John Asher was an unforgettable figure at Churchill Downs

Maybe Billy Joel was right when he sang, “Only the good die young.”

The lyric sure rings true in the case of John Asher, a man I’ll never forget.

It’s a shame if you never met John. You would have liked him. I think Billy Joel would have, too.

Some say you can tell a lot about a man by the first time you meet him, even if you never cross paths again. They leave such an undeniable mark that you never forget them.

I first met John on Oct. 30, 2010, at Churchill Downs. Why do I remember the exact date so vividly? Because that’s the type of person John was. If you met him once, you never forgot John Asher.

The horse racing community lost a dear friend Monday when it was announced Asher had died of an apparent heart attack while on vacation in Florida with his family. He was only 62. It’s hard not to feel bitter that we lost him at such an early age, but it’s just as difficult to not feel at least a tinge of happiness that he was with his beloved family and enjoying life when he was taken from us.

Asher was described by Churchill Downs in a press release as “the iconic and irreplaceable ambassador for Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.”

Boy, did they ever hit the nail on the head.

Asher joined the historic track in January 1997 and has served as vice president of racing communications since March 1999. It’s tough to determine which he treasured most after his family: His beloved Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (his alma mater), or the Derby. If you had a question about the country’s most famous horse race, Asher was the man to ask.

I remember my first trip to Churchill Downs to cover the 2010 Breeders Cup, the one where Zenyatta would attempt to win her second consecutive Classic and finish a brilliant career with a spotless 20-0 record. We all know how that turned out.

What none of you know is how kind and helpful Asher was to me on that first day I met him. It was at a Breeders’ Cup luncheon and John sought me out, not the other way around. That was John. Always ready to make a first-time visitor to Churchill Downs feel at home.

I maybe came in contact with John two or three more times that trip, and again the following year when I flew to Louisville to cover another Breeders’ Cup. We weren’t old high school or college buddies, never worked together, yet Asher had that rare quality to make you feel you’d known him your entire life.

Every year around Derby time, when I’d email John with a question about the race, he always replied, and it never took long. He was an encyclopedia when it came to the Kentucky Derby.

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Perhaps Bellarmine University men’s basketball coach Scott Davenport summed up Asher best in a Churchill Downs press release:

“John Asher did what all extraordinary people do, he made others better. There are many great people all over the world. John was truly extraordinary because through incredible preparation and attention to detail, he made others better. Our world has lost a true superstar.”

Said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer: “So heartbroken. The world knows John Asher as the voice of thoroughbred racing and its No. 1 fan – and he was the best. I also know him as a strong community leader fighting for those who have little. I will so miss his presence at Churchill Downs and the streets and boardrooms of Louisville where his total humanity shone like a brilliant first Saturday in May.”

Another tribute, from trainer Michelle Lovell, hit home, because it reminded me of my encounters with John. He hardly knew me from Adam, but made me feel like I was the most important person at the track that day: “He interviewed me a couple of times and I couldn’t believe how nice he was. He truly cared about everyone on the backstretch even if he barely knew them, like me.”

The tributes go on and on and on. I don’t think you could find a person who met John Asher who didn’t like him. Not many people you can say that about. But then, he was truly one of a kind.

“John Asher was the only person I knew that loved Louisville, Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby more than me,” trainer Norm Casse said in a statement. “He was Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby and they will never be the same.”

Horse owner/handicapper Jon Lindo suggested Churchill Downs name a stakes race after Asher. Someone else offered: “How about the John Asher Stakes on Derby Day?”

Sounds perfect.

Thanks for all your kindness toward me, John. You’ll never be forgotten.

Follow Art Wilson on Twitter at @Sham73

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