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Longtime Claiborne farm manager Sosby dies at 73

Posted: Monday, August 08, 2011 5:50 PM

by Joe Nevills

John Sosby had plenty in common with the yearlings he broke at Claiborne Farm. Both took their first strides toward a life in racing at the Hancock family’s Paris, Kentucky, farm and, like so many of those yearlings that went on to become household names in racing, Sosby became a positive ambassador for Claiborne on a national level.

Sosby, who died at age 73 on Saturday, was a fixture at Claiborne and an award-winning farm manager who had a hand in bringing up some of racing’s most successful horses.

“He was with us for about 47 years, and he was farm manager for 29 years,” Claiborne President Seth Hancock said. “For all those years, he was not only farm manager but the face of Claiborne Farm. We were proud of that. He was just a wonderful human being.”

Although he was the farm’s general manager for almost three decades, Sosby specialized in working with the yearlings, a job he thought was the best on the grounds.

The nature of a man, Sosby said, could be told by the conduct of his horses. When handling yearlings, he emphasized teaching manners and approaching the horses with steady, calm hands--the same way he was brought up on the farm.

Sosby’s experience with Claiborne began at age three, when his father started with the farm as a groom in 1941. His family lived at Claiborne, and Sosby was put to work at age nine cutting weeds with the farm’s other children.

He continued to work part time for Claiborne through high school and followed in his father’s footsteps as a groom upon graduation.

In 1964, Sosby received what he called the greatest honor of his career when he was named the farm’s yearling manager. He was promoted to general manager in 1975 as the farm gained national attention for standing two-time Horse of the Year and 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Sosby worked with more than 50 champions during his career at Claiborne, including Ruffian, Go for Wand, Buckpasser, Conquistador Cielo, and Forego. He considered Swale’s victory in the 1984 Kentucky Derby (G1) the biggest thrill of his life, aside from the birth of his four children and six grandchildren.

“Every good horse that came off the farm for 50 years, his fingerprints were all over them,” Hancock said.

Sosby’s success was recognized by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers’ Club in 1984, when he was named Farm Manager of the Year. He also was honored with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Media’s Ambassador of Racing Award in 1991 and provided narration for “The Greatest Race,” a video presentation in the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs.

Sosby retired from Claiborne in 2003, following the Keeneland September yearling sale. At the time of his retirement, he was the farm’s assistant general manager and yearling supervisor. Following his tenure with Claiborne, Sosby turned his efforts toward improving his community. Sosby held seats as chairman of the Bourbon County Fair Board and president of the Bourbon County Extension Council.

“His funeral will be at Bourbon County High School, and it has to be because there will be that many people that want to attend,” Hancock said. “That shows what he meant not only to the horse business and to Claiborne Farm, but the community of Bourbon County as well.”