Primary Job Title Vice President, Racing Communications Primary Organization 
Churchill Downs
Location Louisville, Kentucky, United States Regions Southern US Gender Male
John Asher, vice president of Racing Communications at Churchill Downs Race Track (“CDRT”), has worked in the Thoroughbred racing industry as an award-winning journalist and publicist for more than 30 years. He joined Churchill Downs, home of the world famous Kentucky Derby and the flagship operation of Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”), in
January 1997 and has served in his current position since March 1999.
As a radio journalist at WHAS-AM and WAVE-AM in Louisville, Asher earned five Eclipse Awards for “Outstanding National Radio Coverage of Thoroughbred Racing.” Other horse industry honors include the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year award in 2006; the Charles W. Engelhard Award for excellence in media coverage from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders; the Dean Eagle Award from the Knights of Columbus Bishop Spalding Council No. 2761; and a media award from the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association.
His general reporting was recognized with national honors that included a National Headliner Award and Scripps-Howard Award, and regional honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, Radio & Television News Directors Association and Kentucky Broadcasters Association. He was honored seven times by the Associated Press as Kentucky’s radio’s “Best Reporter” in large market radio.
In March 2010 Asher was selected from a pool of more than 5,500 regional nominees as one of 128 individuals recognized as Connectors by the Leadership Louisville Center (“LLC”). Connectors were described as individuals that are successful in getting things done because of their distinctive style of "trusted leadership." The Connector Project was launched in the fall of 2009 as a signature initiative for the Leadership Louisville Center’s 30th anniversary.
Asher is a 2010 graduate of the LLC’s Leadership Louisville program, and is currently is a member of its 2012 Bingham Fellows class.
The Western Kentucky University (“WKU”) School of Journalism and Broadcasting recognized Asher in 2004 as its “Public Relations Practitioner of the Year.” A former president of the WKU National Alumni Board of Directors, Asher was honored by that group in 2008 with a “Summit Award” for volunteer efforts on behalf of the university. He serves on the board of trustees of WLKY-32’s “Spirit of Louisville Foundation,” which oversees the annual Bell Awards for community service, and the boards of directors GuardiaCare Services and Simmons College of Kentucky. He previously served on the board of directors of the Kentuckiana Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International and was honored as its “Volunteer of the Year” in 2004, and the boards of the Catholic Education Foundation and Presentation Academy.
A native of Leitchfield, Ky., Asher is a graduate of Western Kentucky University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Dee, and they have three daughters.
