Pennsylvania trainer LeBarron dies at 62

Longtime Pennsylvania horsemen Keith LeBarron died Monday at age 62 following a brief illness.

LeBarron, a resident of Bensalem, Pa., was represented by three runners at Parx Racing on the day of his death and won his final race on Saturday at Parx.

LeBarron and his wife, Susan, operated a medium-sized stable and owned a number of the runners they trained. LeBarron began his training career in 1976. He was based at Penn National from 1981 to 1991 and has had a stable at Parx ever since. He won 1,196 races and had purse earnings of $16.5 million.

LeBarron typically won between 30 and 50 races per year at Parx and ranked in or near the top 10 in the standings each of the last six years.

His first stakes victory came with Classic Move in the 2001 Devil’s Honor Stakes at Philadelphia Park. The stakes win came eight months after he claimed Classic Move for $30,000. His other stakes winners included Valley of the Gods, the champion Pennsylvania-bred filly or mare of 2005, and Movin’ Out, whom he trained from 2008 to 2011 and won the $100,000 Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Classic with in 2010 and the Bensalem Stakes the following year.

In addition to his wife, the former Susan Casey, LeBarron is survived by two daughters Casey Fecht, whose husband is Daniel, and Tiffany Clark, who is married to Nathaniel. LeBarron also has two brothers, Stephen, whose wife is Nancy, and Barry, who is married to Deb. He is survived by one grandchild, Cameron.

A visitation for LeBarron will be held next Monday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Tomlinson Funeral Home at 2207 Bristol Pike in Bensalem. A funeral service will follow. Burial will be at Beechwood Cemetery in Bensalem.