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5 i . " On the Trot I By MORRIE KURLANSKY Leonard Horses Start Next Week i H. D. Hanover Is Star of Stable ! fi £ KennesawHanoverCrack#52Pacer • =f MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May 19.— Always one of the latest stables to check in every spring is the one in charge 5 i . of of Edgar Edgar Leonard, Leonard, of of of of Edgar Edgar Leonard, Leonard, of of Lincoln, 111. Edgar winters ■ his stable at Azalea Driving Park near Orlando, Fla. Before he sets out on an extensive campaign on the Grand Circuit and the more important pari-mutuel night tracks, Edgar gives his horses a final preparation at the famous mile track at at Springfield, Springfield, 111. 111. This This at at Springfield, Springfield, 111. 111. This This j z way the public can be assured that the - Leonard horses are coming to the races in prime condition and ready as hands can * make them. This fact is well known to Chi-_ cago harness followers and it will be no J different, when the trotters and pacers in n Leonards care start their quest for gold d 3 and honors next week at Maywood Park. This spring Edgar comes with a relatively small but all the more hard-hitting force. The star of the stable, of course, is the now five -year-old son of Billy Direct, H. D. Hanover, owned by H. R. Warren and Son, East Moline, 111. This stallion last year, in spite of a prolonged lay-up in the middle of the season because of an injury, was one of the nations outstanding sidewheelers. H. D. Hanover won his last race in 1952 at Lexington, Ky., in the excellent time of 1:58*5. Ironically enough this was an overnight event with a total purse of 00 and also explains partly why H. D. Hanover did not earn more than ,849 last year. Many lucrative engagements had to be passed up because of H. D.s sidelining in the middle of his campaign. When he had recovered it was too late to shoot at the big prizes. On sheer speed this pacer can match strides ; with the very best and his 1953 campaign t will prove this contention, barring the unforeseen. H. D. Hanover will start end of next week in one of the Maywood Park early closing events and it will be more than interesting to see Doctor Cooper, Gene Hayes, Dale Wingay and other speedsters hook up with the son of the worlds champion, Billy Direct 1:55. In Kennesaw Hanover the Chicago public will get acquainted with one of the nations » fastest two-year-old pacers of 1952. Kennesaw, who is also owned by H. R. Warren and Son, pegged his record at 2:041/5 at Lexington, Ky., and won 10 of his 22 races last year for earnings of ,674. The son of Knight Dream is eligible for The Little Brown Jug, pacing classic for three-year-olds at Delaware, Ohio. Another three-year-old pacer, Black Haven acquired a record of 2:06 over the Lexington "Red Mile" and j placed in several important two-year-old -races to earn over ,000. The Warren- owned pacer broke his maiden at Sportsmans Park. With Little Dannie, the five-year-old gelding by Calumet Crusader, one of the most consistent trotters returns to competition. The Jacob Bunn, Jr., Springfield, 111., owned trotter, before he went lame in midsummer last year, won six out of nine races and was twice second _ to be unplaced but once. As a three-year- C old Little Dannie won 14 races and ac- -* quired a half-mile track record of 2:09Vo. According to reports from his training quarters Little Dannie, who was i fired last fall, is again in grand shape and should improve his record con- i siderably. r Trainer Edgar Leonard was eleventh ~j ranking driver in the nation last year. He % started 231 times, won 59 races, and was 38 , times second and 39 times third. His sta- , ble won over 0,000, a sum that would J 4 2 have been much higher if H. D. Hanover as 1 well as Little Dannie had not been out of f competition for a good part of the season. 3 Jack "Jumbo" Leonard is with the stable 6 as assistant trainer and second driver. 5 N. Orrin Baker, the liaison man be- q tween the U.S.T.A., governing body of the — harness sport, and the pari-mutuel "7 tracks, arrived here from New York and reported that last Saturday nights han- 3 - die at Yonkers Raceway constituted a 2 * new worlds record for wagering on a single harness racing program. A crowd ol out of 32,244 wagered ,721,031 on the eight- sa race card and the betting on the sixth m in race reached 68,000, also a worlds rec- m in ord for wagering on a single harness race, cc colt Baker also was able to straighten out w existing differences between horsemen n; and management at the New York tracks pt regarding purse distribution. An agree- w ment was reached whereby Yonkers E Raceway will distribute 90,000 weekly ra in purses, this sum including entrance the th fees, and Roosevelt Raceway will disburse th the 30,000 a week, this sum not including h£ has any entrance fees. will Wj St E. P. Wagner, the prominent Springfield, at at HI., owner reports that his three-year-old th the pacing colt, Direct Haven, by Eddie Havens, co ol out sa m in m in cc colt w n; pt w E ra the th th the h£ has will Wj St at at th the co of Hazel Direct, is coming along in sensational style. He trained the youngster 2:05 at the Springfield mile track and 2:10 at the Aurora half-mile track. The is owned by Mrs. Eleanore James, Wheaton, HI., and is eligible for the rich Illinois State Fair Colt Stake, which is expected to gross over 0,000 this summer. Wagner intends to give Direct Haven to . Edgar Leonard for further training and . racing, when this trainer arrives here at 1 end of the week . . . Jim Berry, one of old guard homespun railbirds, currently a bout with the flu and after recovery again drive free lance here . . . Stan Stucker, who is among the leading drivers Maywood Park, had to cancel his drives last few days on account of a stubborn cold.
