The Thoroughbred racing and breeding business lost one of its most passionate supporters April 22 when owner/breeder Stephen Brunetti died at his home in Del Ray, Fla., following a 4 1/2-year battle with cancer, according to family and friends. He was 56.
Brunetti and his brother, John Brunetti Jr., have been carrying on the racing and breeding legacy started by their father, John Brunetti Sr. who bought Hialeah Park in 1977 and developed Red Oak Farm near Ocala, Fla. Stephen Brunetti had a particular passion for the breeding side of the business and worked with Rick Sacco to upgrade the Red Oak broodmare band, which resides at Darby Dan Farm near Lexington.
"Father and son both shared a passion for racing and breeding, and Stephen got to be an astute breeder, who was a supporter of Uncle Mo early on," said Sacco, operation and racing manager for Red Oak Farm, Good Chance Training Center, and Red Oak Stable.
Under Brunetti's leadership, Red Oak Stable bred and raced grade 1 winner and millionaire Unbridled Mo (by Uncle Mo), who won the 2018 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). Stephen and his father traveled together in 2017 and watched Unbridled Mo win graded stakes in Texas and Kentucky. She would win the Apple Blossom after John Brunetti Sr. died in 2018.
Stephen Brunetti also bred and raced Mind Control , a son of Stay Thirsty and a three-time grade 1 winner of more than $2.07 million. Mind Control now stands in New York at Irish Hill Century Farm as part of the Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions roster alongside stakes winner and freshman sire King for a Day (by Uncle Mo), who is another Red Oak Stable homebred.
"It is tough when a patriarch like John Brunetti Sr. passes; there are questions about whether the kids are going to pick it up and carry it on. But Stephen had that passion," Sacco said. "He was an awesome guy, gregarious and charismatic, who loved life and loved going to the races."
Trainer Greg Sacco, Rick's brother, said he remembered running around Monmouth Park with Stephen when John Brunetti Sr. had horses stabled at the New Jersey track.
"Steve was a genuine guy with a real passion for racing and breeding," he said. "We lost him way too young, and it is devastating to my family and the industry. It is really just starting to sink in."
Rick Sacco said Stephen Brunetti's brother, John, and his son, Stephen Jr., are keen to keep the family breeding and racing operations going, though perhaps at a reduced level. Sacco and Stephen Brunetti developed Good Chance Training Center, a 250-acre operation with a three-quarter mile training track and more than 100 stalls. The family will keep the farm, the training center, and the stable going. They are likely to pare down from the 100 horses they have in training and breeding stock.
"John and Stephen's son both have a love for the game, too. John and I have already talked. He wants to carry on, not at the level now, but at a certain level," Sacco said. "We are looking forward to seeing King for a Day get his start."
