King T. Leatherbury

Biography

Maryland native King T. Leatherbury won his first race at Florida’s Sunshine Park in 1959 and ranked fourth all time in wins at the time of his Hall of Fame election in 2015. A winner of 52 training titles in Maryland (26 each at Pimlico and Laurel), as well as four at Delaware Park, Leatherbury led all North American trainers in wins in 1977 and 1978 and won 300 or more races each year from 1975 through 1978.

Leatherbury ranked in the top three in North American wins each year from 1975 through 1980 and finished in the top 10 nationally in wins 18 times and in earnings four times. In 1987, Leatherbury won the Grade 1 Hempstead Handicap with Catatonic and in 1994 he won the Grade 1 Philip H. Iselin Handicap with Taking Risks. Leatherbury also bred, owned, and trained Ben’s Cat, winner of 25 stakes and more than $2.6 million.

Other top winners trained by Leatherbury include Ah Day, winner of 10 stakes, and Thirty Eight Paces, winner of six stakes. Leatherbury’s graded wins include multiple editions of the Parx Dash, Turf Monster Handicap, Laurel Turf Cup, and John B. Campbell Handicap. He has also won the Toboggan, Gardenia, Tempted, Woodlawn, and Allegheny stakes, as well as the Snow Goose, Betsy Ross, Assault, and Roseben handicaps.

Leatherbury won at least 200 races for 11 straight years (1974 through 1984) and had 100 or more winners for 26 consecutive years (1972 through 1997).

Starting with Do the Bump in the Grade 3 Allegheny in 1976, Leatherbury has won 154 stakes (23 graded), including with multiple winners Ben’s Cat, Ah Day, Ameri Valay, Taking Risks, Wait for the Lady, Learned Jake, Catatonic, Thirty Eight Go Go, and Thirty Eight Paces. 

Leatherbury retired in 2023 with 6,508 wins, ranking fifth all time, and purse earnings of $64,693,537.

Achievements

North America's leading trainer in wins — 1977, 1978

Trainer Profile | King T. Leatherbury | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information