CoverStory | Story and photos by Kathy Dixon, Contributing Writer State Fair, Secretariat tours are highlights of historical property I t's not often a property can claim two historical events, but The Meadow Event Park (MEP) has bragging rights as both the birthplace of Secretariat and home of the State Fair of Virginia. The two events have been brought into the limelight since the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation bought the property in 2013. Determined to preserve the bankrupted fair and to capitalize on the historical aspects of the property, Farm Bureau has concentrated on promoting the fair's agricultural heritage and the land's rich Thoroughbred racing history. Triple Crown winner Secretariat was born in 1970 on the site of what's now The Meadow Event Park. When Farm Bureau bought the property, President Wayne Pryor hired Leeanne Ladin to manage a Secretariat tourism program. Ladin has spent the past decade gleaning information about Secretariat and The Groundshaker is a great-great-granddaughter of Secretariat and now resides at The Meadow Event Park. 14 | Cooperative Living | September 2018 co-opliving.comhttp://www.co-opliving.com