Leona's Reward scores three-peat in Bricker Memorial

Leona's Reward was sent away as the overwhelming favorite against four rivals in her bid for a 10th career stakes victory, and didn't disappoint, coasting to a seven-length triumph in the $75,000 Bobbie Bricker Memorial Handicap for Ohio-accredited fillies and mares on Saturday at Mahoning Valley.

Leona's Reward, who was bred and is co-owned and trained by Tim Hamm, is now 8 for 11 at Mahoning Valley. This was the third consecutive victory in the Bricker Memorial for the 5-year-old Parents' Reward mare.

Leona's Reward, whose odds showed at 1-9 on the board as she broke from the rail under Luis Colon, saved ground in second, unhurried while tracking free-running leader Linda N Michelle through tepid early splits of 25.09 seconds for the quarter and 49.71 seconds for the half on a muddy track. The favorite began to reel in the leader under her own power around the turn, through six furlongs in 1:14.75. She struck the lead once straightened away and continued to draw off as she pleased, with Colon only showing her the stick to keep her focused. Her final time was 1:47.59.

Leona's Reward returned $2.10 for the race, for which there was no place or show wagering. Multiple stakes-placed Grizabella, who had been sent away as the second choice with odds of 20-1 on the board as the field broke, finished second over Linda N Michelle. The exacta returned $2.80.

Colon made it a stakes double later in the day, piloting Pat's Karma ($6.80) to a five-length victory in the $75,000 Joshua Radosevich Memorial Stakes for Ohio-accredited juveniles. It was the second win from seven career starts, and first stakes score, for the gelding, trained by Jeff Radosevich.

The Bricker Memorial and the Radosevich Memorial were the last stakes races in the state of Ohio for 2018.