New Secretariat statue arrives for debut in Kentucky park

This week, people from Utah to Kentucky got to see legendary racehorse Secretariat speed past them, in a way.

They probably did a double-take as they saw a life-size statue of Secretariat barreling along interstates and highways on its way to Paris, Kentucky and a new park dedicated to the hometown icon who won the Triple Crown in 1973.

A crowd gathered in Paris Monday night to welcome home Secretariat, widely considered the greatest racehorse of all time.

The new Secretariat Park will honor him in the town where he retired and was laid to rest. It was funded by business owners and community members who wanted to honor Secretariat on the 50th anniversary of the Triple Crown wins. 

The bronze statue, titled “Twice the Heart,” is being installed today and will be unveiled Nov. 11. Paris is the home of Claiborne Farm, where Secretariat stood at stud after retiring from racing. The monument depicts Secretariat running on the farm after retirement.

Artist Jocelyn Russell started the year-long process in Seattle with a small clay model, then a 28-inch mock-up. From that, a digital scan helped to form the mold for the 900-pound statue. The horseshoes and halter on the monument are molded from those that belonged to Secretariat.

This is the third life-size statue that Russell has done of the racehorse. The first one is in Lexington, and the second resides in Ashland, Virginia, near the site of Secretariat’s birthplace. 

The Adonis Bronze foundry in Alpine, Utah, molded the bronze and Russell and her husband hauled it to Kentucky. 

Jocelyn Russell (left) with her latest life-size bronze statue of Secretariat, on its way to Paris, Kentucky. (Photo: Jocelyn Rusell – Secretariat Monuments Facebook)