When Society Man runs in the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1), his co-owner, Anthony Melfi of GMP Stables, and Gary Gullo, Melfi's stable manager and former trainer, will fondly be thinking of people who played a hand in bringing the two men to Louisville, Ky., for their first Derby.
Gullo, a second-generation horseman who had a savviness for identifying talent in the claiming ranks, trained for four decades on the New York Racing Association circuit until his retirement in the fall of 2020 to accept an offer from Melfi to manage the owner's burgeoning racing and breeding operation.
Their relationship was first forged through the late Dominic Galluscio, a close friend of Gullo's and Melfi's trainer until he died in 2014 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 55.
"When Dominic was sick, I was trying to take care of his horses when he couldn't do much," Gullo, 64, said. "I would speak to Dominic's owners, relaying information about their horses. I got to know Anthony then and when Dominic passed away, he asked if I would train his horses.
"In 2020, when Anthony told me he wanted to get involved in a bigger way in the business, he said he would love for me to run things for him on the racing and breeding end. I needed a change (from training), and I thought Anthony's offer was the perfect scenario for me. He's the best guy you will ever want to meet, he's like my brother. I really have no regrets not training anymore, only because this guy is a sweetheart. I enjoy everything I'm doing now, and this thing happening, going to the Derby, is like a dream come true for all of us."
In 2019, Melfi sold his environmental hazardous waste company which did business in 47 states and was responsible for the cleanup after disasters such as 9/11, hurricanes, oil spills, and train derailments. But Melfi, 63, would not be content in retirement without something to keep him engaged, so he ramped up his participation in racing while also diving into the breeding end of the business. Even then, Melfi thirsted for more involvement and became a land owner with property he bought in Schuylerville, N.Y., near Saratoga Springs.
With the assistance of Gullo, Melfi opened the 100-acre GMP Farm in 2023, a state-of-the-art equine rehabilitation center that boasts an impressive menu of therapeutic modalities. The farm also features a seven-furlong Tapeta training track. Gullo's former assistant trainer, Steve Rydowski, manages the day-to-day operations at GMP Farm, which has drawn business from top New York trainers such as Bill Mott, Linda Rice, and Todd Pletcher.
To boot, the farm features something for humans, Sacred Spa & Wellness, an idea cultivated and brought to fruition by Melfi's wife, Abby Reed. The property also serves as a wedding and events venue through its business, Sacred Saratoga.
BREEDING ENDEAVORS
As a breeder, Melfi hit one out of the park right off the bat with a Curlin yearling he sold for $1.05 million in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale. Melfi had bought the filly's dam, the grade 1 stakes-placed Cassies Dreamer, for $435,000 while she was in foal to Curlin at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Fall Kentucky Mixed Sale. The filly, later named Camera, won a maiden special weight at Aqueduct Racetrack April 7 in her third career start for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Stonestreet Stables, and Madaket Stables.
"To be the first horse we sold, there was nothing better," Melfi said. "It was better than winning the biggest race I had ever won up to that point, which was a grade 3, and we just topped that.
"There's a great picture of me with Abby in the (sales pavilion). You can see my face, looking like, 'What just happened?'"
For now, Melfi is breeding with the intent to sell. He currently has a broodmare band of 14, including Cassies Dreamer, who was bred back to Curlin this year. Most of his mares—predominantly bought at auction—are in Kentucky at WinStar Farm, with whom he partnered to buy the multiple graded stakes-winning broodmare prospect Lady Rocket for $1.05 million at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. Melfi also has mares in New York at Irish Hill Century Farm because he wishes to take advantage of the state's lucrative breeding program which increased its breeder award rates this year. He routinely aims high when selecting sires and among the stallions that Melfi has sent his mares to are Flightline , Constitution , Justify , and Life Is Good. He also owns shares in grade 1 winner Americanrevolution , who entered stud this year at Rockridge Stud in New York, and stakes winner Nashville , who stands at WinStar.
Gullo said the guidance he and Melfi are receiving from the WinStar team, particularly president and CEO, Elliott Walden, is "amazing."
"It's fortunate that we have WinStar on our team," Gullo remarked.
DERBY PURSUITS
While Melfi and Gullo are enjoying the rush of participating in the upper echelon of the breeding business as well as seeing GMP Farm flourish, the opportunity to go to their first Derby with Society Man is a calling card they are not taking for granted.
The gelded son of Good Magic trained by Danny Gargan—who also has another son by the same sire pointed to the Derby in Dornoch—earned his berth to the Run for the Roses with a second-place finish in the April 6 Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct. At odds of 106-1, he finished 2 1/4 lengths behind Resilience while collecting 50 Derby points. In his previous race March 9, Society Man won a maiden special weight by three lengths in his fourth career start.
The Kentucky-bred, bred by SF Bloodstock, was bought for $85,000 as a Keeneland September yearling by Conor Foley's Oracle Bloodstock on behalf of equal partners, GMP Stables, Gargan, and West Paces Racing. After the Wood Memorial, Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Carl and Yurie Pascarella acquired part ownership in Society Man when Gargan sold his interest and Melfi parted with 10% while retaining 23%. West Paces Racing kept its original stake in Society Man.
Melfi has owned horses for nearly 20 years and has been to the Derby twice before as a fan, including his second trip when he brought his late parents, Josephine and Victor, who were responsible for introducing their son to racing when he was a kid. Melfi said his parents and grandparents were "gamblers," and family outings frequently involved visits to racetracks, including Saratoga Race Course and South Florida tracks.
"It's a dream come true," Melfi said of having his first horse in the Derby. "The Derby was always on my radar because I looked at the Wood Memorial like, if we are in the race, we have a chance. If we can run first or second, we can make it to the Derby. Society Man ran a great race and ran a great race before that when he won. I watched the Wood Memorial at home by myself, and I was running around looking for someone to hug because we ran second."
The only bittersweet moment Melfi anticipates feeling Saturday is not being surrounded by the people who first introduced him to horse racing.
"I just wish my parents and grandparents could see it," he said.
Gullo is experiencing the same anticipation as the big day approaches and, like Melfi, will be thinking of someone dear to him.
"Every year, Dominic and I would be watching the Derby and he would call me up and say, 'Well, here we are again, another year on the couch,'" Gullo said with a chuckle. "So, now I can say, 'Dom, this isn't another year on the couch.'"
