Western New York horseman John Barrow passed away on July 25, 2026 at age 86, after a lengthy illness.
At age eleven, John was jogging horses for his father in Rochester, New York. At eighteen, he made his first start at Vernon Downs with a mare named Frisco Sue Heck.
A couple years later, he and Ben Webster, both twenty years old, were featured in a local newspaper as “among the most promising of the track’s new sulky pilots,” as rated by veteran horsemen at Batavia Downs.
John enjoyed training and driving success on the western New York circuit during the 1960’s with horses like For Zeno, Sleek Hanover, and Katie Lou.
In the early 1970’s he married his wife, Elma, gave up racing, and moved to Florida where he was employed in property management.
While most people retire from western New York to Florida, John flipped the script and moved back to western New York from Florida with Elma when they retired. Before long he was back in the racing business, owning and training Don’t Tell Elma (1:51.2, $150,143), Who Told Elma (1:57, $39,697), Manvincible (1:54.1, $63,986) and Tinker Taxi (1:55.1, $78,425), among others. Between 2006 and 2021 he had 309 starters and was on the board 103 times, with an UTRS of .410 in 2017 and .433 in 2018.
John had a great sense of humor, twinkling blue eyes and a cheery smile for everyone, from the security gate, shed row, and race office. He fussed over his horses and was very fond of them, as he was of his cats.. He was known for his generosity and devotion to his wife, Elma, who sadly predeceased him.
John is survived by his sisters Roberta Potter, Charlene Norter, and Francis Hafner; his stepson Gary Colburn, and grand-daughter Tanya Griepp; great-grandson Benjamin Metzger; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters Ann Marie Berner and Constance Manfreda; and his very close friends Gary Gregory and Dale Vidler.