Innovative bookseller, philanthropist and successful thoroughbred owner/breeder Leonard “Len” Riggio died August 27 in New York City, a family spokeswoman said and several media outlets reported. He was 83 years old and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

Riggio raced and bred under the name My Meadowview, a farm on Long Island, New York, that was originally the home of show horses owned by his wife Louise and daughter Stephanie and later became the birthplace of his New York-bred Thoroughbred racehorses.

Riggio, a native of the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, loved going to the races and dreamed of one day owning his own horses. In 2001, he rode his first winner with Joseph Cornacchia, a Pulpit colt named Father Steve, which he bought from trainer Nick Zito for $900,000 at the 2000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt won three of 11 starts.

Riggio’s first black-type horse was Noble Causeway in 2005, who finished second in the Florida Derby (G1) and later became the owner/breeder’s first starter in the Kentucky Derby (G1), where he finished 14th. The following year, his stable’s Doc Cheney finished second in the Dwyer Stakes (G2). Home-bred Marion Ravenwood became Riggio’s first stakes winner in the 2011 Capades Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack and would later play a larger role in his breeding program.

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“Having Noble Causeway with Nick Zito really got him going. He wanted to do more than just buy yearlings, he wanted to be more a part of the process,” recalls Lincoln Collins, president of Kern Bloodstock, who ran Riggio’s thoroughbred operation from 2007 to 2023, when the farm’s last thoroughbred stock was sold. “In the late 2000s, he started to put together a pretty talented group of mares.”

These previous purchases included Class 1 placers, Class 2 winners Andújar ($2.5 million), stakes-placed, graded stakes producer Oat Lake (US$1.55 million) and Class 1 winner Love as you are (1.45 million US dollars) and Attractive Zophie (US$1.1 million).

“He was always very supportive and gave me the opportunity to buy horses and breed stallions that were a dream for someone doing what I do,” Collins said. “As an owner/breeder, it takes a long time to get results and he was patient. And his program influenced the breeding.”

My Meadowview has bred and raised the dams of several Grade 1 winners. Marion Ravenwood (a daughter of Andujar) became the dam of the winner of the 2021 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) idol And nest a three-time Grade 1 winner who was also runner-up in the 2022 Belmont Stakes (G1). Nest finished second in the Belmont Stakes to Mon Donegal who is out of the My Meadowview Homebred winner CallMissBrown . The farm also bred Riviera Romper the mother of the winner of the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) 2021 Lexitonic ; And, Lemon liqueur the mother of the winner of the 2022 New York Stakes (G1T) Bleecker Street .

Riggio did not breed and raise Appealing Zophie, but he did breed her most successful foal Tapwrit a son of Tapit which he sold to Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert LaPenta for $1.2 million in 2015 during the Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s boutique yearling auction. The colt, consigned by Denali Stud, won the 2017 Belmont Stakes (G1) and Tampa Bay Derby (G2). Tapwrit will compete in the 2024 breeding season at Gainesway for $7,500.

Riggio’s most successful runner as owner is Ride a comet a colt by Candy ride out of Appealing Zophie, who has three graded stakes wins, including the 2018 Del Mar Derby (G2T), and was second in the 2021 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) at KeenelandRiggio participated in the Ride a Comet race with John Oxley.

Collins described Riggio as a wonderful, generous man who loved his horses. He cherished trips to Kentucky to visit his mares and foals and enjoyed training sessions with Saratoga RacetrackHis close connection with the horses he bred and raised was reflected in his early commitment to helping them transition to other careers after racing or to a comfortable retirement.

“His whole family was very meticulous about the horses they bred. They were way ahead of their time in that respect,” Collins said. “At first they reclaimed their horses and later Len decided that none of their horses should run in the claiming ranks. If they weren’t good enough to be used as maiden special weight or allowance horses, they would find a new job or be retired.”

One of the current retirees at My Meadowview is Samrat the New York-bred son of Noble Causeway who won the 2014 Withers Stakes (G3) and Gotham Stakes (G3) before finishing second in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2). Samraat gave Riggio his best finish in the 2014 Kentucky Derby when he finished fifth, missing fourth by a nose.

While Riggio was building his breeding program, he also served on the board of the New York Racing Association from 2007 to 2017.

Riggio made his name in the business world by building Barnes & Noble, a book retailing and publishing company, into the largest publicly traded bookstore chain in the country. His stores broke new ground among booksellers by offering comfortable chairs and tables where customers could sit and read with a good cup of coffee.

The New Yorker was also an avid and experienced art collector and dedicated philanthropist. Len and Louise Riggio founded a nonprofit called Project Home Again, which built and gave away 101 homes in New Orleans after the devastating floods from Hurricane Katrina, according to the Wall Street Journal. Collins said he donated to many causes, often anonymously.

“He was a brilliant and good man,” Collins said. “It makes me very happy that the legacy of My Meadowview will continue for many years to come through these various mares that he bred and raised. Personally, I owe him a lot.”

Riggio leaves behind Louise, three daughters and four grandchildren.