The big night on Sunday left the third generation horseman, who started his career with a victory at the Woodstock County Fair back in 1996, just four victories shy of the coveted 2,000 win mark for his career.
Sunday's sizzling performance started with a 17-1 upset behind the Curt Grummel trained trotter Rose Guida and concluded with an easy four-length triumph with Ken Rucker's 8-5 favorite Capelo in the nightcap.
In between the bookend victories Leonard managed to sweep races three through six with a variety of mid-level betting choices and one favorite for his many followers.
Sporting a gaudy .383 UDRS going into Sunday's action the Harvard, Illinois native has a double-digit lead over Todd Warren in the driver standings for the summer meet after easily taking home leading driver honors for the five-week winter meet that concluded in early Feb.
Live racing at Hawthorne resumes on Thursday, June 16th with a 10-race card on tap. First post is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. (central).
Tom Kelley