On a beautiful Saturday night (July 3) at Hawthorne Race Course, driver Casey Leonard earned his 3,000th driving victory of his career.
Aged 43-year-old and the current District 5 USTA Director, Leonard reached the milestone when he won Race 2 with Cracklin Rosie for owners Terry Leonard, Peter Kouchis and George Dremonas and trainer Terry Leonard.
Leonard’s driving career began in 1996, winning two races from 33 drives on that year. It wasn’t until 2009 when Leonard began driving full time. Leonard won no less than 149 races in any year during an 11-year span from 2010 – 2020. Leonard’s top season came in 2013 when he won 407 races on the year from 2,517 drives for $2,846,373 in earnings. During his driving career, Leonard’s drives have earned over $19 million.
On Wednesday (June 2), Camwood ($4.80) reclaimed the title as the best pacer on the grounds of Monticello Raceway by virtue of his win in the $6,700 Open Pace.
Starting from the rail and making his Monticello Raceway debut, Brocks Fortune (Brett MacDonald) was fastest off the gate and took the field to the quarter pole in :27.3. First to move approaching the half and starting the outer flow was Cool Blues Man (Cory Stratton), followed by last week’s Open winner, Lacarmeliana. Brocks Fortune led past the half in :57.2. Down the backside, Camwood started his move with Brocks Fortune still showing the way, taking the field to the three-quarters in 1:26.1. At the top of the stretch, pacesetter Brocks Fortune began to tire slightly as Bruce Aldrich and Camwood overtook him to score by a head in 1:55.4. Finishing second was Cool Blues Man, and Brocks Fortune hung on for third.