Jerardi: Leatherbury a man of routines, stand-up and otherwise

My first racing experience was at Pimlico, Laurel, Bowie, and Timonium in the late 1970s. King T. Leatherbury had already won 2,000 races by that time.

While I tried to sort through the complexities of Maryland racing at the windows, I watched the Big Three of Leatherbury, Bud Delp, and Dick Dutrow win so often that it was like they were the only three with horses. I quickly noted that they claimed off everybody but each other.

That mystery, along with several more, was solved last Thursday night when I had the good fortune to have a front-row seat just across from the King in an overbooked side room at Sperry’s in downtown Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Surrounded by family and friends on the eve of his induction into the Hall of Fame, the man they call “Leather’’ was doing the only thing he does as well as win races – telling racetrack stories.

It was one of those nights you hope never ends. It was a celebration of a life’s work. More than that even, it was just a night to feel good about a man and the game he loves.

The next morning at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion, nearly everybody seemed to be emotional about Leatherbury’s induction – except for Leatherbury. The only difference between King before the ceremony and after was that he was wearing a Hall of Fame jacket and finally had a plaque that somehow had enough room to list all of his accomplishments.

At last count, the big numbers were 35,767 starters and 6,458 winners, fourth all time. The “big” horse came last. All King did with Ben’s Cat was what he has been doing for almost 60 years – found races the horse could win and kept putting the now 9-year-old in those races over and over again. Training horses is a complicated business, but if you don’t have management skills, you have little chance. King T. was and remains a textbook example of how to manage a racing stable.

When the Hall of Famers at the ceremony were introduced before the newest members were enshrined, nearly all of them stopped at King’s seat in front to shake his hand.

When it was King’s turn to speak after a heartfelt introduction from his good friend Glenn Lane, he said: “Glenn, you did a good job, however ... there’s a lot of good stuff you left out.’’

King kept all of his best material in. It was a history lesson from Sunshine Park to Saratoga Springs and a life lesson from the east coast of Florida, where “all the old folks live,’’ to the west coast, where “their parents live.’’ His jokes were great, but his setup was better. Like the night before, it could have gone on forever.

“That’s all I’ve got,’’ King said finally.

As King headed to Lane’s car after the ceremony and walked through the barn area with all those high-priced yearlings, I suggested he take some of that $2.5 million won by Ben’s Cat, invest in a yearling, and try to win the 2017 Kentucky Derby. He smiled, nodded, and explained that most of that money had been spent.

King made the biggest score of his racing life in his late 70s and now 80s. Rather than hoard the cash, he started claiming horses again. The reality is that King’s career was all but done before Ben’s Cat came along, started to win, and never stopped, a win shy of 30. It was Ben’s Cat who made so many take notice of Leatherbury’s career numbers, and it was Ben’s Cat who finally got Leatherbury on the ballot.

King joked that his friends told him he was even-money to get elected. I thought he was 3-5. The only way he wasn’t going to win that race was if he was never allowed in the gate.

Leatherbury did not have time to look at yearlings last Friday. He had just gotten the day’s “sheets’’ and was headed across Union Avenue to gamble on the Saratoga card and no doubt some simulcasts. If there is anything King likes more than winning a race himself, it is cashing a bet, any kind of bet.

Total up the sales taxes on his claims and the takeout from his bets, and you could have a number so high as to be incalculable.

But he did save a few sales-tax dollars back in the day when Delp pulled him and Dutrow into a room at the track one day and suggested they stop claiming from each other, that it was hurting all of them. King’s memory, which is perfect, was that Dutrow was killing Delp, and Delp knew it.

Delp ended with 3,674 wins, 14th all time. Dutrow had 3,665, 15th on the list. King T. Leatherbury? The man is still winning races. May it always be so.