Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Driver of the Month
for March 2005

Pat Lachance

Can it all be in the genes? As the son of Hall of Fame driver Mike Lachance and the cousin of top driver Luc Ouellette, it can be of no surprise to anyone that Pat Lachance was recently named Rising Star of 2004 by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Pat Lachance

Lachance was honored with his award publicly at the recent USHWA Banquet in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 13, 2005.

Pat was foaled on September 30, 1975 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but now calls Englishtown, New Jersey home. Lifetime he's trained the winners of over $11.1 million, with 568 winners. As a driver, he's steered 664 career winners to the tune of $5.6 million in purses.

Pat trained the winners of over $2.2 million in 2004, and during the past year drove the winners of more than $2.5 million in purses. From 1,020 starters, Pat piloted 103 winners, with 111 seconds and 126 thirds. More than half of his driver and trainer bankrolls were earned at the Meadowlands, putting him in the Top 10 in each category for the year.

Although 2004 might be considered a breakout season for Lachance, the 29-year-old has been training on his own since 1996 and was surprised to learn about the Rising Star Award.

"I didn't expect it at all," Lachance said. "When I first heard about it, I thought that I was too old to win it. Then I saw that Stephane Bouchard and Jeff Gregory were older when they won it. It is a very good feeling to be recognized."

Pat's top accolades of 2004 came when he steered Syncro’s Z Tam to a Governor’s Cup victory at the Meadowlands on December 4, after having sat behind the winning Casimir Camotion in the $708,400 Canadian Pacing Derby earlier in the season in a 1:48.3 record mile.

He was supplemented, but it was not an easy decision," Pat said. "Bill Matz called me and asked me what I thought. He said he'd leave it up to me. So we supplemented. I thought going into the race that he was the horse to beat. The way the race went I didn't have to use my horse in the first turn. He brushed to the top and held strong, very strong. That was a very big moment for me and my career."

During 2001 through 2003, Pat was the trainer behind the awesome mare Worldy Beauty, and his cousin Luc was most often in the sulky behind the two-time Dan Patch Award winner. Pat has been a nightly regular at the Meadowlands since 1999. The young conditioner traded in a potential hockey career for training, and initially went to work for trainer Bob McIntosh after finishing high school. He went out on his own in 1996, opening a stable at Monticello Raceway, before deciding to try his luck full time at the Meadowlands five years ago. It was not long before Lachance stepped into the national spotlight as the conditioner of two-time divisional champion pacing mare Worldly Beauty.

“If there’s an award for doing work with one horse Patrick deserves it,” Ouellette said. “Worldly Beauty was never the soundest horse, but Patrick kept her tight and sharp every time out.”

As 2004's Rising Star, Pat followed in the footsteps of cousine Ouellette, who won the honor in 1992. Pat recently steered Live Out Loud to win two $35,000 opening rounds of the Aquarious Series for four-year-old pacers at The Meadowlands. He's also been the pilot for many of trainer Robin Schadt's Odds On Racing horses, including Make It Brief. In fact, Pat gave the horse a great drive in the $108,600 Presidential Final at the Big M, finishing a very strong second to Life Source in 1:50.1.

“I chose to leave because I didn’t want to get stuck on the rail or go first up,” said Lachance of his drive behind Odds On Racing's star pacer. “I’d rather be on the front. Nobody else was leaving. Life Source got a perfect trip. If the roles were reversed, I think Make It Brief would have won.”

If the roles were reversed, I think Make It Brief would have won.

Beginning in 2000, Pat has scored five consecutive $1 million training seasons, and from 2002 through 2004 he trained the winners of $2 million annually.

"The difference from the beginning of 2004 and the end of the year was big," Pat noted. "At first, you're happy to be in some of the big races. Then, when you get a chance to win one and you do, you get a taste for it and you cannot wait to get back for another. No matter how many times you dream of it, you have to do it. Now I know I can."

Pat Lachance (second from left) accepts his Rising Star Award
at Ceasar's Palace in Atlantic City on February 13, 2005.

"We protected Syncro's Z Tam a lot last year, teaching him how to race," he said. "He has lots of speed and a great attitude. He wants to race. I am very much looking forward to him at three. That is the one thing that I would like to do at this stage of my career more than anything else, is to race in the Little Brown Jug and the Meadowlands Pace, to campaign a top three-year-old pacing colt. I trained Worldly Beauty, but I didn't drive her."

While numbers and awards speak for themselves, it is the behind-the-scenes support of his father, Mike, and owner Bill Matz that Lachance feels should also be recognized.

"My father and Bill are totally the reason I'm here," Pat said. "They mean everything to me. Whenever I have to stand somewhere and say something about this year, they are the two guys I mention. I talk to my father all the time. I really think that his complete horsemanship is the thing he most passed along to me. I think that the reason John Campbell and my father did what they did on the track was because of being total horsemen.

"Bill Matz's impact is huge," Pat said of Matz's confidence in his ability. "He's given me an opportunity when no one else would have, training and then driving. He's supported me unconditionally. It's pretty cool when someone believes in you like that. We've had a few bumps in the road, for sure, but it didn't bother him any. Road trouble is part of the game. When we won the Canadian Pacing Derby, he told me after the race that he felt like he was watching his brother win the World Series. That is the kind of partnership we have."

Lachance and Matz are hoping for more magical moments with Casimir Camotion in 2005.

"I'm not sure of his schedule yet," Pat said. "He's back in the barn and going slow jog miles. There's not going to be any early stakes for him. He had some trouble with the cold weather last year. He'll be back around late March or April. He's going to be staked up this year, no supplements needed. We'll be mapping out his schedule pretty soon."

Pat was named the Driver of the Week at the Meadowlands from February 1-5, 2005 and if anything's for sure, it's that this young horsemen will have many more awards to garner over the years before his career idraws to a close.

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