The Maryland Jockey Membership mourned the passing of legendary Corridor of Fame coach King Leatherberry, who handed away at his house Tuesday morning. He was 92 years outdated.
“He is one in every of a sort,” mentioned Taylor Leatherberry, one in every of his twin sons. “There was no man extra worthy of that identify than my father.”
Born March 26, 1933 in Shadyside, Maryland, Leatherberry earned his coach’s license in 1958 and received his first race the next yr at Sunshine Park in Florida with a horse named Mr. L. This victory started a exceptional profession that spanned greater than 60 years.
Leatherberry’s horses received 6,508 races and earned $64,693,537. He received 52 coaching titles in Maryland, 26 every at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, and 4 assembly championships at Delaware Park.
Leatherberry led all North American trainers in wins in 1977 and 1978, profitable greater than 300 races every year from 1975 to 1978.
He achieved 200 or extra wins a yr for 11 consecutive years and 100 or extra wins for 26 consecutive years. Leatherberry ranked within the high three in North America in annual wins from 1975 to 1980 and was within the high 10 in nationwide earnings 4 occasions.
“The primary few years I educated horses, I raced them at locations like Sunshine Park (Florida), Scarborough Downs (Maine) and Thistle Down (Ohio),” Leatherberry advised Tom Atwell on Could 23, 1993. day by day racing type. “I had no concept who the highest trainers had been. I simply had a tough time considering if I may win one. I do not even keep in mind if they’d a listing of high trainers again then. However as quickly as Bud Delp and I began being aggressive right here in Maryland, profitable turned crucial to me.”
Leatherberry stabled the horses in Barn No. 1 at Laurel Park. He, together with fellow trainers Delp, Dick Dutlow Sr. and John Tummaro, had been one in every of Maryland horse racing’s “Huge 4” who dominated the Maryland standings within the Nineteen Seventies.
“Nobody within the historical past of horse racing has executed what he has executed within the final 25 years, which is to make use of top-notch assistants and veterinarians and practice horses for pace numbers and racing type,” Delp advised turf reporter Vinny Perrone within the Could 20, 1993 challenge of The Washington Submit. “Imagine me, King Leatherberry can practice any racehorse that ever lived and practice it to perfection.”
In the identical article, Perrone mentioned that Leatherberry, also called the “King of Claimers,” “was primarily profitable in horse claims, utilizing crafty, foresight and statistics to purchase and promote thoroughbreds in cheaper non-public races. In essence, he is among the sport’s nice livestock merchants.”
When he retires in 2023, he’ll change into solely the third coach in historical past to succeed in 6,000 wins.
“I do not know the way it occurred,” Leatherberry mentioned after profitable Cherokee Dawn, his 6,000th win, on the Timonium State Honest. “Over time, the wins have piled up. It’s superb to assume that solely two different individuals in historical past (Dale Baird and Jack Van Berg) have received extra races. I’m honored to be with them.”
The late Jack Mann, Joe Hirsch Media Honorary Member of the Nationwide Museum of Horse Racing and Corridor of Fame, wrote concerning the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Leatherberry in 1993:
“Being a King Leatherberry means you by no means need to want you had been another person or do what everybody else is doing. Being a Leatherberry-style coach means at all times doing all of the issues which are enjoyable in racing and infrequently doing the issues that are not.”
Amongst Leatherberry’s high horses had been Katatonic, winner of the 1987 G1 Hempstead Stakes at Belmont Park, and Taking Dangers, winner of the 1994 G1 Philip H. Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park.
Nevertheless, his hottest runner was Ben’s Cat, a homebred horse owned and educated by Leatherberry. Ben’s Cat received 25 stakes races and earned greater than $2.6 million.
Leatherberry was inducted into the Horse Racing Corridor of Fame in 2015. He’s additionally a member of the Anne Arundel County Corridor of Fame and acquired the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maryland Athletic Corridor of Fame in 2002. He served as president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Affiliation and the Maryland Million Firm, and served on the board of Timonium.
Laurel Park yearly honors Leatherberry within the King T. Leatherberry Stakes for ages 3 and up, a 5-furlong and 1/2-furlong race on turf. The 2026 version might be held on Saturday, April 18th.
Leatherberry, who grew up on a farm in Anne Arundel County, graduated from the College of Maryland with a level in enterprise administration.
His survivors embody his spouse of 62 years, Linda Marie Hebner Leatherbury, 82; Twin sons, Taylor and Todd, 58 years outdated. and grandson Heavener (18).
Edited press launch from Maryland Jockey Membership
