Mission A Man With A This past season Dennis Lakomy saw two of his horses finish first and third in the Breeders Crown final for two-year-old trotting colts, a $600,000 race he didn t think he d get a cheque in. By Kimberly Rinker Though he owns a horse christened Manofmanymissions, Dennis Lakomy has a single focus. His self-proclaimed mantra is to enjoy every moment of his favourite sport of harness racing and the people in it. Born and raised on Chicago s far south side in the small hamlet of Roselawn, Lakomy, an accountant by trade, co-owns $600,000 Breeders Crown victor Manofmanymissions and the horse who finished third in that same event, Swan In A Million, a remarkable accomplishment. The camaraderie is what makes harness racing great, he offered. The give and take of racing. As an owner, if you won all the time, it would become pretty boring. Since the wins are few and far between, they become awful special. You never see anyone walk to the winner s circle, they re always zoned in on their way there and on the trot themselves. Case in point: Lakomy opted not to make the 11 hour drive to Pocono to watch Manofmanymissions and Swan In A Million. Instead, the 65-year-old Dyer, Indiana resident drove to nearby Valparasio, Indiana to watch the races with longtime partner Jack Hood. We were thinking of going to the Breeders Crown, but Swan had raced just average in the elims and Man originally wasn t even going to be in there, Lakomy explained. A horse scratched out and Man scratched in, and then got the nine-hole. So, I didn t think we had a great shot, and I really didn t want to go to Pocono and then have that long ride home afterwards. At the time, I was thinking we probably weren t going to get a cheque with either starter.
Photo by Larry Titak Photography
A MAN WITH A MISSION Photo courtesy of USTA Dreamaster was Lakomy's first Hambletonian starter. The Victory Dream son who earned $767,000 during his racing career, won his Hambo elim and was favoured in the final where he finished fifth behind Yankee Paco and Credit Winner. So I went to Jack s house and watched it on TV, he continued. At the start Man wasn t in the picture at all, and then suddenly, turning for home, I saw him flying and at that point I was praying to be second. We got very lucky when he nailed Pastor Stephen right at the wire. Pastor Stephen didn t have an easy trip and just got tired, and my horse wasn t as tired as he had stayed right behind him. Finishing first and third in the Breeders Crown? Well, let s just say that I m sure that the people in Pennsylvania could hear me in Valparasio encouraging our horses all the way to the wire! Lakomy first tasted a slice of the racing pie via his father, who would take his son to the races at Sportsman s Park on Saturdays. When I was a kid, my father Walter worked for General Motors in the shipping department, Lakomy recalled. My mother Blanche worked at Ingersol products, making parts for washing machines. I was their only child. My father is one of seven children and he and his brothers used to get together on Saturday mornings and do some handicapping, he continued. That was my first introduction to racing both harness and Thoroughbred. Lakomy attended St. Catherine of Genoa grammar school located just a short block away from his home, before making the transition to Mendel High School. The high school was run by the Augustinian Friars, he remembered. I did the usual things kids do when they re young, I rode my bike and played baseball. I liked horse racing, but owning horses wasn t one of my goals as a kid. Lakomy had little time for much else besides school and work, and an occasional baseball game during his years at Mendel. By that time, his father had purchased a Texaco gas station at 12800 Halsted Street on Chicago s south side. I worked there after school every day, and on Saturdays and Sundays too, he said. During his college years, after commuting two hours each way to Loyola University, where he was pursuing an accounting degree, Lakomy did find time to attend the races. I had a couple of friends, the Zacharski brothers, Art and Henry, Lakomy noted. One day they invited me to go with them to old Washington Park. We found out that we could go in after December 2010 The Harness Edge
Joyeux Noel Merry Christmas And A Happy New year Many thanks to our many owners from far and wide who have supported the stable this past year. SIMON & RENE ALLARD HOLIDAY ROAD 'Tis The Season To Be Merry USTA/Mark Hall Best wishes to my clients, fellow trainers, drivers and friends in the racing industry. GREG PECK The Harness Edge December 2010
A MAN WITH A MISSION Photo by Racehorse Photo the fifth race for free, and pick up a program off the ground for free, and we also looked old enough to bet, which was a plus for all of us. The whole atmosphere of the racetrack was just very cool, he continued. Art and I are numbers guys, so handicapping and having a numerical ability that you re comfortable with go hand in hand. We had a lot of fun together in those days. Lakomy later procured a Masters Degree in accounting from the University of Chicago, and began working for the publicly-held firm CFC International upon graduation. We made specialty films, such as signature panels and holograms that appear on the back of credit cards, he explained. Eventually Lakomy took the ownership plunge with his two friends. Art and Henry and I bought a pacer together, a three-year-old Illinois-bred pacing filly named Chicago Date, he said. Daryl Busse trained and drove her for us. Busse won a lot of races in those days and brought home a lot of longshots. He had been very good to us when we were putting our money through the betting windows and that s why we decided to use him as our trainer-driver. Andy Miller got Manofmanymissions (9) up in the final stride to nip Pastor Stephen (5) at the wire in the $600,000 Breeders Crown for two-year-old colt trotters in October at Pocono in world record time. To watch the race click on the video icon on the photo. Chicago Date, a foal of 1965, had been bred by Daryl s father Don Busse. The daughter of Royal Date - Roan Ranger, earned $9,485 in her career with a record of p, 4, 2:08. We bought Chicago Date at the end of April 1968 and she won her first race at the beginning of December that year in 2:09.3h when Balmoral was still a half-mile track, he noted. She won three in a row at Balmoral and got claimed, so then we claimed another horse, but that one turned out to be no good. That dud didn t dissuade the trio and before long, they purchased another Busse bred yearling named McDave, an altered son of Spencer Cam - Eileen Mc that raced on both the pace and the trot. The year was 1969. Life is filled with lessons, Lakomy remarked. I was very excited to have a yearling, and I asked Busse if I could come out and jog him on Saturday mornings and he said sure. McDave would earn $13,183 with a mark of p, 3, 2:06.1. The first time I jogged a horse it was very exciting, Lakomy said. Sitting behind a horse was a whole new world and one I hadn t known previously. Art and I would go out to the barn every Saturday morning, and it kind of became our gig. Lakomy continued to claim horses with Art and Henry after McDave s success, but eventually the trio disbanded when each began starting families. By that time, I had gotten married, Lakomy acknowledged. I had two sons (Kevin and Wally) and spent more time at home than before, and Art and Henry were doing the same thing. But I never got out of the game. Through the 1970s, Lakomy teamed with a number of partners and Chicagobased trainers, including Ronnie Asap and John Wolfe, Sr. Despite modest success during those years, he never lost his enthusiasm for harness racing. When he left CFC in 1978 and began December 2010 The Harness Edge
SeaSon S GreetinGS ARACACHE HANOVER p,3,1:50.1f ($785,173) A special thank you is extended to all the owners and trainers who gave me the opportunity to have such a great 2010. Racehorsephoto.com Best of racing luck in 2011. DOUG MCNAIR CHRIS RYDER Happy Holidays And A Prosperous New Year To You And Yours CHRIS RYDER STABLE PUT ON A SHOW p,3,1:49.4 ($1,947,726) New Image Media The Harness Edge December 2010
A MAN WITH A MISSION working part-time for the Burr Ridge, ILbased, equity firm Red Shift Capitol, Lakomy was able to devote more time to harness racing. After befriending racetrack regulars Stephen Levy and Phil Skaletsky, handicappers who frequented Sportsmans, Balmoral and Maywood Parks, a new partnership was formed in 1982. This triad begat the name Mystical Marker Farm, which has been Lakomy s nom de plum ever since. We didn t want to race under our own names, he recalled. So Phil (Skaletsky) came up with Mystical Marker, because he had a unique way of handicapping, by using a bunch of magic markers to make notations on his programs. The genesis of Mystical Marker carries on today, and spelled success for Lakomy and his partners in the early 1990s. One of their best horses was the Ideal Society filly Mystical Luv, a yearling purchased for $2,000 at the 1991 Cottonwood Sale, who earned $70,779 at two, winning at Springfield in 1:56. She also captured the $30,000 Orange & Blue consolation at Sportsman s Park in 1:59.1. When we decided to invest in yearlings, we hooked up with trainer Dirk Simpson, Lakomy noted. We had a lot of success together initially, but in 1994 Steve decided to retire from the game and Phil moved to Vegas. It was through Simpson that Lakomy met current partners Jack and Peggy Hood, and Illinois owner Bill Wright. We started getting horses together in 1994, he stated. We bought Dreamaster together, at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $33,000. He was our first Hambletonian horse. The son of Victory Dream - Garlapp had a stellar freshman campaign for Lakomy and partners, earning $228,729 with an 8-2-2 record from 13 starts and a mark of 2,1:57.1 taken at The Red Mile. He was one of the early favourites for the 2000 Hambletonian. That first Hambletonian was an unbelievable experience, Lakomy stressed. We met more nice people at the Meadowlands. The night before the Hambletonian I met people I had always read about, and I got to break bread and rub elbows with them. It was incredible. Dreamaster came into the Hambletonian with an unblemished sophomore campaign intact, winning six straight, including his $70,000 Hambo elim in an impressive, wire-to-wire 1:55 score with Dave Magee at the lines. The one million dollar Hambo final was a different story however, as Dreamaster was forced outside early, got caught in traffic, eventually finishing fifth to the winner Yankee Paco in 1:53.2. Our horse kind of got roughed up in the final, Lakomy said. But we were very excited to compete in, and get a fifth place cheque in the Hambletonian. Dreamaster was sold to Swedish interests after his three-year-old season, but had earned $767,636 from 16 wins, three seconds and four thirds in 29 starts for Lakomy and company. A few years later, we began buying colts with Erv Miller, Lakomy offered. We ended up going partners on a colt named Classic Photo. The son of SJs Photo - Classic Winner JUSTIN CURRIE RACING STABLE MYSTIC MAIDEN A thank you is extended to all owners, trainers, drivers and fellow horsemen who contributed to making 2010 such a great year for me. A special thanks must go to Thomas Miller, Chris Currie and my mom Angel. Best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2011. JUSTIN CURRIE Photo by Ryan Haynes December 2010 The Harness Edge
Best Of The Season Happy holidays to one and all. ROBERT YOUNG & Family Season s Greetings The 2010 racing season was gratifying on may different fronts and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who played a role in the stable's success. We'd also like to express our appreciation to Dave Menary and his team for all their efforts in Canada this year. Best wishes to one and all for 2011. BURKE STABLE Fredericktown, Pennsylvania Ron Burke The Harness Edge December 2010
A MAN WITH A MISSION showed promise at two, earning $70,175 with a single victory in eight starts for Lakomy, the Hoods and Wright in 2004. The youngster s star began to shine brighter in his three-year-old campaign, and after winning the $350,000 Dancer Memorial in 1:53.4 and his $100,000 Hambo elim in 1:53.3 for Ron Pierce, it appeared Classic Photo might be the group s first winner in trotting s biggest event. He really seemed to come into himself that year, Lakomy recalled. We were really confident going into the Hambletonian, but Vivid Photo just got the better of him. Despite a solid effort, Classic Photo finished second to the winning Vivid Photo, timed in 1:53.1 in the $1.5 million 2005 Hambletonian. The colt added an additional $1,376,829 to his bankroll that year, pushing his career earnings to $1,447,004 before being sold to Italian interests at the end of his three-year-old What A Season!! ARACACHE HANOVER p,3,1:50.1f ($771,413) When you ve been in the horse game as long as we have been, you come to appreciate a good horse and Aracache Hanover has been one you wait a lifetime to get. The season he gave us was amazing and we re so proud to be involved with him. We are so grateful to trainer Gregg McNair and drivers Doug McNair, Yannick Gingras, John Campbell, Tim Tetrick and Sylvain Filion for all their efforts. Best Wishes To One And All For the Season. BILL SWITALA & JIM MARTIN Racehorsephotos.com season. Fast Forward to Manofmanymissions 2, 1:53.2f ($432,900) and Swan In A Million 2, 1:57s ($98,250) Lakomy s present day standouts. Both are very nice and talented trotters, and I look forward to both of them being in the shadows of Manhattan in the first weekend in August, Lakomy said hopefully. Swan In A Million, a son of Andover Hall - Swan Lake, earned just under $100,000 this past season, recording three wins in seven tries with a mark of 1:57s garnered in a $10,000 Kindergarten Stake at Vernon Downs on September 17. He finished a solid third in the $600,000 Breeders Crown freshman trot for David Miller, timed in 1:54, in the race won by his stablemate, Manofmanymissions. The latter wrapped up a brilliant freshman season by winning a $88,300 Bluegrass Stake on October 22 at The Red Mile. Andy Miller was at the lines for brother/trainer Erv Miller as the Yankee Glide youngster was clocked in 1:55. Man had also scored victories in the $162,500 Kindergarten at Vernon on September 24 in 1:55.2, and a $10,000 leg of this same stake on September 9 in 1:56.3. Erv trains most of our stock for us now, and I own small parts of ten to 12 horses typically, Lakomy noted. Dirk still has a few for us too. We race only two and three-year-olds and at the end of their sophomore campaigns, they either become broodmares or are sold. Lakomy also has several standouts that race closer to home, including the Illinois-bred filly Mystical Victress, a sophomore daughter of Sportsmaster who has $295,950 in earnings from 17 wins in 26 career starts. She recorded a 1:50.4 mark this season in a $35,000 State Fair Stake at Springfield, and also snared triumphs in the $171,000 Grandma Ann (in 1:50.4) and the $56,000 Ann Vonian (in 1:51.4) both at Balmoral with Erv s son Marcus in the sulky. The challenges of this business are what keep people involved, as well as the people themselves, Lakomy stressed. There s always new people coming into harness racing every day, while some are leaving. You re always learning something. My dad has never lost his love for December 2010 The Harness Edge
Thank You!! We'd like to send a special thanks to all our Trainers, Caretakers, Drivers and Partners in both Canada and the United States for another exciting year of racing. Your efforts are appreciated. And of course most of all we'd like to thank the horses! Wishing all of our friends a Happy Holiday Season. John D. Fielding Jim Fielding Ray Johnston Best Wishes Of The Season Many thanks to the buyers and bidders who contributed to making our 2010 yearling consignment our best ever. Good luck to one and all for 2011. ROLLING ACRES Trenton, Ontario The Harness Edge December 2010
A MAN WITH A MISSION the sport. He s 91 and still comes out to the races. My oldest son is also a huge fan. Lakomy said he admires trainers like Erv Miller, who aren t afraid to try new ways of doing things in a business mired in tradition. Erv is a man of few words but he s a consummate horseman, Lakomy said. He s got an Amish background without formal schooling and he s got better administrative skills than most people. He runs a big stable in several locations and for a trainer that s not easy. It s not easy to keep the whole show going when you have that many horses and that many employees. He s always willing to try something new, too, Lakomy stressed. A new training method from Europe or some new type of equipment is okay by him. He doesn t dismiss it out of hand just because it s different and I like that. I like that he doesn t have a closed mind in regards to the horses or training methods. When selecting yearlings each fall, Lakomy said he works closely with Miller. I go through the sales catalogue and look at breeding I like, he stated. Erv visits the farms and selects the yearlings that he likes. He ll look at those and determine what he likes or doesn t like about them, and work within our budget. There s certain families that seem to cross very well, Lakomy continued. I look for a mare that has not been bred to the right sire who still throws decent racehorses. I watch all the videos too. With yearlings, I can pick out the real bad ones and the real good ones. So you knock out the lower ten percent and the top five percent, and what really gets the job done is grading that 85 per cent in the middle. Erv picked out Classic Photo, for instance, while Bill (Wright) picked out Dreamaster. In the case of Swan In A Million, we had his brother, Swan For All, who, if he hadn t had physical problems, would have been a great racehorse. Swan For All, 3,1:54.1f, a son of Andover Hall - Swan Lake conditioned by Miller, earned $309,986, and is now owned by the Swan For All Syndicate, of which Mystical Marker is a part of. He ll stand stud in Indiana in 2011. I loved Swan In A Million s video, Lakomy recalled. He could trot while eating grass, and was big, strong and athletic. We bought him because he was Swan For All s baby brother. Manofmanymissions was bought on Erv s recommendation. We ll continue to race a few here a few in Indiana and some on the Grand Circuit, he noted. We bought a couple of youngsters this fall with Erv and also hope to race a little more next year in Indiana. We ve got a couple of Indiana-bred twoyear-olds already with trainer Bobby Brower. Hopefully, the Illinois program will regain its stature. But it s in trouble and I don t see a way out. We ve been promised better things for 20 years in Illinois and I won t believe it until I see it. Despite Illinois downward trend, Lakomy said he still enjoys the racing close to home, and visits the Crete, IL one-miler regularly. My old friend Art still handicaps the races and I see him often at Balmoral, he concluded. My friends and partners are what make racing enjoyable. Having winning horses is just icing on the cake. Happy Holidays CARL, DEBBIE & BRANDY JAMIESON December 2010 The Harness Edge