Mike Wilder registered his 5,000th lifetime driving win on Friday at The Meadows when he guided Teagan to an 11-1 upset victory
in the $27,500 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Trot. The win was the fourth on the card for Wilder and capped a phenomenal fortnight that saw him win 26 races over 10 cards.
“It was surprising to a few people, including me,” Wilder said. “I can’t even come up with a reason for how it all happened; every time I looked at the tote board, I was 26-1, 34-1, 15-1. It was the same group of horses I’ve had all along, but the trainers really had them ready and in the right spots.
One person who wasn’t surprised was my wife, Heather. She said, ‘You can do it, you’re a competitor. Just focus and do it.’”
A native of Springfield, Ohio, William Mike Wilder, 37, developed an interest in horses through his stepfather, David Ritter, who trained Standardbreds at the Shelby County Fairgrounds. Wilder was a phenomenon at Lebanon Raceway, where he won 13 driving titles, and he captured two driving championships at Scioto Downs before moving his tack to The Meadows in 2001.
One of the first congratulatory messages to reach him was a voicemail from his father-in-law, Dan Altmeyer, who trains many of the stakes horses Wilder drives.
“He said, ‘I’ve never seen such determination. Please save some of that for next summer.’”
Indeed, Wilder said his approach to his career has become more family oriented, particularly since he now drives horses for Heather, a Standardbred trainer since late 2008.
“I was gung-ho, driver crazy,” he said. “I’m still very competitive on the track, or I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did this past two weeks. But I see racing as more of a family thing now.
“It’s great that Heather’s horses have contributed to those 5,000 wins. I enjoy having her at the barn and going trips with her. I can see us having a stable in the future and enjoying more of the training aspect together. It’s a lot of fun having her there, although I feel more pressure driving for her than I do for
anyone else.”
(The Meadows)