Re: King Leatherbury: from Len to Jerry... (401 Views)
Posted by:
dlf (IP Logged)
Date: May 24, 2005 12:58PM
Here's the text, from page 104 of "Picking Winners":
Nowhere is an understanding of trainers' methods more important than in Maryland. During the 1973-74 season there was widespread suspicion that some trainers were using drugs illegally and indiscriminately on their horses, and that racing officials either weren't testing for these sophisticated medications or weren't enforcing the rules. As a result, the time-honored principles of handicapping seemed almost irrelevant.
Harvey Pack, a horseplayer friend of mine from New York, visited Bowie one Saturday and stopped by the press box to get a few pointers. "Is speed holding up here?" he asked. "Is the rail fast?" The Maryland regulars chuckled at his naivete. At Bowie, we explained, we don't handicap horses. We look for horses trained by Dick Dutrow, King Leatherbury, John Tammaro, and Raymond Lawrence, Jr., and try to guess which ones will be waking up today.
La plus ca change....