Great Living Cincinnatians: Honorees

Dr. Eslie Asbury was born in 1895 in rural Central Kentucky and spent his early life accompanying his physician father on rounds in the countryside near their Carlisle, Kentucky home. He came to Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati where he received a bachelor of science degree prior to graduating from the College of Medicine in 1920. His post-graduate medical training was done in general and orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. In 1930 he was the youngest ever physician to be elected chief-of-staff of the Good Samaritan Hospital.

His active support of the University of Cincinnati, and particularly the College of Medicine, led him to found the Alumnal Council of the College of Medicine in 1947. He served as its chairman for the next eighteen years. The Alumnal Council now raises over $200,000 annually from graduates of the College of Medicine.

Asbury was elected to the Litrerary Club of Cincinnati in 1926 and has been one of its most active members. He is the club’s historian and a most prolific writer.

Another important phase of his life began with the purchase of a farm in Nicholas County, Kentucky. By the late 1940s, yearlings from his thoroughbred farm, Forest Retreat, were among the leading consignments at the Keeneland Summer Sales. Several champions were bred, including the 1954 Kentucky Derby winner, Determine. Forest Retreat continues as a family enterprise with extensive breeding, racing and boarding activities.

He was a founding member of the Keeneland Association in 1936, the founder of the Ohio Valley Thoroughbred Club, and a member of the board of trustees of Keeneland since its inception. He was one of the first members elected to The Jockey Club that did not live on the Eastern Seaboard and was an honored guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America.

Dr. Asbury died on September 4, 1988 at 93.