John Henry (March 9, 1975 – October 8, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred race horse named after the folk hero John Henry. As a youngster, the equine John Henry had a habit of tearing steel water and feed buckets off stall walls and stomping them flat. This reminded his then-owners of the legendary John Henry, who was known as a "steel-drivin' man". He was gelded both for his orneriness as well as his lack of breeding. A Golden Chance Farm foal, ...
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John Henry (March 9, 1975 – October 8, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred race horse named after the folk hero John Henry. As a youngster, the equine John Henry had a habit of tearing steel water and feed buckets off stall walls and stomping them flat. This reminded his then-owners of the legendary John Henry, who was known as a "steel-drivin' man". He was gelded both for his orneriness as well as his lack of breeding. A Golden Chance Farm foal, John Henry was from breeding that might best be described as plebeian. His sire, Ole Bob Bowers, once sold for just $900 and was not in much demand by breeders. His dam, Once Double, was an undistinguished runner and producer, but was sired by Double Jay, a brilliantly fast graded stakes race winner who had proven to be a useful broodmare sire.
John Henry was sold as a yearling for $1,100 at the Keeneland January Mixed sale to John Calloway who is credited with giving John Henry his name. Besides being back at the knee (a flaw in conformation...
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