John Henry's Memorial Service

Upon hearing that John Henry's Memorial Service would be held at the Kentucky Horse Park on Friday, October 19th - the same day as my opening reception at Fayette Gallery in Lexington, I had a knee-jerk reaction to the timing. Oh ____! Then, I reconsidered...I knew John Henry as a distant observer: I saw him take half an hour or more to walk to the track to train in the morning on several occasions. Stubborn, obstinate, what could you do to move a multi-millionaire champion along at a bit quicker pace when there was so much work to be done back at the barn? And then, I did get to witness the last winning race of his career at the Meadowland's Ballantine's Scotch Classic as mentioned in an earlier post. So, why not pay my last respects at the service? I'll have plenty of time to get back to the room to change before the reception.

So, if you plan to attend, I'll be there somewhere, camera in hand, choking back the realization that the last of the super champions to imprint their greatness into our memory chips are quickly disappearing. It's an elite group, something to be savored and honored.

John Henry in happy times.

I'm thinking of his handlers for the past 25+ years. Bless you all, this will be difficult.