Ground broken on Secretariat Park Project in Paris
The project is just the latest in the city's downtown revitalization efforts
PARIS, Ky. (WTVQ) – It’s part of a re-vitalization project in downtown Paris and a celebration of one of the world’s most famous racehorses.
It’s called the Secretariat Park Project, named for the racehorse who spent his years after racing retired at Claiborne Farm.
An unused green space, previously known as Hope Park on Paris’ Main Street, is being transformed into a park in the racehorse’s honor, complete with a mural and statue to him. Friday morning, a groundbreaking was held to commemorate the official start of the project.
Secretariat Park Project board member Lauren Biddle says the green space is nostalgic, just like the famous racehorse, making it the perfect place. When finished, the park will have an original, life-size bronze statue to Secretariat. During Friday morning’s groundbreaking, a small-scale model was unveiled. According to artist Jocelyn Russell, the small-scale model took her about nine weeks to design, and says it reflects his life in retirement at Claiborne Farm.
This is Russell’s third installment of statues of Secretariat, and she says she feels deeply connected to the horse.
“Learning this horse has been a huge part of the project,” said Russell, “just even his personality. All of that comes into the sculpture. Even when he’s goofing off. That all comes off in the final art,” said Russell.
In addition, a three-story mural of Secretariat was unveiled by equine artist Jaime Corum, which will be painted on the side of a building facing the park. Work on the mural is set to begin October 1st.
According to Biddle, it’s just the latest in an effort to bring more people to Bourbon County.
“So, okay, let’s try to bring people to Bourbon County. How do you do that? You do that with something people are really interested in. Having that memorial of him, it’ll not only change the landscape in downtown forever, it’ll bring people from all over the world,” said Biddle.
The park is set to be completed November 11th of 2023, exactly 50 years after Secretariat arrived at Claiborne farm.
The Secretariat Park Project is accepting donations for the project via the payment app Venmo, just look for @SecretariatPark. The project also plans to set up a GoFundMe account in the coming weeks.
