At 82, Larry King rules the Indiana fair circuit
The octogenarian simply can’t quit training horses.
by James Platz
Owner and trainer Larry King will turn 83 next month, and while he admits he should be slowing down, the pull from harness racing is too much to ignore. Last season King was named the top conditioner on the Indiana fair circuit, and this year he is again off to a quick start, already securing 21 wins during the circuit’s first four rounds.
“I’ve got a big operation going and the old man is about ready to say this is enough, but I can’t give it up,” he said. “We had a pretty good week.”
As the circuit moved to southern Indiana June 26 and 27, six of King’s pupils reached the winner’s circle over two days of racing. Freshman pacing colt Vel See You Later and driver Clint Coy led Thursday’s (June 26) winners at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in Corydon, keeping his record unblemished this season.
Vel See You Later has adapted to fair racing quickly, notching four wins in as many starts. From the first crop of Somebeachsomewhere son Highalator, the gelding is the first foal out of the speedy White Metro. Owned by King Racing Stable and Therl Hensley, Vel See You Later captured his latest win in gate-to-wire fashion, in front by nearly three lengths at the line.
“Well, he’s developed really well,” King said. “When we started out, I would have called him maybe just a little slow, but after a few months, he really picked up and took off and matured. He just matured really quick. A lot of them start and they don’t mature, but he matured really quick and really became a racehorse.”
Vel See You Later’s other wins came in two appearances at Converse — winning by a length and a half and a length and a quarter — before moving to Harrah’s Hoosier Park on June 19 and romping by nearly six lengths in 1:56.
Multiple Highalator-sired freshmen have won in the early rounds of Indiana fair racing, and King likes what he sees in the sire’s offspring.
“I really like most of his horses,” he said. “They have pretty good confirmation and they all seem to get better. The more starts you give them the better they get. I have several Highalators and I’ve got one that hasn’t won a race yet, but he’s never been out of the money and he gets better every week.”
Another pacer that has scored multiple wins for the trainer is 3-year-old Vel Drinks On Tina. A winner in four of five attempts at 2, the Let’s Drink On It—Pansference lass has already collected three victories at the fairs, and has earned wins in half of her eight seasonal starts. She raced fourth in the most recent effort at Corydon.
“She’s coming into herself,” King said. “I think she’s going to be a fantastic mare before it’s over with, but time will tell for sure. But, you know, she’s just done everything right. She’s easy to get along with and that makes a big difference when you’re running a stable the size I’m running.”
Last season, King Stable sent out 57 winners on the fair circuit. Not only did it lead all conditioners at the fairs, but it helped propel the Willshire, OH-based horseman to his most successful campaign. All told, King sent out 65 winners in 2024, improving his career mark by 10. With earnings of $315,391 over 416 starters, he was on par or better than the 2023 season, when 475 starters raked in $364,980.
“It means a lot to me personally,” he said of earnings the training title. “I mean I’ve been in this business for 64 years. It’s the best year I ever had, let’s put it that way.”
King currently has 40 horses in training, relying on a team of six to train and race. He credits the team with the stable’s success, as he barn has sent out 50 or more winners in a season in three of the last four years. Through the first four rounds of fair racing, King has sent out 12 different winners, seven of which have won more than once.
“We’re on a family farm and it keeps us busy,” King said. “We have our own track and it’s not quite a half-mile track. So, we go to Portland, IN and Celina, OH to train them a lot of times to get them on a half-mile track. But it’s working out for us and you know you got to have help, and without help with the stable we have, you’re in trouble. We’ve got some good boys that work for me and they do a fantastic job. It takes a lot of help and it takes good help, and I got it.”
King, who was born in the Hoosier State, was introduced to racehorses by a neighbor. That sparked an interest that has burned for more than six decades and is hard to extinguish.
“Our neighbor let me jog his horses,” King said. “I was like 13 or 14 years old. I was jogging his horses up and down the mud road. And I just liked it and I’ve had horses ever since. Now I have more than I need, but I just can’t give it up.”
With pupils like Vel See You Later and Vel Drinks On Tina, it is easy to see how slowing down would be difficult. The stable’s performance thus far has King primed for a successful title defense.
