LIFE & TIMES


Maryland Will Miss... Former Maryland foxhunter Leo J. Rocca died


on October 23 in Arizona. He was 89. Born and raised in the Washington, DC, area, Rocca graduated from T e Taft School in Connecti- cut in 1953. While at the University of Virgin- ia, he was a founding member of the UVA Polo Club and met his future bride, Christine. T e two shared a life-long passion for horses. After graduating from UVA in 1959, Rocca


went into active duty with the U.S. Army, ris- ing to the rank of Captain. He served with the 82nd Airbore and later qualifi ed as Ranger and a Special Forces operator. After transitioning to Army Reserve duty, Rocca began a 12-year career with Mobil Oil. In 1976, the Rocca family moved back to the


US, settling in Frederick County, MD. T ere Rocca founded a real estate management and investment company and developed proper- ties in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsyl- vania. During this time, Rocca rode with New Market-Middletown Valley Hounds where he served as MFH from 1997-2009. In 1987, the Roccas purchased a Civil War-


era farm on the slopes of South Mountain in Middletown and spent several years renovating the house, barns and stables to establish Fox


Gap Farm. After retiring, the couple moved to California before settling in Arizona.


Ronald “Ronnie” C. Cartwright died on


November 11 at the age of 93. Originally from Stockton, England, Cartwright had a long ca- reer as a T oroughbred trainer and breeder. In his younger years, Cartwright was a steeple- chase jockey who then began training horses in the late 1960s through 2005. He won almost 700 races and his horses earned more than $13 million. Notable graded-stakes winners include Mz. Zill Bear, Castelets, Miss Slewpy, Palliser Bay and Mymet. Mz. Zill Bear was a Maryland-bred who


won 15 races, 10 of which were stakes races, to earn more than $740,000. Her two Grade III wins were in the Martha Washington Handi- cap at Laurel Park and the Violet Handicap at T e Meadowlands. Mz. Zill Bear also won the Maryland Million Ladies three times (1993, 1994, 1995). Maryland-bred Castelets won 18 races, in-


cluding 10 stakes races. Most notable wins were the Grade III Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup at Penn National Race Course and the Riggs Handicap at Pimlico Racecourse.


T oroughbred racehorse trainer Leon Blus-


iewicz of Baltimore died on November 26 at the age of 92. Blusiewicz trained multiple stakes winners during a career spanning over 40 years. Notable stakes winners include Willa On the Move, Snow Plow, Spartiatis, Mighty Magee, Skipat, Millions and Tong Po. Blusiewicz had a passion for T oroughbred


bloodlines and bred several winners includ- ing Admiral Alex, who was out of Madam Lagonza. Madam Lagonza was purchased for $22,000 - the day after Blusiewicz was unsuc- cessful in trying to buy the yearling who would become Lemon Drop Kid. While Madam Lag- onza did not make it to the races, she produced the graded turf stakes winner Woodlander as well as the mare Miner’s Secret, who became the dam of the Grade 1 stakes winner Coal Front. Admiral Alex had a brief career on the track but became a successful stallion standing at Shamrock Farm in Woodbine until his death in 2020.


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of Marylanders


Miss Slewpy was also Maryland-bred with 15 victories including the Grade II Ladies Handi- cap at Aqueduct Racetrack.


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