On the morning of July 8, the word "irreplaceable" kept bouncing around the head of Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement center's founder Michael Blowen as he thought about the previous night's death of prominent Central Kentucky veterinarian Doug Byars, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM.

While the word touched on Blowen's feelings in losing a close friend, the main reason it filled his head on this Tuesday morning was the void Byars' death would leave for the retired Thoroughbreds that call Old Friends home.

"These horses are really going to miss him," Blowen said. "He was the best."

Family and friends said Byars, age 70, died the evening of July 7 at his Georgetown, Kentucky home

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