According to family and friends, the thoroughbred horse breeding and racing business lost one of its most ardent supporters on April 22 when owner/breeder Stephen Brunetti passed away at his home in Del. Ray, Fla., after a 4½-year battle with cancer. He is 56 years old.
Brunetti and his brother, John Brunetti Jr., have continued the racing and breeding legacy established by their father, John Brunetti Sr., who purchased Hialeah Park in 1977 and developed Red Oak Ranch near Ocala, Fla. Stephen Brunetti has a particular passion for the breeding side of the business and worked with Rick Sacco to upgrade the Red Oak herd, located at Darby Dan Farms near Lexington.
“Father and son both shared a passion for racing and breeding, and Stephen became a keen breeder and policy advocate. Uncle Mo very early on,” said Sacco, director of operations and racing for Red Oak Ranch, Good Chance Training Center and Red Oak Stable.
Under Brunetti’s leadership, Red Oak Stable raised and raced Grade 1 and millionaire winning horses Mo is unrestrained (by Uncle Mo), who won the 2018 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). Stephen and his father traveled together in 2017 and watched Unbridled Mo win stakes in Texas and Kentucky. She would win the Apple Blossom after John Brunetti Sr. passed away in 2018.
Stephen Brunetti also bred and raced Mind control the son of Thirsty and won the 1st prize three times with an amount of more than 2.07 million USD. Mind Control is now based in New York at Irish Hill Century Farm as part of the Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions roster along with stakes winner and freshman sire King for a day (by Uncle Mo), another homebred of Red Oak Stable.
“It’s difficult when a patriarch like John Brunetti Sr. overcome; there are questions about whether kids will pick it up and move on. But Stephen has that passion.” “He was a great guy, sociable and charismatic, loved life and loved going to races.”
Coach Greg Sacco, Rick’s brother, said he misses running around Monmouth Park with Stephen when John Brunetti Sr. stable horses at New Jersey racetracks.
He said: “Steve is a genuine guy with a real passion for racing and breeding. “We lost him at such a young age, it was devastating for my family as well as the industry. It’s really just starting to sink in.”
Rick Sacco said Stephen Brunetti’s brother, John, and his son, Stephen Jr., are eager to maintain the family’s horse breeding and racing operations, although perhaps at a reduced level. Sacco and Stephen Brunetti developed Good Chance Training Center, a 50-acre facility with a three-quarter mile training track and more than 100 booths. The family will continue to maintain the farm, training center and stables. They have the ability to reduce the number of 100 horses they have in their training and breeding herd.
“John and Stephen’s son both loved the game,” Sacco said. John and I talked. He wants to continue, not at the current level, but at a certain level.” “We look forward to seeing King for a Day begin its career.”
