John Henry made lasting impression

The legendary John Henry died Monday. His life is well worth remembering because he had the most charisma of any racehorse I have ever seen. John, as he came to be known, lived 32 years. He didn’t get cheated.

John Henry was named Horse of the Year twice, won seven Eclipse Awards and 16 Grade I stakes. Nowadays, most Grade I horses don’t even start 16 times.

John Henry was an iconic superstar. A superstar is an athlete who can single-handedly affect the box office. John was all of that. He increased attendance wherever he raced.

I saw John Henry run 17 times at either New York or New Jersey racetracks. I go back to when his regular jockey was Angel Santiago and Bob Donato was his trainer. Most fans believe trainer Ron McAnally developed John Henry into a Hall of Fame horse. It’s true, but not the whole story.

Owner Sam Rubin bought John Henry in 1978, sight unseen, for $25,000. Rubin used Donato for 13 races, then replaced him with Lefty Nickerson for eight races. It was Nickerson who unselfishly advised Rubin that John Henry would thrive on the firm turf courses in Southern California. Nickerson then recommended his friend McAnally to train the horse. And the rest, as they say, is history.

My fondest John Henry memory is not a race, but an event.

My former boss in New York racing, Steve Schwartz, hatched the idea of bringing the three great geldings of the era — John Henry, Forego and Kelso — to Belmont Park. The trio sauntered on track to thunderous applause during the post parade for the 1983 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

The morning before we assembled them for a historic media event. It was well attended by New York reporters, photographers and television crews. The problem was in getting the three geldings to cooperate like adults.

Horses are gelded for many reasons, one of which is they can be downright ornery. Forego, age 13, and Kelso, 26, wanted a piece of John and vice versa. We did the best we could.

The public was not allowed into the restricted Belmont backside. Once word got out that John Henry, Forego and Kelso were together, a crowd was sure to follow. Hundreds of racetrackers ranging from minimum-wage hot-walkers to millionaire horse owners came over to pay homage. Now, 24 years later, the three great geldings are again reunited.

• SAM’S TOWN — The spacious new Sam’s Town race and sports book is scheduled to open next Wednesday. Make sure you check out the free race selections posted by noted handicappers Gordon Jones and Patrick McQuiggan.

• MEET AND GREET — Jockeys Michael Baze and Richard Migliore and trainer Doug O’Neill are scheduled to appear at the Orleans race book at 9 a.m. Monday for a free “meet and great” session with local fans. There also will be a free $1,000 handicapping contest.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.