25 Years Ago

King T. Leatherbury recorded a milestone in his amazing career with his 4,000th win as a trainer December 1, 1986 . . . but no one realized it until Daily Racing Form columnist Tom Atwell dug into the records to determine that 2-year-old filly Cheerful Reward hit the mark.

“I knew I was getting close to 4,000,” said Leatherbury. “But I was unaware when it happened. I thought someone would be keeping tabs.

“Afterward, I was a little disappointed. I believe that kind of statistic should be readily available and used to the advantage of our sport.”

Leatherbury joined Jack Van Berg as the only trainers to hit the 4,000 mark.

Leatherbury is, of course, still adding milestones with more than 6,300 wins – third on the all-time list behind Dale Baird and Van Berg.

Irv Naylor, an athletic 51-year-old grandfather of four, was on a mission to win the Maryland Hunt Cup–as a rider.

“I’ve had this in my mind for 25 years or so, and I figured I’d better do it soon,” he told the Maryland Horse’s Margaret Worrall.

Naylor’s best prospect was Hamid, a Bold Ruler grandson he hunted with Green Spring Valley Hounds. “There’s no question in my mind that an experienced jockey could move my horse up 10 lengths, but this is my year, so no one else gets a vote.”

Hamid never attempted the Hunt Cup after a non-competitive effort, while “showing excellent foxhunting form” in the My Lady’s Manor.

Naylor rode in the Hunt Cup four times, the last in 1998, but never won. In 1999, while riding Hunt Cup hopeful Emerald Action (Ire) in the Grand National, Naylor took a fall which left him paralyzed. As an owner, he would win the Hunt Cup in 2005 with Make Me a Champ, and again in 2008 with Askim (NZ).

Naylor’s focus expanded beyond the Hunt Cup in 2006, and within four years he was steeplechasing’s leading owner. In 2011, he campaigned all three finalists for the Eclipse Award, with Black Jack Blues (Ire) getting the nod over Tax Ruling and Decoy Daddy (Ire).

The colorful world of artist Elaine Anglim was just one phase of a full life which revolved around horses and the racetrack. The 53-year-old Pennsylvania resident and lifelong horsewoman got her first job at the track when she was 17. She galloped horses for trainers Jimmy Rowe, Max Hirsch, Eddie Neloy and Mack Miller, and eventually got her jockey’s license, although she didn’t make that a career.

Married to Francis Anglim, an assistant trainer and groom for Mr. and Mrs. George Odom at Marydel Farm in Middletown, Del., Elaine Anglim turned to painting after her riding career ended from a bad fall while working a young horse.
She earned a degree in fine arts at the University of Delaware, and was known for her watercolors, with her work being shown in galleries from Camden, S.C., to Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Mrs. Richard C. duPont’s homebred mare Politely, one of the most accomplished Maryland-breds of all time, died after delivering a healthy Smarten filly.

The two-time Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and 13-time stakes winner of $552,972 was 24.