death

Louis Lee Haggin III, hailing from an illustrious racing family and a longtime fixture at Keeneland, died Mar. 5, according to Keeneland Tuesday. He was 88. A lifelong Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Haggin III managed his family's Sycamore Farm. A great, great grandson of legendary horseman James Ben Ali Haggin, who was also the founder of Elmendorf Farm, Haggin III's grandfather, Hal Price Headley, was among the founders of Keeneland. His father, Louis Lee Haggin II, served as the track's second president and subsequently its chairman. "Keeneland mourns the loss...

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Point-to-Point Authority (PPA) have launched a full review of the death of Keagan Kirkby on Sunday. A member of the Paul Nicholls team in Ditcheat, the 25-year-old was riding at a meeting at Charing in Kent when his horse ran through the wing of a fence in the final race of the day. "The necessary steps in response to this tragic incident commenced immediately after the race on Sunday and have continued [Monday]," stated a joint-statement from the BHA and PPA. "The BHA are...

Jonathan Richard Cline, the son of former Lane's End farm manager Mike Cline, died unexpectedly in Lexington, Kentucky Wednesday, Sept. 20. He was 43. The son of Mike and Paula Cline, Jon Cline graduated from the University of Virginia in 2002 before finding his first job in the pallet industry in Cincinnati, where he met his eventual wife, Mandy. The couple would go on to have two sons, Charlie, now 12, and Mikey, 8. The visitation and Celebration of Life will be held Sept. 27 at Guardian Angels Church, 6539...

Lexington, Kentucky native Alex G. Campbell Jr., who campaigned the likes of GSWs winner Karlovy Vary, Mean Mary and Bye Bye Melvin, died in Delray, Florida, Tuesday. He was 95. In addition to Karlovy Vary, who annexed Keeneland's GI Ashland S. in 2012, Campbell previously campaigned Turk O Witz, winner of the 1995 Santa Maria H. in addition to 1996 Big 'Cap scorer Mr Purple. Also running in his colors, dual graded stakes winner Ultra Brat, and Grade III victor It's Tea Time. A member of The Jockey Club for...

by Bill Finley and Dan Ross Jerry Moss, who rose to fame in both the music business and in horse racing, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 88. Moss owned horses in partnership with then his wife, Ann, and while they campaigned many top horses, none could compare to the superstar in Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). A winner of a remarkable 19 races from 20 career starts, she was named Horse of the Year in 2010 and champion older mare in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Her lone defeat came...

Dr. Heather Wharton, the veterinarian responsible for injecting WinStar stallion Laoban with a so-called "Black Shot" shortly before his death in 2021, has begun serving a 90-day suspension as part of a negotiated settlement with the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners revealed Tim Sullivan with the LEO Weekly. Per the released report, Wharton is also obligated to pay a $30,000 administrative fine, complete at least four hours of continuing education, and has agreed to accept a written reprimand that will serve as a permanent disciplinary mark on her record. A...

Virginia Kraft Payson, a pioneer with a buoyant spirit who often referred to her life as "a magic carpet ride" woven from a whirlwind of adventure travel, a passion for outdoors journalism, and a mid-life immersion into the world of Thoroughbred racing and breeding, died Jan. 9 at age 92 at her Payson Stud farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The cause of death was complications from Parkinson's disease, as confirmed by Christian Erickson, a decades-long family friend and the trustee of the Payson estate. Payson's entry into Thoroughbred ownership was the...

James Delahooke, an outstanding horseman who played a key role in the creation of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte empire, died of a heart attack Wednesday morning while grouse hunting in Yorkshire with friends, according to his brother Matthew Delahooke. He was 77. A large proportion of the greatest horses bred and raced by Juddmonte from the late 1980s onwards have descended from fillies or mares bought by Delahooke on the Prince's behalf. The Juddmonte families which have yielded the likes of Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Enable (GB) (Nathaniel...

Broken Vow (Unbridled--Wedding Vow, by Nijinsky II) passed away from natural causes Sept. 3 at his birthplace and longtime home, Pin Oak Stud. He was 25 years old. The Pin Oak homebred won nine of 14 career starts, and won or placed in six graded stakes, earning $725,296. Trained by Graham Motion, Broken Vow won the GII Philip H. Iselin H. and GIII Ben Ali S. and placed in the GI Gulfstream Park H., GIII Fayette S., and the GII Meadowlands Cup H. before retiring to start his career at...

The impact of losing David Richardson has taken a tremendous blow to the hearts of the many people that adored him. David was an extremely intelligent, insightful leader who's passion and energy was directed to the greater good of our industry. If you were fortunate to have him touch your life, you ended up a much better person altogether. David died on the last day of his beloved Saratoga race meet.

B. Wayne Hughes, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who resurrected Spendthrift Farm and turned it into one of the leading stallion farms in North America, died Wednesday at his residence on the farm surrounded by his family. He was 87 years old. Born Bradley Wayne Hughes on Sept. 28, 1933, in the small town of Gotebo, OK, he was known by his middle name since childhood. The son of a sharecropper who fled Oklahoma's Dust Bowl and resettled in California shortly after he was born, Hughes grew up poor in...