From The KDDK Advantage - April/May 2007

From the KDDK Archives

Harry Porter Dees was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky on June 4, 1912. He spent his early years in Oklahoma, but when his parents separated he moved to Owensboro, Kentucky to live with his grandparents. His grandfather, M.N. Porter, trained mules and later trained and raced thoroughbreds, spurring young Harry’s lifelong interest in the sport.

Harry graduated from the University of Kentucky Law School in 1935, during the Great Depression. He was fortunate; an association between his grandfather and the owner of Ellis Park racetrack (then called Dade) paved the way for Dees to work summers at the track. The pay was $10 a day, when many people counted themselves lucky to be making $15 weekly. Many lawyers who graduated in that era found themselves pumping gasoline to earn a living. From the time he was 16 until he died at 91, Harry attended every Kentucky Derby except those in 1944 and 1945, when he was serving in World War II. By 1993 he had attended races at 35 tracks in 18 states, in addition to tracks in a number of foreign countries.

This excerpt is from the firm’s 100-year history, written by retired news editor Bill Jackson.

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