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COL ANDREW VENNIE DEAD Resident Manager of Churchill Downs Expires Suddenly At Tost of Duty When Grim Reaper Calls Death Great Shock to Col 31 J Winn LOUISVILLE Ky May 20 CoL Andrew Vennic popular resident manager of Church ¬ ill Downs expired suddenly at his office at the track at eleven oclock this morning He was seated at his desk when the fatal attack came and William Dennes auditor of the Jockey Club responding to his calls reached his side in time to prevent him from falling Help was summoned and he was removed to his living quarters in the executive building but he expired before the arrival of Dr Rose who was the first physician to reach the scene Colonel Vennie had been a sufferer from kidney and heart trouble and his stren ¬ uous duties in connection with the Kentucky Derby served to accentuate his ailment For the past few days he had been complaining of poor health and on the advice of his physicians had taken a rest cure in bed bedCol Col M J Winn was immediately commu ¬ nicated with by long distance telephone in Chicago and arranged to take the first train for Louisville Funeral arrangements will not be made until Colonel Winns arrival The last official act of Colonel Vennie was to request William Dennes to call up the First National Bank of St Louis on a matter in connection with a deposit to be made in that bank bankColonel Colonel Vennie was sixtyseven years old and a close personal friend of Colonel Winn for over thirty yeans yeansHis His death was a great shock to the latter Colonel Vennie had been an ardent devotee of racing in Kentucky and was strongly iden ¬ tified with the Kentucky Jockey Club Upon the death of C F Grainger he was ap ¬ pointed his successor as resident manager of Churchill Downs DownsFor For a good many years prior to interesting himself with racing Colonel Vennie was traveling representative of a large cloth importing house in New York and in the pur ¬ suit of business made frequent trips to Louis ¬ ville He was universally esteemed for his courtcousness and beloved by all who knew him His sudden death is deeply deplored by horsemen and all who had occasion to come in contact with him There was a general air of sadness at the Downs all dur ¬ ing the afternoon and a reminder of the tragic occurrence was the halfmasting of all the flags at the course courseMr Mr Vennie was born in New York City on June 9 1859 the son of Alexander Vennie Continued on sixteenth page COL ANDREW VENNIE DEAD Continued from first page and Margaret Thompson Arennie His edu ¬ cation as a boy was confined to grammar school number 55 New York City After leaving school he drifted into the mercantile business and for many years was engaged in that business in New York City For thirtysix years he was a member of the firm of LesserAArhitman Company became a member of the board of directors of that company until his retirement therefrom in 1923 1923Mr Mr Arennie had been a director of the Kentucky Jockey Club since its organization in 1919 and was also one of the chief stock ¬ holders of that organization He had been associate manager of the Kentucky Jockey Club since its organization and made the resident manager of Churchill Downs in 1323 He had always taken an active interest in the development of both bothMr Mr Aennie was a member of the board of directors of the new Louisville Jockey Club for more than twenty years during which period as a business associate of Col M J AAMnn he took an active part in the expansion and development of Churchill Downs an expansion and development which has made Churchill Downs the best known race track in the United States and its famous annual Derby the greatest classic in the United States attracting lovers of racing every year from every state in the union unionCol Col Andrew Arennie was a member of the Pendennis Club of Louisville a member of the Lotus Club of New York City and a charter member of the Domms Yacht Club New York Yorklie lie took an active interest in the pros ¬ perity and progress of all clubs of which he was a member and was one of the most personally popular members of each eachColonel Colonel Vennie never married His resi ¬ dence and business addresses were both at Churchill Downs Louisville Ky
