Leonard Stables is a family owned and operated business since 1948 and is owned by Terry Leonard. Terry's grandfather began the business back in the late 1940's and it passed to Terry's father. In 1972, Terry moved the farm to Harvard, IL and manages it with his sons, Casey and Ross Leonard on over 100 acres.

Leonard Stables began as a standardbred training facility for harness racing, catering to several winning horses trained under the Leonard name. Today, Terry Leonard oversees operations as Casey and Ross maintain the training and driving of the horses. The Leonard family trains its own race horses, as well as horses that belong to other owners and trainers to produce top notch quality winners in the racing circuit.

Leonard Stables also offers a variety of stabling services for any horse. It also provides a unique service that benefits any breed of horse for any discipline, as well as horses that are injured and on the road to recovery: Aquatherapy for both rehabilitation and conditioning. This unique service is rare in any facility and provides horse owners and trainers an option that will create a better athlete on and off the racetrack.

Terry Leonard - Owner

What is Harness racing?

Harness racing is an offshoot of traditonal horseracing. In harness racing, the horses do not gallop with a rider on their back, but are tethered to a light cart, which a jockey guides around an oval racetrack. They are supposed to trot around the track without breaking stride, although doing so does not disqualify them. Breaking stride is called being "on a break." The driver must then try to get the horse back on the proper gait, get the horse out of the way of the others, and must not use the break to improve his position in the field.

Horses used for this type of racing are called Standardbreds. They are specially bred for the demands of the sport and descended from other horses like themselevs. Harness-racing horses are sometimes called "trotters" or "pacers."

Every trotting horse has a "birthday" of January first, no matter what date it is actually born. Even if a horse is born on December 25, he officially turns one year old at that time and is called a "yearling." A year later, he officially turns two.

This is the standard method of categorizing horses so that they run against others of their general grouping but it can be a disadvantage to late-born horses. For this reason, breeders try to arrange it so that foals (baby horses) are born in April or May, which gives them plenty of time to mature.

The horses race around a standard oval track. Those with a history of breaking stride or who have been away from racing for a long time must race in a qualifying race before returning. A qualifying race is one without a purse (winnings) or betting. It is used to determine the horse's manners, ability, and likelihood of being able to conform to racing rules.

(taken from www.wisegeek.com)