Dan Johnson, Iowa Horseracing Writer, Dead at 58
Dan Johnson, center, at the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame ceremony with Gary Palmer and Mary Lou Coady
Dan Johnson’s decade-long battle with cancer ended earlier this week in Des Moines, Iowa, where he served as the first and only horse racing writer in the history of the Des Moines Register.
Mr. Johnson, 58, was known to horsemen and his fellow racing writers as an upbeat, engaging and passionate man who thought nothing of taking long road trips at his own expense to see and photograph a favorite horse or cover a big race. His first experience with racing came at Arlington Park in 1971, but he said his love affair with the sport began after watching Secretariat win the 1973 Triple Crown.
A longtime free-lance contributor to Thoroughbred Times and Blood-Horse magazines, Mr. Johnson worked as a reporter for nine years at a suburban Chicago newspaper before moving to Iowa. He covered racing at Prairie Meadows for 22 years for the Des Moines Register and was a regular at Triple Crown races, Breeders’ Cup and other major events on the calendar – often driving and paying his own expenses. He had that same passion for others sports, including baseball and women’s basketball.
“I remember, back when I was sports editor, that Dan turned in the only expense report I ever rejected,” said columnist and former Register sports editor Bryce Miller. “I think he put down something ridiculous like $37 for covering four days of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament. I said to Dan, ‘I can't sign this?’ He said, ‘Why not?’ I said, ‘There's not enough on it. Not even close.’
“Dan always thought – wrongly, I might add – that if someone thought we were spending too much on those trips we might decide to cut back on coverage of something he felt strongly about. He was the same way with horse racing.”
Miller joked that Mr. Johnson also owned an "unequaled collection of gaudy Hawaiian shirts."
His drives in recent years were focused more on his health. Miller, in a tribute in the Register this week, said Mr. Johnson would often drive back and forth to the Mayor Clinic for blood transfusions, never wanting to bother anyone or ask for help on the six-hour round-trip journeys.
He was honored in 2005 with a “Friend of the Horsemen” award from the Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association. The following year, he was inducted into the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame. He was a longtime member of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association and served as a judge for the Eclipse Awards outstanding photography category.
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His full-time job was eliminated at the Register several years ago because of economic cutbacks, but Mr. Johnson continued to cover and promote racing any way he could, doing work for Prairie Meadows, the Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Blood-Horse.
Even after the loss of his full-time job and battles with cancer, his attitude remained positive.
“Whenever you asked D.J. how things were going,” Miller wrote, “even as he faced grave health news, he would light up: 'Life's a 10!'"
Among the tributes left online at the Hamilton Funeral Home in Des Moines were these:
“Dan loved, and was always involved in horse racing. He was a true friend and a gifted writer. He will be sorely missed by all of us who are a part of horse racing.” – Iowa HBPA.
“Dan "loved the game" (of racing). He will be sorely missed out at Prairie Meadows. "Life's a 10!" – John Hernandez
“When we hired Dan to cover Prairie Meadows for The Register we hired someone else to do the handicapping. Dan was not bashful about pointing out what a mistake that was. He was right of course. No one could do it better. And, when our budget didn't allow for travel to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness or Belmont Stakes, Dan found a way to make the trip, usually by car, because he thought it was important.” – Larry Lehmer
“I worked with Dan at Prairie Meadows in the press box. His knowledge was formidable. No one knew more about horse racing in Iowa than Dan. It wasn't even close. He was an excellent equine photographer who would take long road trips to see his favorite horses. He was a generous man and his journalistic ethics were exemplary. I'll miss him and miss that he's not in front of his laptop. Good on you Dan.” – Bob Nastanovich
Mr. Johnson’s only known survivor is a sister who lives in Washington. No visitation or services are being held.
