TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program Inc.

2024 Nominees

BROADWAY PRODUCER – New Vocations

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Bay gelding, 2003, Not For Love–Lucky Sword, by Sword Dance (Ire) (MD), 32-4-5-10, $344,505

BIOGRAPHY: Broadway Producer, Brodie as he is nicknamed, raced 32 times and won $344,505. Of those 32 starts, Brodie hit the board 19 times. He was a two-time stakes winner while racing at Belmont, Saratoga, Aqueduct and Laurel Park. He won the Maryland Million Turf in 2008.

Brodie, bred by Fast Kitty Farms and sold to Sovereign Stables as a yearling for $52,000, was raced by both Sovereign Stables and Gatsas Stables and trained by John Terranova. He retired in 2010 to New Vocations. North Country Horses (NCH) acquired him in 2014.

WHY BROADWAY PRODUCER DESERVES YOUR VOTE: Brodie is one of NCH’s most valuable lesson horses. Lesson horses are some of the most patient, wise and valuable teachers in equestrian sport. They have so many jobs to do, and Brodie is exemplary at all of them.

Lesson horses help riders, and in Brodie’s case, he provides those who are young and just starting out and those who are more advanced and older with experience that classrooms and books cannot. Brodie not only teaches skills in the saddle like balance, posture and coordination, but he also teaches things like patience, confidence, respect and trust.

I think the most valuable characteristics that Brodie helps our team at NCH share with our students is adaptability, work ethic, empathy and compassion. Imagine–this 1000-pound retired racehorse is able to educate so many, and he can’t even speak.

Brodie has given over 2,500 lessons at NCH over his 10 years here. Hundreds of riders have learned from him. He has taken riders to horse shows, he’s crossed the finish line in the Run for the Horses 5k with 300 runners, he’s been a trusted Interscholastic Equestrian Association mount and is the keeper of so many riders’ secrets. Brodie has been an important part of so many riders’ careers. We can’t imagine our team here without him. We would love nothing more than to be able to recognize Brodie and his importance as a lesson horse being cheered on by the riders whose lives he’s touched.

Click here to learn more about New Vocations.

CUT OF MUSIC – Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation

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Dark bay gelding, 2000, Coverallbases–Buper’s Echo, by Bupers (CO), 89-17-14-22, $342,783

BIOGRAPHY: Meet Colorado-bred Cut of Music, who up until 2013 was the highest Colorado-bred earner in history. A true war horse with 89 starts, he had impressive earnings of $342,783 with 17 wins, 14 seconds and 22 thirds.

But that is not what makes Cut of Music the star that he is. In 2014, his racing connections including Rick Westerman and Chalk Racing Stable delivered this stakes winner to the TRF Second Chances Program at Lowell Correctional Facility in Ocala, Florida. For 10 years he was a teacher, a mentor and set of listening ears to the women in the program. Those women learned to trust, to forgive and learn about themselves during their work with the TRF horses at Lowell. They also learn a lifelong vocation they may continue after their release.

In the later of his 10 years at Lowell Correctional, Cut of Music developed anhidrosis, making him what they call a “non-sweater.” Florida is not the ideal place for a horse with this condition, so Cut of Music moved to north to North Country Horses in Gansevoort, NY, where he has become an ambassador of Thoroughbreds to those in the Saratoga area. His kind demeanor, quirky facial expressions and obsession with cookies has made him a barn favorite. At 25 years young, he showcases the amazing abilities of the Thoroughbred breed.

WHY CUT OF MUSIC DESERVES YOUR VOTE: Cut of Music represents the TRF Second Chances Program and our commitment not only to a lifetime sanctuary for the retired racehorses who need it, but to giving these horses the amazing power to be teachers to men, women and youth who truly need them. These horses are giving the women of Lowell a second chance at life, and new opportunities they never thought would exist.

We are so grateful for all of our horses, and Cut of Music especially, with his kindness and compassion for everyone. 

Click here to learn more about TRF.

FLAG IS FLYING – Second Chance Thoroughbreds

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Bay gelding, 2004, Rawafed–Mexican Flag, by Georgeff (NY), 8-1-0-1, $17,248

BIOGRAPHY: Flag is Flying, also known in the barn as Grover, had eight career starts, beginning at Finger Lakes, followed by Aqueduct, and onto Belmont where he had his first and only win in the mud.

After retirement, Grover remained a stallion until he was 10 years old, at which time Second Chance Thoroughbreds (SCT) came upon him within the auction chain and provided him with a soft landing. Grover was gelded and adopted from SCT in 2015, going to a lesson and boarding barn, Hunter Landing Equestrian, in Blossvale, New York.

Grover has excelled in his second career, and teaches all kinds of riders the ropes, from cross rails through the 1.0-meter jumpers and everything in between.

WHY FLAG IS FLYING DESERVES YOUR VOTE: If you thought unicorns don’t exist, Grover will prove you wrong. This plain bay, 16-hand senior, with an automatic lead change and a little white star, is the confidence booster, the babysitter, the hunter pacer, the IEA Horse of the Day, the jumper, the teacher, and the could-have-been best barrel racer had he not ended up at a hunter barn first. In fact, nobody falls off Grover unless he turns “too well.” He has spooked fewer times than we count on one hand, we have never seen him buck or rear, and he gets you to the other side of a jump, no.matter.what.

Other fun Grover things…once when an IEA rider forgot her last jump, Grover took her to it anyway; he has done things like following 400 runners and the Color Guard for a Memorial Run & Walk without a blink; for Halloween, the lesson kids dressed him up as a version of Superman, or Super Grover, because that’s what this horse is; he uses his neck to put riders back in the saddle; he babysits the young horses, too, and is a strong but fair ruler. If those horses grow up to be half the solid citizen that Grover is, we’ve won.

As a cribber, he has virtually no front teeth, but not all the gold in the world would take this horse off the farm that is his home at Hunter Landing Equestrian. He is loved by all his fans, and there are many. He also owes nobody a darn thing.

Click here to learn more about Second Chance Thoroughbreds.

MEL’S BABY SISTER – ReRun, Inc.

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Gray filly, 2021, Cross Traffic–Childhood Dream, by Freud (NY), 8-1-3-0,$91,976 

BIOGRAPHY: Mel’s Baby Sister was purchased by long-time ReRun supporter and NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells as a 2-year-old for $110,000. Along with another gray filly, the incredible Maple Leaf Mel, he named both to honor his trainer, Melanie Giddings, who had recently undergone a battle with cancer. Although not related, Mel’s Baby Sister helped to fill the enormous hole left by the untimely passing of Maple Leaf Mel.

Mel’s Baby Sister ran eight times, won once, and earned just over $90,000. She retired to ReRun in August of 2024, arriving 10 days after her last race, a seventh-place finish in a Saratoga allowance test. After a month of turnout, she was sent down to New Jersey so she could have more turnout and eventually started training for a second career as a show hunter. She is entered in the 2025 Retired Racehorse Project Makeover.

WHY MEL’S BABY SISTER DESERVES YOUR VOTE: The tragedy that befell Maple Leaf Mel galvanized racing fans and horse lovers and, in the days that followed, united people in a way that is rarely seen. Her stall stood empty after trainer Brendan Walsh gifted the winner’s blanket of flowers to Melanie, but not for long. Mel’s Baby Sister moved into her namesake sister’s former stall, and the trainer said that, at a time when she felt like walking away from racing, Mel’s Baby Sister gave her what she needed to carry on.

ReRun nominates Mel’s Baby Sister because she has become a beacon to racing fans who want to express their feelings of loss about Maple Leaf Mel. She has motivated a dedicated team to push through, and she brings joy to everyone who meets her. Her beauty and strength of character epitomize the Thoroughbred.

She has flourished in her own right, and I think the Saratoga fans would love to see and interact with her one last time before she heads off into her show career. It also presents an opportunity for fans to show their love and appreciation for Melanie and Bill, who always do right by their horses.

Click here to learn more about ReRun.