The Twin Spires at Churchill Downs shed a few tears last Wednesday  when they heard of the passing of longtime director of horsemen’s relations,  Julian Logan “Buck” Wheat. He was affectionately known as the “mayor of the backside”.

A released statement said he died of complications from injuries suffered in a fall at his home Tuesday. Wheat did not appear to be seriously injured but family members became concerned when he could not be contacted later in the day, and he was subsequently found unconscious.

Buck Wheat, 78, grew up in the shadow of the Twin Spires, and never left the racetrack other than during a stint in the Army. He is quoted as saying that he planned to be around Churchill Downs until “they fire me or carry me out of here.”

The son of a former groom and trainer, he served in the Army and then worked outside the track for more than two decades. In the late 1940s, he started working a series of part-time jobs at the track, including as an usher,  manual tote board operator and publicity assistant. He also tried his hand at  training.

Former Churchill Downs Inc. President Tom Meeker said that he “set the standard for what good horsemen’s relations is all about.” He was a beloved figure in the Churchill stable area and especially enjoyed Kentucky Derby time and his role as a liaison for owners, trainer and others, performing such duties as delivering courtesy vehicles to Kentucky Derby trainers and taking care of ticket requests for owners.

In 2001 Wheat received Dogwood Stable’s award for unsung heroes of racing. Most people called him “Buck” and “Buck Wheat.” Wheat said he believed the nickname “Buck” came from his father, the late Logan Wheat, who said that as a child his son often “played with buckets,” leading to the nickname “Buckets” that later was shortened.

Wheat is immortalized in a mural hanging in Churchill Downs by the equine caricaturist Pierre Bellocq that shows all of the jockeys who have won the Derby. “I think I look like Winston Churchill, but I guess that’s the way I really look,” Wheat said.

A memorial service will be held at the Central Avenue track on Wednesday, December 28. The service will be at 1 pm in the Triple Crown Room of the track’s Jockey Club Suites. Visitation is 12-8 pm Tuesday at Highlands
Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road and in the Triple Crown Room on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until the service begins. Guests are asked to enter through Gate 1 by the Kentucky Derby Museum.

The family is requesting any 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.