King Leatherbury

Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury, whose career spanned eight decades and included 52 training titles combined at Pimlico and Laurel, has passed away. He was 92 and died Tuesday at his home. "He's one of a kind, said one of his twin sons, Taylor Leatherbury. "There's never been a man more appropriately named than my father." Born in Shady Side, Maryland, Leatherbury was raised on a farm where his father had horses. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in business administration, Leatherbury went to work...

Dave Rodman, announcer at Maryland's racetracks since 1991, has been named recipient of a Special Award of Merit for his contributions and positive impact on the racing industry. Rodman will be presented with the award at the May 15 Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course. A native of New Orleans, Rodman worked as a deejay at various radio stations before calling his first race at Jefferson Downs in 1981. He moved to Louisiana Downs in 1985 before becoming the track announcer for the Maryland Jockey Club, calling races at Pimlico,...

Kyle Horlacher would prefer to steer the conversation to the horse he bred, trains and co-owns, the Pennsylvania-bred Shoshanah (Weigelia). She was aiming to give Horlacher his first stakes win in Monday's Power By Far Stakes at Parx. A five-time winner bred in Pennsylvania, she's a good story. But not nearly as good a story as her trainer. Horlacher is a relative newcomer to training, which is not necessarily by choice. Going to the track as a child with his grandfather, Maryland-based trainer Nate Heyman, he always wanted to work...

The legendary 26-time stakes winner and fan favorite Ben's Cat and star foxhunter Mountain Dew are the newest inductees into the Maryland-Bred Thoroughbred Hall of Fame after a vote by a committee of Maryland racing industry members coordinated by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland Racing Media Association. A son of Parker's Storm Cat, Ben's Cat did not debut until his 4-year-old season after breaking his pelvis at two, an injury that required six months of stall rest. He won his first two career starts in claiming company and...

Now 87, trainer King Leatherbury likes to tell a joke, the one about his destiny and his family's burial plot. "I feel perfectly good and healthy but when I visit my family plot down there, where my whole family has been buried, there's this little sign. It says, 'King Leatherbury, coming soon.'" In the meantime, Leatherbury is not done yet or ready to walk away from a career that has earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame and fifth place on the list of all-time winningest trainers with...