by Jeff Apel

John Henry, the two-time Horse of the Year whose will to live matched his determination on the racetrack, was euthanized on Monday at 7 p.m. EDT at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. He was 32.

“The mighty heart of the great John Henry has, at long last, yielded to time,” said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park. “The racing industry has lost a legend, but more significantly, many people have lost a personal hero. John Henry’s true legacy was written in people’s hearts far more indelibly than his superlative racing career could ever reflect.” 

John Henry began receiving daily intravenous treatments for dehydration on September 11, and was also treated for dehydration earlier this summer. The Ole Bob Bowers gelding out of Once Double, by Double Jay, also had lost a noticeable amount of weight and was battling kidney problems.

“After continued successful efforts to maintain the quality of John Henry's life, in the past 48 hours he did not respond to our medical intervention,” said Kathy Hopkins, the Kentucky Horse Park’s equine director. “Due to the loss of kidney function and muscle mass, his veterinarian, Dr. Mike Beyer, found it impossible to keep him properly hydrated and comfortable.

“Over the years, our goal has always been to maintain the highest quality of care and life for him, and it became evident over the weekend that this was no longer possible,” Hopkins continued. “Our hearts go out to all of those who so deeply cared for John during his long and charismatic life.”

A 1990 inductee into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, John Henry was a seven-time Eclipse Award winner who was named Horse of the Year in 1981 and ’84. The temperamental gelding also was a four-time champion turf male and earned champion older male honors in ’81. John Henry wrapped up his eight-year racing career in 1984 with 39 wins in 83 starts and purse earnings of $6,591,860.

John Henry lived at the Horse Park’s Hall of Champions since 1985. A small circle of friends that included Cathy Roby, the barn manager for the Hall of Champions, and Verna Lehmann, whose Golden Chance Farm in Paris, Kentucky, bred John Henry, surrounded the gelding in his final moments.

“John Henry was a testament to the fact that a horse’s value is far greater than the sum of his pedigree, conformation, sales price, and race record,” Nicholson said. “Winston Churchill said that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, but I would add that horses like John Henry prove that the inside of a horse is even better for the inside of a man.”

John Henry was foaled on March 9, 1975. The late Sam Rubin, who along with his wife, Dorothy, raced as Dotsam Stable, purchased John Henry sight unseen for $25,000 in 1978.

Transferred to trainer Ron McAnally after previously being trained by Victor Nickerson, John Henry won 16 Grade 1 races and retired as Thoroughbred racing’s all-time leading earner. John Henry remains the all-time leading North American runner by turf earnings with $5,269,212.

Robert Donato, Phil Marino, and Hal Snowden Jr. also trained John Henry, who was voted racehorse of the decade for the 1980s.

“John always had fire in his eyes as he circled his opponents in the paddock while they pranced, his eyes glazed with determination to win,” said Tom Levinson, Sam Rubin’s stepson. “Certainly, he was the people’s hero. …Sam and Dorothy loved sharing John’s victories with his adoring fans, and we appreciate their devotion even to this sad day.

“We are sure that if Sam Rubin were here today, he and my mother, Dorothy, would agree that their wish would be for John Henry to be remembered as the mighty, cantankerous champion we all loved.”

Retired Racing Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron rode John Henry in his final 14 career starts, earning eight wins. McCarron regularly visited the Horse Park to see the equine legend, whose birthday parties drew fans from across the United States.

“What can I say about the legendary John Henry that has not already been said?” McCarron said. “John meant the world to my family and me. Everywhere he raced, his presence doubled the size of a normal racetrack crowd. He did so much for racing, even after he retired, that he will be impossible to replace. He will be sorely missed but forever in our hearts.”

Lewis Cenicola, John Henry’s exercise rider for six years, also visited the Horse Park in September.

John Henry will be buried near his paddock at the Hall of Champions. A public memorial service for John Henry will be held at 2 p.m. EDT on October 19 at the Kentucky Horse Park Hall of Champions.

“The next few days will be terribly difficult for his fans, but especially for the people here at the park who have worked with him and loved him for so long,” Nicholson said. “It was our unparalleled privilege to have John Henry here living at the Kentucky Horse Park for the past 22 years.”

Jeff Apel is a Thoroughbred Times assistant daily news editor