Racing Louisville pays tribute to Secretariat owner Penny Chenery with houndstooth kit

On Wednesday, Racing Louisville unveiled its new primary kits — an homage not just to the community’s history of horse racing, but a direct nod to Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown and its owner, Penny Chenery. Nicknamed the “Houndstooth Kit,” the pattern choice is symbolic of Chenery, who favored the look for her own jackets.

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“The story behind this kit is really powerful,” Racing Louisville senior graphic designer Rachel Regenauer said in the team’s press release. “It has roots, and that’s what we are trying to build here: A club that is strong and branches out to our community.”

Louisville has put the pattern into their signature lavender and violet colors and incorporated a hint of mint via the crest on the jersey and midnight-colored shorts. The intent is clear, “ the Houndstooth Kit is an homage to pioneering women, to the pursuit of excellence and to the sport and culture around it,” the release said.

And to launch the new look, Racing sent a handful of players to a stable for retired thoroughbreds just outside Louisville for a photoshoot. Midfielder Savannah DeMelo, entering her second season with the team, and defender Paige Monaghan, a recent addition via a trade with NJ/NY Gotham FC this offseason, both featured in the photoshoot and both spoke to The Athletic via Zoom about the new kits.

But first, a more pressing question is, how do they feel about horses? Louisville’s photoshoot was definitely an NWSL-first with its equine presence.

“I love horses,” DeMelo said. “My dad’s from Portugal, and his family has a bunch of land where he’s from. So when we would go there, I always grew up kind of with horses.”

That tidbit was news even to her new teammate Monaghan, who also said she was