The harness racing world is remembering the dynamic Pacing Triple Crown winner Western Dreamer, as the news of his passing at age 32 was announced from the Kentucky Horse Park. The legendary gelding made his home at the popular Lexington-area attraction since 2001, after retiring from racing in 2000 and making the trip from Equi-Care Farm in Ontario.
‘Dreamer’ was sired by Western Hanover out of Fits of Fun by Panorama. Purchased by George Segal of Brittany Farms, he was later sold to Matthew, Patrick, and Daniel Daly.
Driver Michel (Mike) Lachance looked back at the champion gelding fondly, remembering the last time he saw him after he retired. “They had a presentation in the Winner’s Circle in Lexington, and I was there. That was the last time I saw him.”
Driving the champ was a thrill for the Hall of Fame driver, inducted into both the United States and Canadian Halls of Fame.
“I was very fortunate that I got the mount”, Mike said. (Trainer) “Bill Robinson asked me in the fall of his two-year-old career. The owners had just bought the horse. He said ‘You’ll drive him next year, if you want him’, so I said okay!” He drove him only once as a two-year-old.
That following spring, he didn’t qualify for the North America Cup, but he made the Consolation, and Mike got the drive. “The owners were wonderful people, (Daly family) and the same with Bill (trainer). I could do whatever I wanted with the horse.”
Mike and Bill didn’t compare notes often, as they left the driving up to him, but as Dreamer headed to the Meadowlands, Mike asked if there was anything special he should know. “Bill said ‘Lucky, (that was my nickname!), if I could do things better than you, I wouldn’t get you to drive, I would drive him myself!’”
“He was a very safe horse to drive, and he would never make a break. But he had a mind of his own!” Mike laughed. “Sometimes you had to wake him up, you’d have to be a little rough with him. But when he was going two heats in one day, I was always careful in the first heat, because I didn’t want to rough him up twice in the same day.”
“He was a tough horse. Being a gelding, I think that’s why he was so tough. He was sound, and there was never any problems. That horse had tremendous power! Plus it didn’t matter the track, any kind of track. I was the ‘captain of that boat’ every week, and he was one of the most pleasant horses I ever drove in my whole career.”
His best race, in Mike’s opinion, was the Little Brown Jug (1997, Stakes and World Record 1.51.1). “He was tremendous on the day!” Mike exclaimed. “In the elimination, he looked like he was beatable. He won by a neck or so. Then in the final, he crushed them!”
Western Dreamer will be missed immensely by visitors of the Kentucky Horse Park, who took the opportunity to meet the champion. “Dreamer was a real testament to the Kentucky Horse Park and the Hall of Champions,” said Rob Willis, manager of the Hall of Champions. “He lived here almost 25 years, and without an exaggeration, he has taken photos and met tens of thousands of people, and that number is probably even higher!”
“He had a lot of personality, and was very invigorating with the guests,” Rob added. “A lot of times I would just leave them alone, and he would come up and not only put his head down and let them pet him, he would play with them. People that didn’t know horses learned horse language pretty quick with Dreamer. That horse, to me, is almost irreplaceable. I can’t see ever having a horse that’s like him. We have friendly horses, but Dreamer was different. Literally, if ten school buses pulled up filled with kids, he would give each and every kid individual attention, just like a superstar signing autographs.”
Even people who weren’t familiar with harness racing soon developed an appreciation and understanding thanks to meeting Dreamer. “People would meet him, see how friendly he was, then watch his race videos, then listen and start talking about it. He opened the door to a lot of people to the sport of harness racing.”
Even appearing in several wedding and engagement photos, Dreamer’s personality sparkled. “He crossed the line of being just a racing ambassador, he was a standardbred ambassador, he was a Kentucky ambassador, and a Kentucky Horse Park ambassador,” Rob said emphatically.
Mike Lachance remembers his visit to Kentucky Horse Park several years ago. “I walked in, and asked if I could see Western Dreamer. They didn’t know who I was. The young man was explaining to me what kind of horse he was, and I let him talk for five minutes maybe. Then I said ‘I’m the one who drove him all his career!’ The young man said ‘No that was Mike Lachance!’ And I laughed and told him that was me. He couldn’t believe it!”
Western Dreamer will be interred at the Horse Park and fans will be able to pay their respects to his memorial final resting place, remembering the champion, the horse, the friend they met and won’t soon forget.
Major wins
Pacing Triple Crown
Cane Pace 1997
Little Brown Jug 1997
Messenger Stakes 1997
Art Rooney Memorial Pace 1997
U.S. Pacing Championship 1998
Battle of Lake Erie Pace 1998
Awards – Canada
Pacer of the Year
Three-Year-Old Pacer of the Year
Harness Horse of the Year
Awards – United States
Pacer of the Year
Three-Year-Old Pacer of the Year
Mike Lachance
Wins – 10,422
Total Earnings – $190,786,957
Western Dreamer, Pacing Triple Crown winner, dies at 32 – U.S. Trotting News
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Cover Photo Credit to Kentucky Horse Park Photo
