Turf, dirt, dry, slop — it’s all the same to ageless Ben’s Cat who dusted his rivals to win his third Jim McKay Turf Sprint in four years.
Ben’s Cat has won two of the last three runnings of the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. The eight year-old, trained by King Leatherbury, might be better than ever.
Marylanders are remembering training great Dickie Small, who passed away on Friday, as a consummate horseman — and much more.
Our RaceBrief racing notebook grabs some of yesterday’s highlights and looks ahead to the future.
Trainer King Leatherbury thinks he takes too much for granted. His focus Saturday was on appreciating the remarkable Ben’s Cat, who won his fifth Mister Diz.
Ben’s Cat opened his 2014 campaign on familiar turf, winning the Mister Diz Stakes at Pimlico for the fifth straight time.
King Leatherbury, who turned 81 today, saddled his first winner in 1959. He’s eighth on the Laurel Park trainer list this meet and hoping for a big spring.
“I’m still doing what I love every day,” says trainer King Leatherbury. That includes readying Ben’s Cat for possible fifth Mister Diz win.
Today in Racing History, Port Conway Lane records one of his 52 career victories in a 242-race career.
King Leatherbury’s Ben’s Cat won his unprecedented third crown as Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association has announced.