Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

HALL OF FAMER LACHANCE PLANNING TIME OFF IN 2005
November 4, 2004

Hall of Fame driver Mike Lachance will be in the sulky when harness racing returns to the Meadowlands on Friday, November 19. But the Quebec-born Lachance is planning an extended vacation in early 2005.

"After the fall meet at the Meadowlands, I'm going to be taking some time off in January, February and March," he said. "This will give me a chance to do a lot of things. I want to see my family in Canada. For 37 years it's been drive-drive-drive. Now I'm going to give myself
the chance to do some other things. I'll be helping out Patrick [son Patrick Lachance] with some of his horses. I want to go to France for 10 days and see the Prix d'Amerique. I want to see my grandchildren more."

Lachance, who turns 54 on December 16, is not retiring but taking more time for himself.

"The important thing for me is that I'm doing this because I want to, not because I was forced to," said Lachance, who resides in Englishtown, New Jersey. "That means an awful lot to me."

It will be quite a change for Lachance, who has always been one of the busiest horsemen at the Meadowlands since he joined the drivers' colony in 1988. Since then, he has recorded nearly
24,000 starts and won 3,250 races for more than $71 million in purses at the East Rutherford oval.

For the Meadowlands' January through August 2004 meet, he finished fifth in the standings with 138 wins and recorded more than $4 million in earnings. Through the end of October, he ranks in the top six nationally among money-earning drivers with $6.5 million.

Some of his biggest wins of 2004 came with invitational pacer Four Starzzz Shark, who won the $700,000 WR Haughton, the $200,750 Molson and the $285,000 Graduate.

"I'm very happy with the year I had," Lachance said. "Cabrini Hanover, Four Starzzz Shark, Cantab Hall -- how could you ask for more than that. I got a call the other day from Kentucky telling me to pick up my new race bike. I didn't know what it was about. They told me you win a new race bike as the leading driver at Lexington. I didn't even realize it."

In some ways, Lachance is passing the torch to his 29-year-old son, Patrick, who recently won the Canadian Pacing Derby with Casimir Camotion.

"It was, a kind of changing of the guard in a way," Lachance noted. "Patrick, I believe, has shown everyone this year he can drive with the big boys. It's not easy training and driving nowadays. Look around and see how many others are doing it, not many. Patrick has matured, and I think he actually drives better in big money races than any others. He hardly makes any mistakes. Earlier this year, in the winter, he was driving and a lot of his horses weren't ready. I sat down and talked with him and told him he was doing too much, being over-aggressive. He has learned to be a more patient driver."

QUALIFIERS NEXT THURSDAY AT GAITWAY; STALL APS AVAILABLE
Entries for qualifiers, which will take place on Thursday at Gaitway Farms in Englishtown, New Jersey, will be taken between 4 and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9 in the Meadowlands Race Office. The qualifiers begin at 10 a.m.

The 2004-2005 Meadowlands stall application may be download from the Meadowlands website: http://www.thebigm.com/Horsemen/Stall_ap.pdf. ...The condition sheet for opening weekend [November 19 and 20] of the Meadowlands fall meet will be available early next week. It will be posted to http://www.thebigm.com/conditionSheets.asp.