Ted Bassett dies

I was feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness May 7, 1984. It was my first day at Daily Racing Form, hired to report on the breeding industry, farm news, and horse sales. At the time, the paper's Midwest offices were located at Keeneland, in fact on the ground floor of the clubhouse in what were some of the original stalls when the track first opened in 1936. I was not long removed from having earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Kentucky, where I was a rare...

James E. "Ted" Bassett III, who led Keeneland through historic expansion during his 38-year tenure serving as President, Chairman and Trustee, died Thursday at his home in Lexington. He was 103. So he was not immortal, after all. But those of us privileged to have known James E. Bassett III will know how rare it is not only for human life to stretch to so wide a span but yet to conclude with the emphasis so unequivocally on quality, rather than mere quantity. It began [and ended] in Lexington, aptly...