King T. Leatherbury, 70, who began training horses in Florida in 1959, gets up close and personal with Cherokee Sunrise, one of the 25 horses he still trains. (Sun photo by Nanine Hartzenbusch / July 22, 2003)
E-mail
Print
First of three parts
King T. Leatherbury is the nation's third-winningest horse trainer. He has 5,984 victories, according to the Daily Racing Form. The nation's leading thoroughbred horse trainer is Dale Baird, with nearly 8,500 wins.
Leatherbury, a Shady Side native, was born on a farm there, where his father raised horses. He entered the sport shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland.
Leatherbury's first victory was in 1959 with Mister L at Sunshine Park in Florida, now Tampa Bay Downs. He marked his 5,000th victory in May 1993.
Leatherbury's career includes 25 training titles at Pimlico Race Course and at Laurel Park. In 1993, he led all Maryland trainers with 144 victories, 152 wins in 1994, 126 victories in 1995 and 117 the next year.
On four occasions, his horses have won five races in one day -- and once, they won six races in one day. In 1994, Leatherbury trained Taking Risks to victories in the William Donald Schaefer, the Baltimore Breeders' Cup and the Jennings Handicap. The horse also won the Maryland Million Classic.
Leatherbury has raced three horses in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico: Indigo Star, which placed fifth in 1978; Thirty-Eight Paces, which placed fourth in 1981; and I Am the Game, which placed fourth in 1985.
Interviewed recently at the Maryland Jockey Club's lounge at Laurel Park, Leatherbury discussed a wide range of issues on the sport, including this week's Preakness Stakes.
SunSpot will feature more excerpts on Wednesday and Friday.
Your first victory was in 1959. What was that like?
Back then, it was very exciting to have a horse win.
This is how I relate it: I could never play baseball or football or any kind of real sport -- the average guy can't do that kind of thing. And I can't afford to buy the Washington Redskins.
But you can get involved in horse racing at a much lower cost. You can actually buy a race horse for $5,000. And if that horse wins, it's almost like your son is out there and he's just had a 100-yard dash and won. You get that thrill of it.
Even the bettor can participate, because even though he doesn't own that horse, he has a financial interest in that horse running. If he puts $10 on that horse, and it wins, he's got that going for him.
How has horse racing changed over the years?
Everything changes. I had nothing to do with that. I'm just riding the game. I'm just in the game. I just got in the game and the game changes.
The simulcasting was a huge change, in that we used to only have live racing [at Pimlico]. You came to the races, you sat out there, you watched the horses run, you could only bet right here. Then it evolved into other tracks running their horses.
The television is what did it. Let us televise our races down there, you can bet on our races -- and we'll give you a piece of the action. So it really made sense [for Pimlico to participate].
How many horses do you own now?
I train 20 horses, which is small for me. I used to have a 60-horse stable all the time.
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Mixx
