Bloodstock Agent Dan Kenny Dies at Age 73

From working in racing media, to recommending Thoroughbred breedings, to serving as a bloodstock agent in the purchase of racing and breeding stars, to a life-long passion for handicapping, Dan Kenny did just about everything in the game.

Kenny, a founding member of Four Star Sales, died Dec. 25 in Atlanta. He was 73.

Kenny enjoyed racing and breeding from many angles, and Four Star Sales managing partner Kerry Cauthen said he brought expertise, passion, and integrity to all of those roles.

"I think words like 'genuine' and 'gentleman' are tossed out a lot, but in his case, he was the very definition of both those words," Cauthen said.

As a bloodstock agent on behalf of John Franks, Kenny secured the private purchase of eventual 1998 Broodmare of the Year In Neon. A stakes-winning daughter of Ack Ack, In Neon produced multiple group 1/grade 1 winner Royal Anthem, by Theatrical; multiple grade 1 winner Sharp Cat, by Storm Cat; and multiple grade 3 winner Star Recruit, by Al Nasr.

While advice on matings and broodmare purchases may have been Kenny's forte, he also helped recommend the purchase of Speightstown , by Gone West, to owner Eugene Melnyk, who pulled the trigger at $2 million at the 1999 Keeneland July Sale of Selected Yearlings. Melnyk had Kenny and trainer Todd Pletcher finding yearlings for him at that sale.

Before working with him at sales on behalf of Melnyk, Pletcher said he remembers meeting Kenny in 1991 when the future multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer was an assistant to D. Wayne Lukas and they trained Sunny Blossom, a horse co-owned by Kenny. At sales Pletcher said Kenny took a practical approach—searching for a good-looking athlete who hopefully had some pedigree.

"Dan was just a high-class, high-quality, likable person," Pletcher said. "He treated everyone with a lot of respect—a true gentleman."

Speightstown, trained by Pletcher,  earned the 2004 Eclipse Award as champion sprinter for Eugene and Laura Melnyk and has gone on to be a successful sire.

On the radio show "Winning Ponies" in 2011, Kenny told host John Engelhardt that he became interested in horse racing while attending Loyola University in New Orleans and began making trips to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. He took a job out of college covering horse racing and local sports before accepting a job as an editor at Daily Racing Form.

Born in Johnstown, Pa., Kenny moved from journalism to bloodstock in 1972, initially working in Canada and California before establishing his own operation, Sunny Blossom Farm, in Kentucky in 1993. He continued to work as an analyst for racing broadcasts for 23 years at NBC, ESPN, and CBC, and also contributed stories to the BloodHorse throughout those years.

On the "Winning Ponies" show, Kenny said his parents initially were leery of his career in the Thoroughbred industry.

"They were not thrilled with my career, but they softened up when I bought them a claiming horse to add a little spice to their retirement down in Pompano Beach (Fla.)," Kenny said. "After they won six or seven races, they got to thinking that wasn't such a bad idea."

In 2002 Kenny joined Cauthen, David Greathouse, and John T.L. Jones Jr. as founding partners of Four Star Sales. It's been a difficult stretch for Four Star Sales, as Jones died in November. Greathouse passed away in 2013.

"I knew Dan a long time before, but really got to know him very well as a partner and great friend when we started Four Star with Johnny Jones and David Greathouse in 2002. I was the young guy in the group and ran the operation but Dan helped me with the logistics. He always gently advised me throughout the partnership and well beyond," Cauthen said. "Dan taught me it was just a privilege and a pleasure to be in the business that we were in.

"He loved to be around anybody who loved to be around horses."

Cauthen said Kenny worked hard for every client. Besides In Neon, other mares Kenny selected prior to their stakes-producing success include the dams of 1999 champion 2-year-old filly Chilukki (Song of Syria) and Canadian champion Phantom Light, as well as grade 2 winners Comeonmom and Mula Gula, and grade 3 winner Sunny Blossom. He purchased Song of Syria for $72,000 for Norman McAllister at the 1997 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and, with Kenny as agent, McAllister Thoroughbreds sold her for $935,000 at that same sale in 2000.

"He enjoyed it and worked hard for everyone, from the little guy to some very big guys," Cauthen said. "He loved the game."

Kenny's love for picking winners continued throughout his career and Cauthen noted that his tall shadow often darkened press boxes and clockers' corners throughout the country in search of any useful nugget of information. Son Josh Kenny said New Orleans-based horseplayer and later steward Buddy Abadie stoked his father's interest in handicapping.

For BloodHorse, Kenny penned a tribute to Abadie upon his friend's 2002 passing headlined "Bye Buddy."

Cauthen said Kenny was most proud of his family.

"For all his accomplishments, I think Dan was a family and friends man. He was so very proud of his children and the way their lives were taking shape," Cauthen said. "He was passionate and showed that through his work and actions. He knew that friends and family were the only things that really mattered."

Kenny is survived by four children: Josh Kenny of Atlanta, Shannon Kenny of Santa Barbara, Calif., Bridget Kenny of Nashville, Tenn., and Brody Kenny of Cincinnati. He also is survived by grandchildren Isabella Venable, Josephine Venable, Hannah Kenny, and Madison Kenny.

Memorial services include a mass at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18 at The Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington and a 3 p.m., Jan. 18 celebration of Kenny's life at Dudley's on Short in Lexington.

In lieu of flowers please send donations in Kenny's name to "Central Kentucky Riding for Hope."