Prominent Detroit businessman, philanthropist, and accomplished owner/breeder Richard "Dick" Brodie died Aug. 16, as reported in the Detroit Free Press. He was 84.
Brodie's family described him as a "force of nature" who left behind a legacy of leadership, generosity, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to the people, causes, and organizations most important to him. He was the owner of Wico Metal Products, a Michigan-based automotive manufacturing company, for 54 years and showed great respect to his employees, who he regularly recognized as the greatest contributor to his company's success.
While working at Acme Foundry, Brodie met a man who introduced him to Thoroughbred racing. He bought his first racehorse, a $2,000 claimer, in 1972 and raced it at Detroit's Hazel Park, according to an interview he did in 2023 with The Real Players Inside the Backstretch. Later, the late Florida horseman Bobby Scanlon introduced Brodie to the team at Coolmore.
"There is nothing better than their first class," Brodie said in the interview. "Charlie O'Connor is a dear friend. John Magnier, his son M.V., and Adrian Wallace are all good people."
"He was a true gentleman and a great friend of all of us here at Coolmore," Wallace said. "His love for the sport of racing was only bettered by the love and esteem in which he was held by his close friends. We at Coolmore, on both sides of the Atlantic, were proud to be a part of that group. The sport has lost a true sportsman."
As an owner, Brodie campaigned, in partnership, four graded/group stakes winners that included 2023 Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) winner Verstappen; homebred No Nay Hudson, who won the 2025 Nearctic Stakes (G2T); 2026 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) winner Life of Joy; and multiple grade 3 winner Duveen. Brodie raced under the nom de course Andrew Farm and often partnered with Mike Morgan's For the People Racing Stable, Rick Imbert's Windmill Manor Farm, David Fennelly's Mountmellick Farm, and Will Stroud.
As a breeder, Brodie produced four black-type stakes winners in the name of his RJB Bloodstock. Besides No Nay Hudson, he bred group-placed stakes winner Never No More and stakes winners Ms Quality Control and Invite. He also co-bred Duveen under his own name.
"He developed amazing relationships with his Kentucky friends, and they became like family to him," his family wrote about his connection to horse racing. "He was a member of Keeneland Club and the Thoroughbred Club in Lexington. He was a regular attendee with his crew at the important stakes races, including the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup. The Thoroughbred world became an important part of his life."
Brodie also was a passionate supporter of the arts in Detroit and a serious collector for more than 60 years. He and his wife, Joanne, were involved in the Detroit Institute of Arts for more than 50 years. He served on the DIA board of directors between 2001-10 and was the current chair of its Collections Committee. In 2020, the DIA renamed its Medici Gallery in honor of the Brodies.
Besides Joanne, Brodie is survived by his daughters, Pauline "Polly" Fisher (David) and Margaret Williams (Fenton), and his grandchildren Benjamin, Brodie, Hudson, and Madeline.
A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. ET Sept. 12 at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., north of Detroit, and a celebration of life will follow at Bloomfield Hills Country Club. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the DAC Foundation in Detroit in support of the Ted Gillary Employee Academic Scholarship Program.
