Maryland Pride Day Features Four Stakes & Leatherbury Salute Aug. 22
Maryland Pride Day Features Four Stakes & Leatherbury Salute Aug. 22
Four $60,000 Stakes Races for Maryland-bred/Maryland-Sired
11-Race Program Averaging 13 Entries Per Race
Popular Ben's Cat Favored in $60,000 The Mister Diz
Earn Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge Berth in Champions Tournament
LAUREL, MD - Maryland legend and Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury will be honored at Laurel Park Saturday as part of Maryland Pride Day, which includes four stakes races for Maryland/bred, Maryland/sired horses and a nine-race program with nearly 13 starters per race.
First race post time is 1:25 p.m.
The afternoon will also include a commemorative King Leatherbury t-shirt giveaway to the first 3,500 fans at Laurel and first 500 fans at Pimlico, as well as the Maryland Jockey Club Champions Handicapping Tournament with the winner earning entry in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge.
Leatherbury, one of only four trainers in Thoroughbred history to win 6,000 or more races, was inducted earlier this month into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The Baltimore native has won 52 Maryland training titles and, between 1981 and 1996, won or shared 24 of 28 meet titles at Laurel.
Leatherbury will be honored after the third race in the winner's circle and will be presented with a Longines watch and a lawn jockey in his racing colors by Maryland Jockey Club President and General Manager Sal Sinatra.
Approximately one hour after he is honored, Leatherbury will saddle Ben's Cat in the The Mister Diz Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf. Bred, owned and trained by Leatherbury, Ben's Cat is one of the most popular and beloved horses to ever race in Maryland. The 9-year-old gelding has won 29 of 49 races for $2.4 million. The gelding was greeted with a chorus of cheers and applause on Black-Eyed Susan Day May 15 when he won the Turf Sprint at Pimlico. Ben's Cat will face six others including New York shipper Night Officer.
The 11 races on Maryland Pride Day drew 145 entries for an average of 13 per race.
The Mister Diz will be the first of four Maryland-bred/Maryland-sired races on the afternoon. The Jameela Stakes, for fillies and mares at six furlongs on the turf, drew a field of 12 including Conniver Stakes winner Eddy Gourmet and Miss Bullistic, winner of last year's Selima Stakes. The 3-year-old filly hasn't raced since finishing second in the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship in December.
The All Brandy, for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, drew a field of 10, including Big Bertha Stable's Geisha winner Brenda's Way and the stakes-winner Joy from the barn of Graham Motion.
The Find, for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, drew a field of 12, including Henry Clark winner Talk Show Man.
Maryland Pride Day will also feature the Maryland Jockey Club Champions Handicapping Tournament with prizes including entry into the 2015 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, The Big One tournament, the 2016 Coast Casino Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas, and cash prizes.
