyes widened when I said Midnight Lute and responded, "That ought to be a real good one...keep me posted". Later that fall, Penny met Secretariat's four month old grandson, Secretariat’s Glory at the third annual Secretariat's Festival in Paris, Kentucky. Both Secretariat’s Glory and My Storm Trooper, who is a great-great-grandson have since started their racing careers, won their maidens and continue to race at Gulfstream Park in Florida. The next crop is now ready to follow in their “hoof-steps”. Shirley’s personal goal is to open the door to the world of racing to fans who love thoroughbred horses and want to participate in a team effort to “Keep the Secretariat Legacy Alive” and share her dream of competing in the top races in America and eventually around the world.
Johnny Anderson, - Owner R. I. P.Our Dear Friend Johnny 2-27-19 - 12-7-14
Johnny Anderson, a WWII veteran, always lived an active life. He loved music and played classical violin as a child prodigy; he taught a form of Square Dancing until 94 years young. He retired when, as he described it, “Now, it was takes me 15min. to run the fifty yard dash”. His secret to longevity was his great attitude about life in general. He was grateful for the little things, and was most happy when he made other people laugh through his vivid story-telling and animated jokes.
The day after the radio announcement that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, Johnny borrowed the family car to drive 190 miles to Portland, Oregon to enlist. It didn’t matter which armed forces took him, he picked the shortest line and fell in behind 4,000 other young men ready to defend their country, and Johnny did just that. He loved to tell his real-life “Hollywood” story about stowing away on The USS Wahoo submarine simply because it was headed to the war zone.
He was sent to the Commodore at the destroyer base who informed him that boarding a vessel during wartime meant Leavenworth for life! It was followed by the question, “Son, do you want to go to war that badly? Without hesitation Johnny and a friend replied, “Yes Sir”. After five tours aboard the USS Baya in the SW Pacific, Johnny received the Commendation Ribbon for his outstanding service as torpedo man 1st class. Captain Jarvis offered him the position of Chief of the Boat if he would re-enlist, but Johnny had other plans.
Having grown up on a large ranch in Oakland, Oregon, Johnny’s interest in thoroughbred racing came naturally. He was inspired shortly after meeting Shirley Bennett and added a one more item on his “Bucket List” after meeting Shirley’s Secretariat descendants. Shirley introduced him to Penny Chenery, and that cemented his last “dream come true” wish to honor Penny. As he explained, “Not to say that we can ever produce the likes of Secretariat because in my opinion there will never be another one as great as he was, but at Penny’s age and for that matter, mine too, how wonderful would it be if we could witness a Secretariat grandson vie for the coveted Triple Crown title? I think that’s a splendid mission for common everyday folks to be able to jump on the bandwagon to nurture the idea of growing ‘The Secretariat Family Tree’ by supporting our Breeding With a Mission program. The goal to help “Keep the Secretariat Legacy Alive” is one huge ‘feel good’ assignment! I’ve asked God for another ten years if that’s what it will take!”
Just as Johnny had other ideas after the war, God had other plans for Johnny. He went home to be the Lord on Pearl Harbor Day of 2014. Shirley believes that if Johnny could choose a day to leave this earth, Pearl Harbor Day would have been his personal choice…but just not so soon for his liking. She feels it was befitting for her beloved WWII hero, and he’s overseeing things from a far different perspective now! His smile, his laughter and his love for life is sorely missed by his family and friends… and by everyone who ever met him!
Diane Lynch - Partner
As an avid Secretariat fan, Diane Lynch attended the Secretariat Festival in Paris Kentucky with her family in 2011, where her son, Brady Torrance, photographed Secretariat’s grandson who participated in the weekend horse show activities as the youngest living Secretariat descendant. Secretariat’s Glory paraded alongside his mother, Secretariat’s Fire, who is one of two last producing Secretariat daughters in the world. The fans were enamored by the handsome bay colt, sired by Midnight Lute, a fourth generation Secretariat descendant. Brady’s photographs have been used to promote the mission.
Diane learned about the philanthropic effort to save the life of a son of Hall of Fame thoroughbred, Deputy Minister’s life which initiated Shirley’s “Breeding With A Mission” program with the goal of helping “Keep the Secretariat Legacy Alive”. Five years and 17 Secretariat descendants later Diane continues to support the concept and the Secretariat Family Tree continues to grow. She became the first founding member and now supports the program as a Racing Shares Partner in a significant way. She has also promoted the “Breeding With A Mission” for this coming spring’s fifth foal crop.
Diane has followed Shirley’s mission since 2011 which was a busy and eventful year for Shirley’s new late-in-life venture. She attended her first Kentucky Derby where she met Penny Chenery; she attended her first Secretariat Festival where she introduced Penny to Secretariat’s Fire, and Secretariat’s Glory. During his two year old training at Gulfstream Park, FL, Secretariat’s Glory was on the Kentucky Derby contender list until a tendon issue side-lined his racing career. He broke his Maiden and finished third two times before coming home for a year’s rest. The latest vet report confirms he has healed and can return to training next year.
The whole Crown of Glory team is excited about Secretariat’s Fire last foal…another grandson sired by Leroidesanimaux (sire of Animal Kingdom), who will make his racing debut in December under the tutelage of Todd Pletcher. His father JJ has laid his racing foundation at Payton Training Center in Ocala, FL.
Jackie Comeau - Partner
Jackie Comeau always loved horses as far back as she could remember. Her first recollection of a horse is visiting her great uncle’s farm in New Brunswick, CN. He owned a few farm horses but one really stood out and connected with her, a big black stallion named Prince. He would come right up to the fence to greet her. It was at that moment, her love for horses was sealed.
Recently inspired by Secretariat’s story, she sought and read as much as she could in an attempt to seek answers to questions about this magnificent horse and the people who surrounded him. She attended festivals in his honor in VA and met some of the very same people she read about who surrounded him. It was during this time that her love of thoroughbreds came alive. She started to follow the races and tracks Secretariat ran during his Triple Crown campaign.
During this time, she fell in love with Saratoga, NY where she visits to watch early morning workouts and races during the summer meet, as well as visiting other racetracks up and down the East Coast.
Gary Peterson - Partner
Gary Peterson didn’t grow up following horses too much (although he always looked forward to the Spike Jones parody on the radio on Kentucky Derby Day), so his passion for horses and horse racing is a recent acquisition. It was the dual exposure to the Secretariat movie and his girlfriend Jackie (another Majestic Partners founder), that started Gary down the road into horse ownership. While the Triple Crown runs of I’ll Have Another and California Chrome stoked his interest, it was only after several trips to Florida to meet Shirley and the horses that he made the commitment to help found the partnership.
As an engineer, Gary brings the balancing “dispassionate view” to the partnership, offering the “outside” perspective to the mix. While all the partners are committed to the best interest of the horse, Gary provides the calming opinion to help balance the passion of the other partners.
Rose Sweeney - Social Media - Graphics
Rose Sweeney grew up in a large family with 6 siblings. She was raised in the Midwest, but her ancestry is rooted in Ireland & Scotland. As a youngster she had an insatiable passion for dogs, which, later in life, prompted her to start breeding quality bred European Line German Shepherds. Now, after the birth of her first grandchild, she divides her most cherished activities between her dogs and her new grandson. She touts that “Life is sweeter since Enzo arrived” and she thoroughly enjoys spending time with her only son and daughter in law. Sharing life with her “sheps” and baby “Enzo” is the light of her life.
Crown of Glory Racing is so proud to include Rose as part of our team. In fact, we wouldn’t exist today without her dedication to the cause over the last three years. While Shirley was helping to create new branches for the “Secretariat Family Tree” through the “Breeding With A Mission” program, Rose provided the fertilizer to nourish that tree by designing the website, posting pictures, keeping current racing posts and other pertinent news like the arrival of new foals, etc. Through Facebook, she helped us gain international exposure for our mission. Using all the skills Rose acquired through her professional career in the Insurance industry, combined with her natural aptitude and artistic talent, she began building websites. She has spent the last five years helping friends and associates covering a variety of topics from Secretariat descendants, Thoroughbred Racing, German Shepherds, Restaurants, Domestic Violence, German Shepherd Rescue, and her most passionate Service dogs all thru volunteering for non-profit organizations. Her dedication to finding the best venue to portray our mission is second-to-none. Her extensive and dynamic portfolio of websites demonstrates the diversity of her experience which gave Shirley an idea of what she could expect as the end product. The result was a polished professional look which conveys all the necessary elements of who we are, why we began the mission, what we hope to accomplish, & where we hope to go in the future. Rose helps us with our Facebook fan page, and other collateral materials like newsletters, posters/flyers and & mail-out materials to help keep our supporters informed.
All in all, to sum it up, Rose started with Shirley’s goals and dreams and put together an awesome website presence. She’s been the backbone of our social media exposure. What a gal! We all love her! By the way, if you are in need of a website or any of the above things mentioned here, please feel free to contact us....
Carlos Basilio Santiago - Farm Manager
Carlos worked for one of Ocala’s premiere thoroughbred training centers. and breeding stable in Ocala, FL where he learned the trade of caring for and training yearlings and two year old thoroughbreds. He learned the A to Z version of caring for horse from the ground up beginning with cleaning stalls, bathing/grooming/clipping from weanlings to two year olds.
He currently works with weanlings, yearlings and broodmares for Crown of Glory Racing, LLC. Carlos has a special way of working with each individual horse and a natural way of communicating with them, so we jokingly call him the “Horse Whisperer”.
He also has multiple skills that every stable owner hopes to find in one person. He builds fences, repairs roofs, builds roof trusses, and is very knowledgeable about landscaping, oh yes, he even does mechanic work on the farm equipment and our personal vehicles. At the end of a hard day’s work, he plays guitar and sings songs in Spanish. He has become an important team member of our Secretariat Descendant family.
