A memorial service for Julian Logan “Buck” Wheat, the longtime director of
Horsemen’s Relations and the unofficial “Mayor of the Backside” at Churchill
Downs, will be held at the home of the Kentucky Derby on December 28.
Wheat, 78, died on Wednesday at University of Louisville Hospital of
complications from injuries suffered in a fall at his home a day earlier. His
life was linked to Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby and the horse industry
for more than six decades.
Next Wednesday’s memorial service for Wheat is scheduled for 1 p.m. (EST) in
the Triple Crown Room in Churchill Downs’ Jockey Club Suites.
Visitation for Wheat is set for Tuesday, from 12-8 p.m. at Highlands Funeral
Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road. Additional visitation is scheduled Wednesday in
the Triple Crown Room from 11 a.m. until the memorial service begins.
Those attending Wednesday’s visitation and memorial service at Churchill
Downs should enter the track via Gate 1, which is located off Central Avenue
adjacent to the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Wheat was known simply as “Buck” to friends throughout the horse industry and
countless others he had encountered in his unofficial role at as an ambassador
for the industry, the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. The son of
Thoroughbred trainer Logan Wheat, Buck Wheat had been associated with the
historic home of the Kentucky Derby in several roles — including a stretch as a
trainer — since he took his first job at the track as an usher at the age of
16. Wheat entered his Horsemen’s Relations post in 1986 and held that position
at the time of his death.
He is survived by his children, Kevin Wheat (Kim), Dennis Wheat (Rhonda) and
Denise Sohm, and their mother, Barbara Passifume; his grandchildren Matthew,
Baili, Heather, Cooper and Jessica; his great grandchild, Aiden; and his
companion, Debbie Hunt.
Wheat was preceded in death by his father; his mother, Katherine M. Wheat;
and his sister, Margie Atherton.
His family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the
Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Permanently Disabled Jockeys
Fund, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation or the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America.