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Deputies Tight-Lipped About Odessa Horseman's Homicide
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Published: October 11, 2008
TAMPA - As the horse-racing community reels from news of the homicide of a prominent Odessa horseman, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies revealed nothing new today in the death of the 61-year-old racehorse owner and former lawyer.
Lawrence P. Higgins was found dead in his house Friday morning by a business associate. Deputies confirmed Friday that homicide was suspected, but released no further details today.
Investigators were called to 11523 Trotting Down Drive in Hillsborough County at 9:50 a.m. after Higgins' body was found.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the death was a homicide, with "trauma to the upper torso," according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
According to records and published reports, Higgins owned a few small businesses, including Icarus Aircraft, an advertising agency that used blimps to carry airborne messages. He also was a racehorse aficionado who told Bloodhorse.com that he bet more than $1 million a year on the sport at Tampa Bay Downs. He also owned several horses. Among his thoroughbreds was Bodgiteer, which raced at Suffolk Downs in Boston and was named New England Horse of the Year at that track in 2007, according to ThoroughbredTimes.com.
Public Records show that Higgins lived in a 3,575-square-foot home that was built in 2004 in the gated community of Citrus Green II. Hillsborough property appraiser records show the sprawling home and acreage has a market value of about $740,000.
The property is in the name of his wife, Susan. Court records show that Higgins filed for divorce in May, but the record is unclear as to the outcome of the case or whether it is still pending.
Calls made to the home telephone went unanswered today.
Higgins was the executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Downs Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and a familiar face at Tampa Bay Downs track in Oldsmar..
Tampa Bay Downs general manager Pete Berube has known Higgins for about 13 years and said the entire racing community is in shock over the news of his death.
"He was a horseman," Berube said this afternoon. "He was the owner of a number of horses. I first moved here in 1995 and I think I met him in '96."
Higgins came to Florida from Maryland where he was a lawyer and shuttled between the two states until about 2000 when he sold his home there and moved to his current address in Odessa, Berube said.
"I saw Larry on Wednesday," Berube said. "That makes this more disturbing."
He said Higgins was his usual pleasant self when the two chatted. He came to Tampa Bay Downs three or four times a week, often to watch his horses race around the country on the simulcast monitors. Higgins owned about 10 racehorses, Berube said.
"Last year he had 10 horses," Berube said. "I think he had scaled back some recently."
Higgins was successful as a racehorse owner, Berube said: "He knew what he was doing."
So much so that he was asked to join the board of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents the interests of owners, trainers and track workers, according to HBPA president Robert Jeffries.
Higgins, Jeffries said, represented owners and trainers in contract negotiations. He also helped jockeys, grooms, hot walkers and other track workers.
"We all know him," Jeffries said. "He spent a lot of time on the backside. He was always around every day with his horses. He sure he enjoyed watching them."
Higgins was a guest panelist at a conference on simulcasting two weeks ago, and was quoted in Bloodhorse.com as an expert on racing.
Today, the local racing community was trying to deal with the untimely death of one of its own.
"We got the call yesterday," Berube said. "We just couldn't believe it. Everybody really liked Larry. He was intelligent, even-keeled, a really great guy."
Editor Howard Altman contributed to this story. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.
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