Rick Violette Jr.

Since Down Broadway became the first horse to transition to a second career via New York's TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program, the organization has contributed better than $2 million to accredited aftercare organizations, and by year's end, the total will be over $2.3 million. TAKE THE LEAD's partner program, TAKE2, has now distributed more than $1 million in prize money and awards to Thoroughbreds competing at recognized hunter/jumper shows across the country. "We could not have accomplished so much on the path that Rick Violette started us on more...

The sales ring can be a formidable place for any first-crop sire. Add in a global pandemic, with side effects of low sales attendance and a free-falling stock market, and a positive outcome for the stallion might seem futile. But this year, the first crop of Airdrie Stud's Upstart must not have gotten the message. They were the hot commodities at the OBS March Sale, the only 2-year-old sale to finish before the sales season was forced to grind to a halt. Six Upstart 2-year-olds brought the hammer down during...