Saving Secretariat’s Playground: Greg McQuade / WTVR

Watch Greg McQuade's story about Kevin Engel’s efforts to place "The Cove" under a permanent conservation easement with the Capital Region Land Conservancy.

January 9, 2026

Excerpt:

“There is only one state that Secretariat came from, and this is the spot. We need to keep this land forever.” In my “I Have a Story,” meet the farmer who is helping to preserve the playground in Caroline County, where legendary racehorse Secretariat stretched his legs and grazed as a young colt.

350 acres of pastureland and forest called The Cove was once part of Meadow Farm, where Secretariat was born. Keven Engel, who has been farming The Cove since the early 80’s, recently purchased the property.

Kevin says it would pain him to see a subdivision, strip mall or data center eventually be built on the land where Secretariat roamed before capturing The Triple Crown in 1973. So Kevin and his Engel Family Farms put The Cove under a permanent conservation easement with the Capital Region Land Conservancy which means the land can never be developed.

“Secretariat and his legacy bring people together. I want to build something that goes way beyond me. I want something that sticks around forever.”