Fans visited his gravesite today.
The champion is now a legend:
With John Henry's death has passed an era in thoroughbred racing that probably never will be duplicated. John Henry was the final survivor of a triumvirate of renowned geldings -- Kelso and Forego were the others -- who ruled the tracks from the 1960s through the 1980s.
These three geldings made their careers under conditions that no longer are imposed on racehorses. They carried high weight assignments, sometimes more than 130 pounds, while also setting track records.
All three were so durable that they returned year after year to successfully race against horses a fraction of their ages. John Henry surpassed the others in this, becoming one of only two horses ever to win a major stakes at the advanced age of 9.
Kelso, five times Horse of the Year, was the first of this amazing trio. He was a formidable competitor during the early 1960s and is consistently rated in the top five on lists of the greatest horses of all time, behind such horses as Man o' War, Secretariat and Citation.
Then came Forego, three times Horse of the Year during the 1970s. Forego once carried 137 pounds while spotting 18 pounds to the younger Honest Pleasure and 28 pounds to some others when winning the 1976 Marlboro Cup.
He was retired in 1978 and eventually moved to the Kentucky Horse Park, where he died in 1997.
John Henry dominated the early 1980s. His durability was such that he seemed like he would race forever. Racing fans loved him for this.
