NEWS
Noted Lexington equine lawyer Don Sturgill dies of heart attack
Posted: Wednesday, October 02, 2002
Don Sturgill, former general counsel for the national and Kentucky chapters of the Horsemen's Benevolent Protection Association and a Lexington-based lawyer specializing in the horse industry, died on Wednesday morning of a heart attack at age 74.Sturgill began his law career in the late 1950s and was a key figure in many of the most prominent equine law cases over the last four decades, including simulcasting and syndication law. Sturgill was instrumental in the syndication on a number of high-profile stallions, including Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed.
"Back early, when I first started practicing law, a stallion syndication agreement was about a page and a half," Sturgill told the Lexington Herald-Leader in 1990, noting that the agreements now commonly are about 25 pages.
Sturgill earned his bachelor's degree at Harvard University and his law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He served as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Safety upon graduation and was named "Kentucky Man of the Year" by the Louisville Courier-Journal for his work. In 1960, Sturgill joined the national presidential campaign staff of then-Senators John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, D.C., after which he returned to practice law in Lexington.
Sturgill also was a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, and in addition to his posts at the HBPA, which he left in April, he represented owners, trainers, jockeys, and racetracks.
"He was a wonderful man and had just a profound impact on the racing industry," said lawyer Phil Moloney, a partner since 1982 in the Lexington law firm Sturgill, Turner, Barker, and Moloney. "He loved horses and racing and he wanted to take care of the people who were involved in the sport, all the way from hot walkers, grooms, and jockeys to the owners. He wanted to make sure they were taken care of."
Sturgill is survived by his wife, Ann, who is also a partner in the Lexington firm.
Funeral services will be held at the Christ Church Cathedral on Market Street in Lexington at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Monday.—Victor Ryan
