John Henry is no more.

AP: Race horse great John Henry dead at 32

John Henry wasn't the friendliest horse — far from it. However, his ability to turn a humble pedigree into the resume of a champion made him a prime attraction at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he spent his final 22 years.

"We would always bring kids to John Henry's paddock and say, 'Here is a great champion,'" said John Nicholson, the park's executive director.

Grumpy yet beloved, the thoroughbred great died Monday after 32 years of defying odds — both in racing success and longevity.

The two-time Horse of the Year, who earned more than $6.5 million before retiring as a gelding to the park where he became an icon, was euthanized Monday night in his paddock there.

He survived several illnesses over the years but never recovered from a recent bout with dehydration, in which he experienced kidney failure that forced him to receive intravenous fluids. The horse was rapidly losing weight.

"John's always been known for his biting and kicking," said Cathy Roby, barn manager at the horse park's Hall of Champions where he was stabled. "He had gotten to the point where he really wasn't trying, where he just wasn't John anymore. He was just tired and he was ready to go."

Mike Beyer, the veterinarian who tended to John Henry until the end, said euthanasia was the only choice.

"We didn't want to get to the point where he didn't have dignity," Beyer said.

John Henry was retired 22 years ago to the park, where he was beloved by the public and, along with stablemate Cigar, one of the park's biggest attractions.

Foaled March 9, 1975, and an average runner early in his career, John Henry was the highest money-earning thoroughbred in history when he retired in 1985.

The gelded son of Old Bob Bowers out of Once Double won four Grade I races and Horse of the Year honors at ages 6 and 9, and collected seven Eclipse awards from 1980-84.

"What can I say about the legendary John Henry that has not already been said," Chris McCarron, who rode John Henry in 14 of his last races, said in a statement from the park. "John meant the world to my family and me. Everywhere he raced, his presence doubled the size of a normal race track crowd. He did so much for racing, even after he retired, that he will be impossible to replace. He will be sorely missed but forever in our hearts."

John Henry was loved not for a tremendous talent but because he was a fighter who would battle not to lose at any cost.

Although he never won a Triple Crown race, he was successful at the highest levels of competition on the dirt and the turf.

In his career, John Henry earned 39 victories, 15 seconds and nine-thirds in 83 starts and earned $6,597,947. He was inducted into thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame in 1990.

John Henry was called "small," "ugly" and "bad-tempered" as a foal. He was sold at the January mixed sale at Keeneland for $1,100. He soon became known more for his disposition than his racing ability, often tearing buckets and tubs off the wall of his stall and stomping them flat.

He was sold to Harold Snowden of Lexington for $2,200 in 1977. Snowden chose to geld John Henry with the hope it would calm him and allow him to focus on racing.

He changed hands two more times until native New Yorker Sam Rubin and his wife, Dorothy, bought him for $25,000 sight unseen over the phone. John Henry's new trainer, Bob Donato, thought the horse would fare well on grass, and John Henry won six of 19 starts as a 3-year-old.
As a 4-year-old, John Henry won four of 11 races for trainer Lefty Nickerson. The following year, John Henry was sent to work with trainer Ron McAnally in California and his career blossomed.

McAnally trained John Henry with "carrots, apples and love," the horse park said. He visited during the horse's retirement and had seen him as recently as September, bringing the animal's favorite cookies and carrots, the park said.