Owned by Claiborne farms, born April 13th, 1969 owned by Penny Chennery, the same person who owned the legendary Secretariat. His sire was First Landing, and his Damn was Iberia. He was a light bay stallion, and was swift and intelligent. His most notable wins we're the Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Stakes in 1972. He won the Champagne stakes in (1971), the Futurity Stakes (1971), Laurel Futurity(1971), The flash Stakes ( 1971), Garden State Futurity (1971), the Hibiscus Stakes (1972), The Blue Grass Stakes (1972), the Hollywood Derby (1972) The Brooklyn Handicap (1973), Massachusetts Handicap (1973), and the Stuyvesant Handicap, as is final win in his career winning 1,111,347$ in total. his record time was 30: 17 - 3 - 1. He won the U.S champion 2-yr old, the U.S Champion Older horse, the US hall of fame, and was #57, of 100 greatest race horses of the 20th century. His career was often only remembered as being the stablemate to Secretariat, but he was a successful race horse in his own right. Winning 17 of his 30 starts, and two championships. Contrary to popular belief, Riva Ridge's success was largely responsible for saving the meadow stable from financial ruin, the true hero of Claiborne Farms. Riva Ridge was syndicated for 5.12 million, and Secretariat 6.08 million. Penny Chennery would often come to visit the horses, but over time Secretariat would no longer acknowledge her due to many visitors he got. Riva Ridge, however developed a special bond with Penny sense he was largely overlooked by the public. 228 Out of 360 Riva Ridge's named foals winners including 29 stakes winners. "There was never a time when Riva Ridge wouldn't come to me to say hello," - Penny Chennery acknowledging Riva Ridge. Riva Ridge died of a heart attack in his paddock on April 21, 1985, after a trip to the breeding shed. Claiborne staff saw him fall over in his paddock and immediately rushed over to him, but he had died by the time he hit the ground. He was 16 years old. A true hero, and an Incredible horse. Forever Riva Ridge.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Riva Ridge winning the Kentucky Derby. Jockeyed by Ron Turcotte.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
