An African proverb tells us that "when an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." If this is so, no one can measure the wealth of information lost to racing history with the death of John Nerud earlier today. His memories spanned eight decades of involvement in the Thoroughbred industry as a trainer, farm manager, agent, owner and breeder. To the end, he remained active in the sport he loved, pushing for needed change. Appropriately, the last racehorse to carry his colors is the winner Final Chapter, a homebred who won two races at Aqueduct earlier this year.
I did not know Nerud personally. Nonetheless, his legacy lives on in racing history and pedigrees. Without him, there would be no Dr. Fager, one of the greatest of the great. There would be no Ta Wee, and without her, no Holy Bull. There would be no Cozzene. And there would be no Fappiano and no Unbridled, a legacy that extends to American racing's newest superstar, American Pharoah. To me, that is praise enough.
I did not know Nerud personally. Nonetheless, his legacy lives on in racing history and pedigrees. Without him, there would be no Dr. Fager, one of the greatest of the great. There would be no Ta Wee, and without her, no Holy Bull. There would be no Cozzene. And there would be no Fappiano and no Unbridled, a legacy that extends to American racing's newest superstar, American Pharoah. To me, that is praise enough.
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