Twenty-five years ago, Mike Wilder was a newcomer to The Meadows, but it didn’t take the Ohio native long to embrace Adios Day at the western Pennsylvania track. And when he won the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids five years ago with Catch The Fire, it became a moment he would never forget.

“The atmosphere is electric for the Adios,” said Wilder, who resides in Washington, Pennsylvania, just several miles from The Meadows. “There is no other day here like it. It brings everyone together. You see people you don’t see all year that come out dressed in purple and they’re thrilled to be there. Everybody has got their own favourite spot to watch and it doesn’t matter what the weather is, it’s a great day.

“For everybody here at The Meadows, it’s the mecca.”

Wilder drove in his first Adios in 2001. He won one of the event’s three eliminations with Ready Cash, a horse trained by his father-in-law Dan Altmeyer, and later finished sixth in the same-day final.

“My bad drive,” said Wilder. “I was ultra-aggressive. That happens.”

Still, it was a memorable experience.

“That was my first opportunity to get the thrill of what it meant to be in the Adios,” said Wilder, who has won nearly 9,200 races in his career. “For the first five years or so that I was here, my father-in-law would have three or four that he’d put in the elims. I got the ball rolling with my father-in-law. He was really a big help to get me on a big stage.”

Over the years, Wilder finished fourth in three Adios finals – in 2003 and 2004, with Altmeyer-trained Tarpaulin Hanover and Basil Hanover, respectively, and in 2019 with Norm Parker’s Wild Wild Western – before breaking through in 2020 with Catch The Fire.

Catch The Fire was trained by John Ackley and owned by Charles Taylor, both Ohio residents. The son of Captaintreacherous-Dream Outloud was a $15,000 purchase at the 2018 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and got his career off to a good start at age two by hitting the board in nine of 12 races and earning just over $260,000.

In his fourth start as a three-year-old, Catch The Fire won his Adios elimination by a head over Capt Midnight in 1:49.3. A week later, he captured the $375,000 final with Wilder moving the colt to the front past the opening quarter and remaining on top from there. Catch The Fire won by a head over a fast-closing Chief Mate, again in 1:49.3.

“I knew I had a good horse,” said Wilder. “I raced him like he was the best, and he was the best. He loved the front end. He didn’t need the front, but when he was on the lead, he was very hard to get by. Coming off the last turn, I was thinking, this is going to happen. Yeah, they were bearing down on him and he won by a head, but that head was like a mile to me. There were a lot of nice colts in there against him and they got the trips behind him, but he never quit fighting. It was just great.”

Although the crowd was limited that year because of COVID-19 restrictions, the outcome was no less special.

“My kids were there, my wife was there, my mother was there, my uncle-in-law; it couldn’t have been better,” said Wilder. “To see the hometown crowd, even though it was the COVID year, all my buddies, fellow drivers, it was like they had won it themselves they were so happy.

“What a ride. I drove horses for John Ackley when I was a kid at the fairs in Ohio. We talked about it – who would have thought in the years to come that we would have one in the Adios. Not only in the Adios, but to win the elimination and then win the final. I was thrilled to win it myself, but I was just so happy for John. Not that I wasn’t for Charlie, but John works so hard and does a great job. It was just awesome.”

On Saturday, Wilder will get behind Papis Rocket in the $385,000 USD final of the Grade 1 Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids, presented by the Mickey Burke Family, at The Meadows. Wilder didn’t have a drive in last week’s two eliminations but got the call after trainer Ron Burke advanced five horses into the final.

Papis Rocket, the 2024 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion and a multiple Grand Circuit stakes winner, finished fourth in his elimination. He will leave from post one and is 20-1 on the morning line. Those odds, though, mean nothing to Wilder.

“I’ve raced horses for Ronnie for years and when they came to me with the opportunity to drive the horse, I couldn’t have been more thrilled,” said Wilder. “It means a lot to be asked. I think they have confidence in me and I’m happy about that.

“He’s a nice colt and the rail is better than [post] nine. He’s got super-quick gate speed. Hopefully, we can get away in a good spot and we’ll see how things shake out. We’re going for $385,000 [USD]; stranger things have happened.”

Twisted Destiny, who won his elimination in 1:48, is the 2-1 morning line favourite in the Adios final. He will leave from post three with Dexter Dunn driving for trainer Chris Ryder.

The Adios will be race 15 on Saturday’s card, with post time for the first race set for 11:30 a.m. The Adios will be featured on the FOX Saratoga Saturday broadcast, which runs from 3-6 p.m.

(USTA; photo of Catch The Fire and Mike Wilder winning the 2020 Adios)