Grade 1-winning trainer, 'tireless' horseman Violette dies

Rick Violette, the Grade 1-winning trainer of horses such as Diversify, as well as the director emeritus of the National Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, died Sunday.

A native of Massachusetts and graduate of Lowell University, Violette was 65.

"The THA sends its condolences to family and friends of Rick Violette Jr., who lost his courageous battle with cancer this morning," a Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association statement reads. "Rick, a longtime (THA) President, was a respected trainer and a tireless, effective advocate for horsemen not only in (New York) but nationally." During his training career Violette saddled 870 winners, according to Equibase, with this year's Whitney Stakes (G1) winner Diversify his top earner. Violette also finished fifth with Samraat in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and saddled Citadeed to a third-place finish in the 1995 Belmont Stakes.

His legacy transcends those results, however, as Violette was known for advocating for horsemen, particularly in New York, where he opened his stable in 1983.

According to the THA website, Violette "is widely recognized for his work in leading NYTHA through the bankruptcy and reorganization of NYRA; negotiating the horsemen’s share of VLT revenues and backstretch improvements at the NYRA tracks; the reorganization and strengthening of the Backstretch Employee Service Team; and acquiring state of the art equipment for the New York Drug Testing and Research Program."

The New York THA in August announced that it had created the “Rick Violette Award” to recognize contributions to racing similar to his own, as well extraordinary contributions in the best interests of horsemen. The award will be national, open to those who work on the backstretch or front side of a racetrack, and may not be given out every year."

“Rick has always had the courage of where he stood, and you never had to doubt it," said THA chairman Alan Foreman at the time. "Rick never backed down.”

Violette's health issues, including pancreatitis, were well-documented. Last fall, he required a 10-day hospital stay, and he was more recently back in care. “What we’ve gone through the last few years, I’m a very, very lucky man,” Violette said in August. “I can’t tell you how many people rallied behind me — people I didn’t know, people I knew very casually, my best friends, and my family has been outstanding. I didn’t know I had so many friends and so many real, caring people that literally took care of me the last three years.

"...Fundamentally, I’m a pretty lucky guy.”

After his college graduation, Violette turned his attention to the racetrack and, at age 24, began training thoroughbreds full-time. He saddled his first starter on June 25, 1977 at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts. His first win came less than two months later with Catch the Action on August 18 at Rockingham in New Hampshire.

Following his training start, Violette worked as an assistant to Emile Allain at Woodbine Racetrack in Ontario, Canada, before moving to New York as David Whiteley's assistant trainer. He resumed his own stable in the 1980s.

"I had the privilege to work with Rick for over a decade through many ups and downs in New York racing. His perseverance will never be matched," said Jeffrey Cannizzo, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. "Rick did so much tirelessly on behalf of his fellow horsemen. He stuck to his morals and always kept to his beliefs. I had the utmost respect for him and learned much from his actions. As I told him this summer, I'm glad we had the chance to see how good a horseman he truly was this year with Diversify. His support will be missed by all of New York."

Information from the NYRA Press Office was used in this report.