Veterinarian Johnny Mac Smith Dies From Aggressive Liver Cancer

Basketball admin October 13, 2026 0 Comments

Veterinarian Johnny Mac Smith Dies From Aggressive Liver Cancer

Johnny Mac Smith, DVM, passed away on Saturday evening, Oct. 10, after a brief battle with a very aggressive liver cancer. He was at home, surrounded by his loving family. A funeral service, followed by a reception, is being planned for a later date in November.

Johnny Mac hailed from “L.A.” (Lower Alabama, as he enjoyed claiming). He was a proud graduate and distinguished alumnus of Auburn Veterinary College. His practice began at the tracks in Florida, but he gravitated to a permanent practice in Ocala, where he later formed a partnership with Dr. John Peterson. Their clinic, Peterson and Smith, grew into one of the largest and most highly regarded equine practices in the United States.

While in Kentucky for the sales, Johnny Mac met Lucy Graddy of Versailles. After a brief courtship, they married and returned to Florida, where they had three sons. Johnny Mac liked to say that his father-in-law, Henry Graddy, told him at their wedding reception that “Kentucky girls always return home – with or without their husbands”. As it turned out, when Johnny Mac became extremely allergic to horses, he left his practice in Florida, and the Smith family moved to Kentucky, where he and Lucy raised their boys, a herd of cattle, crops, flowers, and quail for private hunts at their Springside Farm in Woodford County.

For 10 years, Johnny Mac worked with the Keeneland Yearling Inspection Team. He became an invaluable veterinary asset to the Keeneland Repository and in resolving technical issues within the Conditions of Sale. While on the Keeneland Inspection Team, he impressed Dr. Gary Lavin, who enlisted Johnny Mac to assist with grant requests and determining which were to be rewarded through the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. He was still working at home in this effort, during his illness.

Those who knew Johnny Mac will remember him as an outstanding horseman, a highly qualified veterinarian, a valued research scientist, an extraordinary father and grandfather, a devoted husband, a man of character, a powerful figure, with a quiet, kind, and thoughtful nature. Anyone who ever met him immediately took a liking to him. His friends are innumerable, and he will be forever missed by all who have known him.

This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 12:45 PM.