New York breeding, racing communities mourn the passing of David Cassidy

By Sarah Mace

New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) joins America in mourning the passing of David Cassidy, who died Tuesday, November 21 at age 67 in a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he had been admitted earlier with organ failure.

Cassidy is most widely known as the heartthrob of virtually every young girl with a pulse (including this writer), when he starred as Keith Partridge in the early 70s hit television show The Partridge Family. The performer was active in the entertainment industry throughout his career, but in New York thoroughbred circles Cassidy was best known and loved as a passionate breeder and owner, an avid student of pedigree, and a generous ambassador for breeding and racing in New York.

The personal recollections from breeders and horsemen in the articles cited below supply a wealth of detail about Cassidy’s passion for racing, which dates back to childhood trips to the racetrack with the grandfather who brought him up, and his first yearling purchase in 1974 during the Partridge Family years.

Fast-forward to Cassidy’s keynote speech at the 2005 National Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “It’s one of the highlights of my entire adult life and career to be asked to speak at the induction ceremony and articulate my passion for racing,” Cassidy said. “To say I’m flattered would be a gross understatement.”

Comments from many, including New York-based trainer Gary Contessa, who became a close friend, bear this out. Contessa told Perry Lefko (see below), “Everybody has had that big celebrity owner, but none of them were students of the game like David Cassidy. I guarantee you if he had the opportunity to trade places with me and train horses, he would have given up music to be a horse trainer. He just loved [the sport]. He is just one of those really amazing guys who dedicated so much of his day and his life to racing.”

The best-known products of Cassidy’s small, but select broodmare band are In Neon, 1992 Broodmare of the Year (dam of Sharp Cat and Royal Anthem), and Sweet Vendetta, winner of the 2008 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes whom Contessa trained.

On the subject of breeding, Cassidy observed in an earlier interview with Lefko, “You need to have to some luck in life, particularly in this game. It’s not a game for boys in short pants. If you have six mares, the chances of you having broodmare of the year are a little more than 50,000-1. I’ve been a passionate fan in thoroughbred racing since I was five years old, and I’ve spent countless days, weeks, hours, months and years doing a lot of pedigree research, which is what I love to do. I don’t have a lot of mares. I have a pretty small broodmare band, but they’re high quality. It’s been a love affair that I’ve had with horses and channeled my whole life.”

Cassidy made generous donations to annual Thoroughbred Retirement Fund fundraising auctions and the annual fundraiser for Chatham Hospital, operated by business partner and friend Dr. Jerry Bilinski.

Closer to home, Cassidy is remembered by Joe Spadaro, former deputy executive director for the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (the Fund), for his role in an early Fund advertising campaign. “David was first person to say, “Get with the Program – New York-breds!” Spadaro recalls, “We sent a car to pick him up in Manhattan and drive out to Belmont Park where he read script for a New York-bred program video ad. He did it as a ‘comp’ because he loved the industry.”

Upon Cassidy’s death, his publicist JoAnn Geffen released the following statement on behalf of the family: “David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years.” Cassidy had long struggled with substance abuse and, sadly, revealed earlier this year that he also had dementia, which had claimed his mother’s life.

Supplementing the November 21 New York Times obituary[4] of Cassidy, are a group of wonderful remembrances (links included) about Cassidy’s love for and deep commitment to our sport:

• After Cassidy was admitted to the hospital, Perry Lefko in the Thoroughbred Daily News (TDN) canvased Cassidy’s involvement in New York breeding and racing: “Long-Time Industry Supporter Cassidy in Critical Condition[5].”). TDN, November 20.
• Lefko followed up with an obituary “David Cassidy Passes Away[6]” in the November 23 issue of the TDN.
• Also in the November 23 TDN, publisher Barry Weisbord [7]contributed personal reminiscences of Cassidy.
• The Blood-Horse focused on Cassidy’s relationship with Gary and Jennifer Contessa in “Contessas Recall Friendship With Late David Cassidy[8].”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2017/11/23/david-cassidy-reminsicences/

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Experts to gather from near and far for NYTB’s “Foal Diseases and Foot Management” seminar

[1]By Sarah Mace

A quartet of specialists and experts will gather from near and far to speak at the final seminar of NYTB’s 2017 New York Thoroughbred Breeding Industry Educational Series, “Know the Facts and the Fix: Foal Diseases and Foot Management.”

The lineup of distinguished speakers consists of: Dr. Scott Morrison DVM of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. Shawn Morrell DVM of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga, Dr. Laura Javsicas VMD, DACVIM of Rhinebeck Equine and Ray Galluscio, a farrier well-known to Hudson Valley farms and the New York Racing Association racing circuit.

The seminar, which, like the entire series, is sponsored by the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, will take place on Saturday, December 9 at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The meeting is free of charge and includes a complimentary lunch and continental breakfast. Those who wish to attend must RSVP to the NYTB office by December 4 at (518) 587-0777 or info@nytbreeders.org[2]. (See further below.)

NYTB’s most well-traveled guest speaker is Dr. Scott Morrison. A graduate of the Eastern School of Farriery who built a successful farrier business, Dr. Morrison next attended the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and, upon graduation, served a one-year hospital internship at Rood & Riddle before being hired by hospital as an associate veterinarian.

Now a partner at Rood & Riddle, Dr. Morrison developed the hospital’s Podiatry Center, an internationally-recognized referral facility for all breeds and types of horses of every age with every type of foot disorder. At the center, Dr. Morrison works with a staff of hoof-specialist veterinarians, farriers, and technicians. He also travels throughout the United States and Europe to consult and lecture, numbering trainer Aidan O’Brien among his clients. Dr. Morrison has already developed several horseshoe designs that are used all over the world and is exploring the use of umbilical stem cells in severe laminitis cases.

Joining Dr. Morrison on the subject of podiatry will be Shawn A. Morrell, DVM of Rood & Riddle’s Saratoga facility. Dr. Morrell graduated from veterinary school at Virginia-Maryland Regional College in 2012, then attended the Kentucky Horseshoeing School from which he graduated in 2014. Dr. Morrell completed an internship at Rood & Riddle from 2012- 2013 and is currently a podiatry fellow under Dr. Scott Morrison.

Dr. Laura Javsicas, VMD, DACVIM is a specialist in equine internal medicine. A graduate of Cornell University who earned her veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine program, Dr. Javsicas worked at Hagyard Equine Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky before going on to study at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine where she prepared for her specialty. Board-certified as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Dr. Javsicas moved to New York to work at Upstate Equine Medical Center in Schuylerville, and now calls the Rhinebeck Equine Clinic home.

When Dr. Javsicas was at Upstate, Ahmed Zayat’s Paynter had the good fortune to cross her path in the early stages of a life-threatening case of colitis that required abdominal surgery and was later complicated by laminitis. Under Dr. Javsicas’ care, Paynter recovered sufficiently to be transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. When Paynter’s all-but-miraculous recovery and triumphant return to the races was celebrated as the 2012 National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year at the Eclipse Awards, Dr. Javsicas was asked by Ahmed Zayat to accept the award on behalf of “Team Paynter.”

Last, but certainly not least, the panel will feature farrier Ray Galluscio. A familiar and popular figure in New York breeding and racing circles, Galluscio grew up in Columbia County and began working for trainer Mike Hernandez at Clermont Farm when he was 15.

Galluscio attended farrier school in New Jersey, after which he became an apprentice working mostly on show horses in Connecticut. Once he got his farrier’s license, Galluscio worked at thoroughbred farms in the Hudson Valley and shod horses for his late brother Dominic’s racing stable.

A member of the American Farriers Association, Galluscio has been involved with thoroughbreds of all ages for more than 25 years, and often worked with Frank Christian, who serviced several prominent farms in Lexington, when Frank would fly north to work at Kinderhill Farm.

NYTB is proud of this fine lineup and we expect the seminar to attract a full house.

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Know the Facts and the Fix: Foal Diseases and Foot Management 

When: Saturday, December 9, 2017, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion, 415 East Avenue, Saratoga Springs
To attend you must RSVP to the NYTB office by December 4 at (518) 587-0777 or info@nytbreeders.org[3].
Click here for Seminar invitation postcard.

 

 

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2017/11/23/experts-to-gather-from-near-and-far-for-nytbs-foal-diseases-and-foot-management-seminar/

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