Gaines died at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, said Bob Milward, director of Milward Funeral Home in Lexington.

"John made enormous contributions to the industry that went far beyond Gainesway," retired Keeneland board chairman Ted Bassett said. "He was well known for his contributions to the arts and to equine research. I've known him for 35 or 40 years and have great admiration for all his accomplishments."

Gaines' most visible achievement was the 1982 establishment of the Breeders' Cup, a multimillion-dollar effort designed to promote and unite the industry.

"I have personally spoken to virtually all the prominent breeders in this country and several in Europe," Gaines said at the time. "To a man they have endorsed the program as a means of our industry helping itself."

The Breeders' Cup culminates each year in a single-day of stakes championships. Last year, the event's eight races yielded $14 million in purses, capped by the $4 million Classic.

Gaines also founded the National Thoroughbred Association, a precursor to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

"John Gaines was a most amazing man. Above all, he was a believer in the power of ideas," said D.G. Van Clief Jr., the NTRA's commissioner and chief executive officer and the president of Breeders' Cup Limited.
Gaines also was instrumental in the creation of the Kentucky Horse Park, a 1,200-acre working horse farm and tourist attraction "dedicated to man's relationship with the horse," according to its Web site. Man o' War is buried at the park and former champions John Henry and Cigar are stabled there and interact with visitors.

"John has probably, more than any other one individual, contributed more to the thoroughbred industry not only in Kentucky but on a national and international basis," said Bill Casner, co-owner of WinStar Farm in Versailles. "He was an incredibly brilliant visionary. He was an icon, and the industry will miss him sorely."

Gaines was born in Sherburne, N.Y., in 1928 to the family that established the Gaines Dog Food Company. He attended Notre Dame and earned an English degree in 1951, then spent two years in graduate study at the University of Kentucky in animal husbandry and genetics.

Gaines is survived by a wife, Joan; a daughter, Gloria; and a son, Thomas.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete late Friday afternoon, a Milward representative said.

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