Diversify returns to his New York roots in retirement at Old Friends at Cabin Creek
Nearly a decade after winning the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, the popular New York-bred gelding Diversify made a celebrated homecoming to the Empire State last year at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center, N.Y., settling into the quaint farm after spending the first six years of his retirement at the organization’s flagship farm in Kentucky.
“He settled in on Day One and he’s just so easy going,” said JoAnn Pepper, owner and manager of Old Friends at Cabin Creek, a sanctuary for retired racehorses. “He’s such a sweet horse and he’s happy to be here. It’s like he belonged here all along.”
This year's renewal of the Jockey Club Gold Cup headlines the Friday, September 18 card to mark the return to racing following a three-year project to transform Belmont Park into a world-class sports and entertainment destination. The 10-furlong route for 3-year-olds and up is slated as Race 5 on the nine-race program, and provides a “Win and You’re In” berth for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Keeneland. First post is 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
To help unveil the new Belmont Park to a national audience on September 18, FOX will present live coverage of the Jockey Club Gold Cup as part of its Belmont Park Returns telecast to air from 3-4:30 p.m. Eastern. For the full broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule/.
Diversify has become a favorite among the farm’s volunteers and visitors during weekly open house events. The 13-year-old Bellamy Road gelding is known for his stoic and gentle nature on the farm, but he was a fierce competitor on the racetrack, squaring off against the best of his generation during his 16-10-2-0 career for the late trainer Rick Violette.
While retraining for a new riding discipline wasn’t in the cards for Diversify, his second career as an aftercare ambassador honors the lifelong efforts of his trainer, who was a staunch advocate for equine welfare and instrumental in the development of several thoroughbred aftercare initiatives. Violette was a former president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA), a member of The New York Racing Association, Inc (NYRA) board of directors, and founder of NYTHA’s Take the Lead program, which facilitates the search for rehabilitation and retraining placements for NYRA racehorses.
Violette was also a founding member of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), an accrediting body that inspects and fundraises for aftercare facilities across the country, including Old Friends at Cabin Creek and its parent organization, Old Friends Equine.
“Diversify’s retirement here honors Rick, and we mention that on every tour,” Pepper said. “His legacy lives on, and his legacy as a trainer shows through this horse. The kindness Diversify must have been shown from him was clear in how he ran. It’s perfect that Diversify got to retire to an organization that has benefitted from initiatives that Rick helped put in place. Every horse continues to have value beyond their days on the racetrack.”
Diversify’s story began 10 years ago with an impressive win streak, posting three open-lengths victories facing fellow state-breds at Belmont and Aqueduct Racetrack. He made it four-in-a-row with a narrow score against open allowance company at the Big A to commence what would be a tremendous 4-year-old campaign for owners Lauren and Ralph Evans.
After a misfire in the Stymie that March at Aqueduct, Diversify was a nose second in Belmont’s Commentator, named for the dual Whitney-winner who once occupied the very paddock at Old Friends at Cabin Creek that Diversify now resides in. The next three races would help propel Diversify to the forefront of the older dirt male division, including a pair of state-bred scores in the Saginaw at Belmont, and Saratoga’s Evan Shipman by 11 1/2 lengths, earning a then-career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure.
The stage was set for Diversify’s Grade 1 debut at Belmont that fall, with the local fan-favorite taking on six rivals in the 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup, including 2015 Grade 1 Travers-winner Keen Ice, subsequent top-level winner Pavel and 2016 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes runner-up Destin.
Piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for nine of his 16 starts, Diversify was never in doubt in the prestigious event for 3-year-olds and up, taking the early lead comfortably through splits of 24.17 seconds, 47.74, 1:11.42 and 1:36.08 over the fast main track. Pavel tracked in second throughout and was challenged for his position by the late-running Keen Ice entering the lane, and while those two gave game chase and steadily made up ground, Diversify was simply too good as he kept one length in front of Keen Ice and completed the course in 2:00.96, earning a 107 Beyer.
Following the race, Violette expressed his joy in the way Diversify progressed throughout his sparkling 4-year-old season.
"We couldn't have dreamed of a better scenario," Violette told BloodHorse after the victory. "The first quarter, going in [24.17 seconds] was ideal. He's done nothing but get better from the early summer until now. He's always been a nice horse, but he's certainly jumped into the major leagues here today."
Diversify returned in 2018 to earn two more trips to the winner’s circle in esteemed New York dirt routes, annexing Belmont’s Grade 2 Suburban in a 6 1/2-length tour de force that garnered a career-best 111 Beyer, and posting a memorable score in the Grade 1 Whitney after a lengthy weather delay.
Following the decisive 3 1/2-length victory over fellow top New York-bred Mind Your Biscuits, Diversify walked down the stretch of Saratoga underneath a bright rainbow, a bittersweet epilogue to what would be Violette’s final graded stakes win before he died at age 65 that October following a battle with lung cancer.
Diversify made his final start when fifth in his Jockey Club Gold Cup title defense that September, and was named New York’s Horse of the Year for 2018. He returned to training in 2019 with conditioner Jonathan Thomas, but his retirement was announced that June due to a suspensory injury.
After six years of retirement in Kentucky, Diversify shipped north to his home state last July, joining an Old Friends at Cabin Creek roster that includes some of the most accomplished New York-breds in history, like millionaires A Shin Forward, Naughty New Yorker and Be Bullish.
The 40-acre farm is home to 16 retired racehorses – and one 38-year-old quarter horse named Patrick – and Diversify has quickly made a new friend in fellow state-bred Victorious Leader, known around the farm as “Victor.” The two were paired shortly after Victor’s arrival in May, and spend their days happily greeting visitors and enjoying more than their fair share of carrots and peppermints.
“Now that he’s got a best friend, he’s even happier,” Pepper said. “They get along so good and Diversify doesn’t let Victor out of his sight. He loves going up to him to lean on him and put his head over his neck. Victor just rolls with it.”
Pepper, who founded Old Friends at Cabin Creek in 2009 with her husband, Mark, said Diversify has quickly worked his way into the hearts of all who know him.
“Everybody just loves him. We’re so lucky to have him and I couldn’t be happier to be able to care for him,” Pepper said. “I’m so amazed and honored that I get to love and care for him. How lucky are we that we get to be his home?”
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Old Friends at Cabin Creek is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The farm hosts open house events throughout the year for visitors to meet their retirees and learn about the importance of thoroughbred aftercare. For more information and to make a donation, visit www.oldfriendsatcabincreek.com.
