by Dean A. Hoffman

Columbus, OH — Longtime breeder and owner John L. Thro, 97, died July 31, 2010, in Mankato, Minnesota.

In recent years, he’d owned trotters with Hall of Famer Doug Ackerman, but his involvement in harness racing dates back many decades.

Mr. Thro’s birthday was easy to remember — 12-12-12 — or Dec. 12, 1912. He had been in good health until just before his passing.

Mr. Thro is best known as the owner of the 1974 Hambletonian winner Christopher T, named after one of his sons. The son of Ayres gave Billy Haughton his first Hambletonian victory when he swept the richest Hambletonian in history ($160,150) in straight heats.

Christopher T was a son of Flicka Frost, a mare that Haughton had raced for Mr. Thro and his longtime partner and friend Don R. Millar. Flicka Frost started in the 1957 Hambletonian and was making a threatening move when she broke stride with a quarter-mile remaining in her heat.

Flicka Frost’s first foal by Ayres was Timothy T, also named after one of Mr. Thro’s sons. He was sold to John F. Simpson, Sr. and won the 1970 Hambletonian and become an international star in Europe in the early 1970s.

In addition to a pair of Hambletonian winners in Timothy T and Christopher T, Flicka Frost also produced the 1978 Hambletonian Oaks winner Cora T, named after Mr. Thro’s mother.

Mr. Thro was a fixture at Grand Circuit race meets for many years and Bob Hackett, editor of The Horseman & Fair World for many years, once wrote, “If anyone has more fun out of racing than John Thro, we’ve yet to meet him.”

Mr. Thro’s interest in racing was inherited as his father was active in fair racing and breeding in the Upper Midwest and served as a director of the USTA. The senior Thro owned the tough mare Minnewashta, a solid performer in the 1950s and later the third dam of Jate Lobell.

John Thro attended the University of Notre Dame, earning a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy in 1936. He married Mildred Florence Gumo of Mankato in 1940. During World War II, he served as a flight instructor, earning the rank of Lieutenant.

After the war, he operated Thro Drug Store in Mankato and expanded to many new locations. He later sold his drug stores and concentrated on nursing homes and real estate development in the Mankato area.

In his later years Mr. Thro’s interest turned to farmland he owned in South Dakota. He loved to spend time at his farm in South Dakota developing pheasant habitat, minding the crops, and enjoying the outdoors. He went hunting each autumn with Doug Ackerman.

Mr. Thro is survived by his sons, Timothy (Laurie) and Christopher; daughters, Gretchen (Joseph) O’Donnell and Karen (Charlie) Rokicki; longtime companion, Carol Rodvik; six grandchildren, Alek and Jenna Thro, Chelsea and Timothy O’Donnell, and Landon and Anders Thro; sister, Katherine (Charles) Frost; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Jean Frentz.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 5, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Marysburg, with Rev. Dennis Backer officiating. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, at Mankato Mortuary and continues one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.

Memorial contributions are preferred to the donor’s choice.