John Asher
John Asher, vice president of communications at Churchill Downs, has worked in the thoroughbred racing industry as a journalist and a publicist for more than 20 years. Asher joined Churchill Downs in January 1997 and has served in his current position since March 1999, overseeing communications and public relations efforts at the home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby and the flagship operation of Churchill Downs Incorporated. 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. His work on other issues earned such recognition as a National Headliner Award; a Scripps-Howard Award; and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio and Television News Directors Association, and the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, and was honored as the Best Reporter in Kentucky Large-Market Radio seven times, and recognized as Public Relations Practitioner of the Year by the Western Kentucky University School of Journalism and Broadcasting in 2003. A native of Leitchfield, he had earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from WKU and lives in Louisville with his wife, Dee and three daughters.
