Cigar

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The death of Spectacular Bid last week of an apparent heart attack at age 27 left two thoroughbreds who reside side by side as the greatest living racehorses. Cigar and John Henry, revered residents of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, rank 1-2 among thoroughbreds still alive in accomplishment and, fortunately for fans, visitor accessibility. About 1 million people visit the 1,200-acre park each year, and at least 25 percent come expressly to see Cigar and John Henry, said Cathy Roby, manager of the Hall of Champions.

Zelda G. Cohen, a prominent figure in Maryland racing circles for more than 40 years, died of congestive heart failure Friday at Northwest Hospital Center. She was 99. Born Zelda Greenberg in Baltimore and raised on Whitelock Street, she worked in sales at the downtown Hahn Shoe Store on Lexington Street after her graduation from Eastern High School. In 1928, she married Ben Cohen, a Baltimore businessman who with his brother Herman later owned Pimlico Race Course for 34 years. He also established WAAM-TV - now WJZ - in 1948.

On the morning of Sept. 13, 1862, men of the 27th Indiana Infantry stumbled upon a crucial document on the ground just south of Frederick. Gen. Robert E. Lee's "lost order," wrapped around three cigars, was now in the possession of the Army of the Potomac. That fair Saturday morn found troops of the Union 12th Corps bivouacked outside Frederick on a site previously occupied by Confederates under Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill. Sgt. John M. Bloss noticed the yellowish package: a bundle of fragrant cigars bound with a Confederate order.

Looking for a way to beat the heat and boredom of a torrid August afternoon, Karen Severson landed at what she called a "really cool" auction at the Columbia Hilton yesterday. Minutes into the state comptroller's sale of the contents of 200 unclaimed safe-deposit boxes, the Mayo resident owned an 1899 dollar bill and several Liberty head nickels. "I don't collect anything, but I had $20 to spend, and I thought this would be fun," Severson said. "I am hoping they get to the jewelry before too long."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As the years pass and one after another of racing's potential stars fade, Cigar's light glows brighter. Yesterday, it glowed most brilliant. Cigar led the stellar roster of horses and humans inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion across Union Avenue from Saratoga. Born in Maryland at Country Life Farm near Bel Air, Cigar launched his Hall of Fame career when his trainer, Bill Mott, switched him from turf to dirt in 1994, when the horse was 4. Cigar rattled off 16 straight victories from October 1994 to July 1996, tying Citation's modern record for consecutive wins.

Premium cigar sales, which burned fiercely in the mid-1990s, have tapered off significantly in recent years, leading the two top investors who bought the venerable A. Fader & Son Inc. cigar and pipe chain in 1998 to sell four of its six stores in recent months. Each investor wound up owning a store, while former Fader's employees now own the rest. The chain's flagship downtown location at 12 S. Calvert St. will remain in the hands of one of the investors, Stephen L. Gurba, who said he's dedicated to keeping open.

An elderly Anne Arundel County man was seriously burned after his clothes caught fire from a cigar he had been smoking at a rehabilitation facility in Marley Neck on Saturday. Robert E. Burkentine, 81, a resident of Millennium Health and Rehabilitation Center, was in critical condition yesterday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Burkentine had been smoking in a designated area, and burned himself as he tried to extinguish the cigar, said county Fire Lt. George Wiseman. He suffered second- and third-degree burns over 18 percent of his body, Wiseman said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Two Maryland-breds, the horse Cigar and the trainer Grover G. "Bud" Delp, have been elected to thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame. In an announcement yesterday at Churchill Downs, an official of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame named Cigar (contemporary male), Delp (trainer), Serena's Song (contemporary female), Noor (horse of yesteryear) and Jack Westrope (jockey) for induction Aug. 5 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "What can I say? It doesn't get any better than this," Delp said by phone from Maryland.

Theodore R. Brockman, 74, owned cigar-making plant Theodore Riley Brockman, who owned a cigar-making plant and was considered an expert in the blending of smoking tobacco, died of cancer Monday at his home in Ambler, Pa. He was 74 and lived in Overlea until 1963. Born in Baltimore and raised in Overlea, he was a 1946 graduate of Polytechnic Institute and earned a degree at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., in 1950. He was an owner of the Schafer-Pfaff Cigar Co., a Baltimore business founded by his great-uncle.

BJ's new store in Westminster has grand opening BJ's Wholesale Club held its grand opening yesterday at 820 Market St., Westminster. The 108,000-square-foot store is BJ's seventh Maryland location. It employs about 140 people. Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Cigar-making craft to be demonstrated Westminster Cigar Co. will hold a Cuban cigar-rolling event Friday to demonstrate the art of crafting handmade cigars. Grade 7 master roller Raul Aguilera and cigar maker Nicholas Perdomo Jr., president and chief executive officer of the cigar manufacturer Tabacalara Perdomo, will attend.