Longtime Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher dies at 62

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – John Asher, the longtime Churchill Downs spokesman and executive known for his love of horse racing and his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport’s most famous race, the Kentucky Derby, died Monday. He was 62.

Asher, who was an award-winning radio journalist before becoming a widely respected fixture at the Louisville racetrack, died after suffering a heart attack while on vacation with his family in Florida, Churchill Downs said in a release.

His death comes a couple of weeks before the storied track opens its September meet. Churchill will host the season-ending Breeders’ Cup World Championships in November.

The track called Asher “an irreplaceable ambassador” in confirming his death.

“To say that racing has lost one of its giants with the passing of John Asher does not begin to capture the impact this man has had and will continue to have on the Churchill Downs family,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs racetrack.

“His passion for the Kentucky Derby, horseracing, his WKU (Western Kentucky University) Hilltoppers, great music and above all else his loving family was genuine and infectious,” Flanery added. “Racing has lost an icon.”

Asher and his wife, Dee, were vacationing in Orlando, Florida, at the time of his death, Asher’s brother, Tim Asher, told the Courier Journal.

“Dee said he wasn’t feeling well . and John said, ‘I think I need to go to the hospital,’” Tim Asher told the Louisville newspaper. “They called an ambulance, and he died on the way to the hospital.”

As word of Asher’s death spread throughout the thoroughbred racing world, two-time Triple Crown winner and five-time Derby winner Bob Baffert referred to him as “the warm, human face” of Churchill Downs.

“I was always happy to see him,” Baffert wrote. “He was as Kentucky as the Derby and the bluegrass, bourbon and hot browns, and I can’t imagine Derby week without him.”

Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said: “Over the past 20 years, no single person was more closely associated with the Kentucky Derby than John Asher.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer described Asher’s death as heartbreaking.

“The world knows John Asher as the voice of thoroughbred racing and its #1 fan – and he was the best,” Fischer said in a tweet. “I also know him as a strong community leader fighting for those who have little. I will so miss his presence at @ChurchillDowns and the streets and boardrooms of Louisville where his total humanity shone like a brilliant first Saturday in May.”

A few blocks away at the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Stadium, athletics spokesman Kenny Klein said, “we lost a good friend” before leading a moment of silence for Asher with assembled media. Cardinals football coach Bobby Petrino opened his news conference by expressing condolences for Asher’s family and adding, “everybody here obviously knows him as a great guy, a great man. He’s really missed.”

Breeders’ Cup Limited said in a statement, “John’s devotion to his work, complemented by his broad smile and unbridled enthusiasm for the sport that he loved so much made him a genuine giant in our game and a remarkable ambassador for horse racing.”

John’s devotion to his work, complemented by his broad smile and unbridled enthusiasm for the sport that he loved so much made him a genuine giant in our game and a remarkable ambassador for horse racing.

Asher was at ease in promoting Churchill Downs and its most famous race as the world’s attention turned each spring to the Derby.

With his booming baritone voice and deep knowledge of horse racing, Asher presided as emcee for the prerace draw that determined each Derby horse’s starting position and over post-Derby press conferences featuring the winning trainer, owners, and jockey.

Asher joined Churchill Downs in January 1997 and had served as the track’s vice-president of racing communications since March 1999. Before that he worked at WHAS-AM and WAVE-AM in Louisville and won five Eclipse Awards for his radio reports on horse racing.

Asher was a native of Leitchfield, Kentucky. He graduated from Western Kentucky University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

“We will miss John’s laugh, his unmistakable voice and his unique storytelling,” Flanery said. “Our hearts and prayers are with his wife Dee, his daughters Heather, Erin and Emma and his grandsons, Cameron and Caden.”

Churchill said plans for a memorial service will be finalized in the coming days, according to his wife.