Rick Schosberg

The New York State Gaming Commission has named seven individuals to form an advisory board to assist in directing contributions from New York's Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding funds to responsible racehorse aftercare organizations. The newly named board members are: Joseph Battaglia, Lois Engel, Bill Ketzer, Robin Malatino, Lisa Malloy, Liz O'Connell, and Rick Schosberg. "These dedicated individuals recognize the importance of making sure racehorses have viable options after they leave the track," said gaming commission chairman Brian O'Dwyer. "Their collective expertise will undoubtedly help the cause, and I thank each...

Honoring retired trainer Rick Schosberg, the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund will hold a 'Salute to Thoroughbred Aftercare' from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Sept. 10 at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, the fund said in a Friday release. Besides honoring Schosberg, who has exerted a positive influence over aftercare organizations TAKE2 and Take The Lead, attendees will watch the trailer for the documentary "Off Track: Fate of a Racehorse" and hear from the film's director, John Wager.

The fourth annual New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day, hosted by the New York Racing Association, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and New York Thoroughbred Breeders will be held Aug. 15 at Saratoga Race Course. New York Aftercare Day showcases retired racehorses demonstrating the skills they've learned in second careers, and interviews with members of New York's aftercare community. The $125,000 Rick Violette Stakes, named for the late trainer and NYTHA President who spearheaded the creation of the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program and TAKE THE LEAD Retirement Program, will anchor...

Fight On Lucy became the 1000th horse retired to the TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program when she boarded  van out of Belmont Park on New Year's Eve 2022. Bred by the Bongard Family's Bojan Farm, Fight On Lucy amassed earnings of $315,000 in a 39-start career over five seasons. She was trained by Pat Kelly, a founding member of TAKE THE LEAD and its sister program TAKE2. Cindy Norton, who served as Rojan Farm's manager for many years, said, "The owners were never going to run her in a...

There would be no fairytale ending Thursday at Aqueduct for trainer Rick Schosberg. Silken Dollar (Central Banker), the last horse he will start before retiring from training, finished eighth in Thursday's fourth race at Aqueduct. That's OK. Schosberg, 61, learned a long time ago that the life of a horse trainer is never that easy. "Obviously the game has changed with the emergence of unlimited stall allocations," Schosberg said. "It's really affected the competitiveness of it. It used to be that every barn had a different outfit. Now there are...

Rick Schosberg celebrated his retirement from training by making a pledge to match all donations up to $1,000 to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance's Holiday Giving Campaign Friday.  After 35 years, 5,973 starts, and over $38 million in earnings, the New York horseman saddled his final runner Dec. 29 at Aqueduct. "Funding aftercare should be a top priority for every industry participant," said Schosberg. "The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance does a great job vetting aftercare organizations to ensure the safety of retired Thoroughbreds, but the industry must envision more unique and creative...

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF), an offshoot of Thoroughbred Charities of America established to provide focused funding for equine education and research, has provided funding to the tune of $4,000 for an aftercare education program and for its generosity, has been recognized as 'TAKE2 Donor of the Month' for August. TAKE2 set a goal of raising $10,000 a month for 10 months in honor of its milestone 10th anniversary this year. With the generous help of previous 'Donors of the Month' Len Green and the Green Group, TAKE2...

Tired of the constant drumbeat of bad news, negativity and scandal? So am I. All the problems the sport is dealing with are not going to go away and they need to be dealt with and reported on. But I thought I'd give you and I a break in this week's edition of "The Week in Review." So here are some stories we can all feel good about. Schosberg Claims, Retires Twisted Tom In his role as the president of Take The Lead, a retirement program for Thoroughbreds based at...

TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program (TTL) just closed its 2019-20 fiscal year with a new mark of 135 former racehorses transitioning to second careers for the year. The previous record for the program, which was created by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) in 2013, was 98 retirees for the fiscal year of 2016-17. Also celebrating its milestone 500th successful retirement last year, TAKE THE LEAD has now been responsible for 603 horses passing through its program. President Rick Schosberg oversees each retirement, which recently included popular New...