Today (Wednesday, August 12) marks two months since the death of Dr David Powell, one of the world's leading equine epidemiologists during his time based at the University of Kentucky's Gluck Research Center in Lexington. He was 84.
Born in the Welsh town of Brecon on January 5, 1942, Powell took his first steps towards what would be a long and successful career in equine science when graduating from the Veterinary School at the University of Bristol in 1965, with his growing interest in horse racing first taking him to the Equine Research Station in Newmarket in 1970.
Employed as an epidemiologist, he was tasked with monitoring infectious diseases across British horse racing yards, working alongside leading trainers such as Luca Cumani and Henry Cecil. He later completed a thesis on respiratory illness in horses that led to him being awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1980.
In 1979, Powell had been granted one-year sabbatical leave and took a position as a visiting professor at Michigan State University to establish an undergraduate course in veterinary epidemiology. It was then in 1985 that he accepted a permanent job opportunity in the US at the Gluck Research Center.
Powell remained there for the next 25 years, studying a range of disease outbreaks in horses, both locally and worldwide. One of the most deadly outbreaks was that of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome in Kentucky in the spring of 2001, described at the time by Claiborne Farm's Gus Koch as “the biggest crisis we've ever faced in this industry since I've been around”. Powell was part of a team of experts from the Gluck Research Center that eventually discovered the cause of the problem.
Powell also served as the veterinary representative for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA), representing American interests at meetings held by what is known today as the International Thoroughbred Breeders' Federation (ITBF). A preeminent voice in the media on equine health issues, he also helped to establish the University of Kentucky's Equine Disease Quarterly in 1992, a publication that is still utilised by the Gluck Research Center to provide updates on infectious diseases, among other topics, to an international audience.
Powell spent the latter part of his career acting as a mentor to young veterinary students in Kentucky and worldwide. In 2003, he hosted Princess Anne on her visit to Lexington, while he also worked as a veterinary consultant on the equestrian events for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Following his retirement in 2010, Powell returned home to Wales where he lived until his death on June 12, 2026.
His two sons, Jonathan and Oliver, gave a eulogy at Powell's funeral which concluded, “My Dad – dear David – lived life to the full, and he enjoyed it. He said to me recently, 'Sometimes, you have to accept, there's only a certain amount you can achieve in the time you have.' Well, he certainly achieved a great deal. He seized the day.”
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