Before Brereton Jones was elected Kentucky governor as a Democrat in 1991, he was lieutenant governor, and before that, a Republican delegate in the West Virginia state legislature.
Before those years in politics – and afterwards – he was a horseman, the owner and operator of Airdrie Stud, near Midway in Woodford County. Tracy Farmer is the owner of Shadowlawn Farm just a few miles away.
“He was an excellent horseman. He had an eye for good horseflesh, much better than I did. He could look at 20 horses and say the one or two they were going to be great.”
Farmer says Jones was a good friend and often ran into him at Keeneland – where, because of Jones’ affability, they didn’t always have time to chat.
“When he’d go to Keeneland to the races, you couldn’t hardly talk to him because he was always talking to someone else, which is great. And he enjoyed it. I mean, it was wonderful. He was one of a kind.”
Jones was active off the farm, too, accepting post-gubernatorial leadership positions with racing groups that have made the Thoroughbred industry stronger today, according to a wide variety of people and organizations.
Asked when he saw Jones at his happiest, Farmer says it was likely when he spoke of one of his three winners at the Kentucky Oaks, the premier race for fillies.
Farmer was state Democratic Party chair before Jones went to Frankfort and says they discussed politics from time to time. He says Jones’ greatest legacy as governor include the campaign finance reforms he campaigned on and the ethics reforms passed after BOPTROT, the legislative scandal in 1992 that saw the Speaker of the House sent to jail.
“Ethics in government. He was straight up. He wanted everyone to be true representatives of the people. I would say, ethics in government.”
Jones’ predecessor wanted a second term as governor, but Wallace Wilkinson refused to rule himself out for the job. Tom Loftus covered Frankfort for the Louisville Courier-Journal during the terms of both governors.
“When Governor Jones was elected, he thought succession was a good idea, but recognized that including the incumbent, which at the time was himself, would hurt the chances of voters passing, passing it. So unselfishly, he removed himself from it, said it would apply to the next governor.”
The ballot initiative passed in 1992, and since then, Kentucky’s statewide elected officials have been allowed to run for a second term.
Loftus says while Governor Jones also successfully pushed for lower campaign contribution limits, in the meantime, he benefited from the old system to pay off the debt from his self-financed campaign for lieutenant governor.
“He was collecting contributions of $4,000 each, for a couple up to $8,000, to retire his campaign debt, which, which he quickly did after his election. That was a bit controversial coming from a man who was campaigning for lower, lower limits.”
Jones-backed health care reform became law, but insurance companies left the state, and the reforms were eventually undone. Loftus credits Jones for trying to do something that was difficult. More than two decades later, a young Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, who’d played high school golf with Jones’ son, Bret, got the former governor’s encouragement when he needed it most.
“You have this great figure in Kentucky politics, encouraging you and saying, ‘You're doing a great job,’ and it just honestly things for me just took off from there, to be honest with you. And I don't think I would have had the confidence going forward had the governor not been so kind and forthcoming and honest, but very encouraging.”
Governor Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff in Jones’ honor until sunset on the day of interment. The former Governor will lie in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol.
I’m John McGary, in Woodford County.
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