About 500 people were at the service, including Judy Gadwood:
Judy Gadwood never saw John Henry race.
She never saw him flex that 251/2-foot stride in person, never stood in the grandstand cheering as he willed himself across the finish line.
That Gadwood learned of the legendary gelding long after he had beaten his last foe into submission didn't matter to the Burbank, Calif., resident.
It wasn't enough to keep her from falling head over heels in love with the diminutive old warrior -- or to stave off the tears yesterday.
"My introduction to John Henry was through my late husband, John, who passed away in 1991," said Gadwood, clutching her John Henry photo against her John Henry T-shirt. "Little did I know what I was in for, because that little horse got into my heart and never left.
"I came here for my birthday Oct. 8th, the day they euthanized him, and then I came back this week for his funeral. That's how much he means to me. He's like family now."
