Kentucky horseman Tommy Thompson dies at age 62

Tommy Thompson, a Kentucky-based owner and bloodstock agent, died May 23 from a heart attack Lexington, Ky. He was 62.

Thompson initially raced Quarter Horses, then transitioned into the Thoroughbred business, which took him to the Bluegrass area. When referring to life in Kentucky, Thompson said he “lived in heaven and worked in paradise.”

Originally from Alma, Ga., Thompson served as City Manager of Jasper, Ga., where he headed the construction of a mental health facility and started the local Special Olympics program.

A memorial was held at Rosehill Cemetery in Alma on May 31, and another was held at Bob and Alice Austin’s Little River Farm in Versailles, Ky. on the same day.