When Eddie Lohmeyer was a
youngster he always knew he wanted a career in harness racing. At the age 12 he
worked with his uncle, Al Manzi—Catello’s father-- who at that time trained
horses at the fabled Good Time Park in Goshen NY and every chance he had,
Lohmeyer would go to a training or racing facility to work with the horses.
And it was understandable since he
was a member of a large harness racing family which not only included his
dad and brother, but three uncles and five cousins, including yours truly.
Upon graduating Monticello High
School in 1961 Lohmeyer never even gave a thought about college opting instead
to train and drive harness horses,.
Right from the reel Eddie showed
that he had talent and as a youngster he developed into an
outstanding driver and showed he could handle a race horse with the best of the
seasoned veterans.
Though barely out of his teens
Lohmeyer was off to an burgeoning career as a harness driver but all was
interrupted when in the mid-1960’s Uncle Sam said: “Here I Am”. And given
the choice after being drafted, Lohmeyer opted to join the proud Marines and
served in Vietnam.
Upon retuning to the States after
his tour of duty, Lohmeyer picked up where he left off. He won driving
titles at Green Mountain Park, Freehold Raceway, Atlantic City Raceway, Liberty
Bell Park and Monticello Raceway and his stable grew larger and more powerful.
But Lohmeyer was smarter than most
in that he also possessed a great business acumen. And his talent for training,
driving and buying and selling race horses, has paid major dividends.
His first great horse was his
dad’s homebred colt, Eddy Jeff, named for him and his brother Jeffrey. Eddy
Jeff was the leading money winning two year old pacer in the nation in 1971
when the colt earned in excess of $110,000.
Hooking up with such patrons as
Stonegate Farms, Bob Tucker; John Stoddard; Peter Heffering; John
Van Kirk; and even former Secretary of the Treasury, Bill Simon, Lohmeyer, a
kid from the country developed into a class act, a persona that has
followed him throughout his career..
By 1980 Lohmeyer had driven over
2000 winners mostly in an era where the opportunity to race horses was limited
to just eight or nine months a year.
Over the years he has developed
some of the biggest names in racing. Horses like Pacific Rocket; Pacific Fella,
Landslide, Nuclear Siren, Mickie Rodney Skipper Dexter, Dunroven, Pacific
Dynasty, Joanna’s Time and others too numerous to mention have vaulted Lohmeyer
to the top of the game and he is one of the most respected horsemen competing
today.
Now, in his sixth decade in the
standardbred industry, in recent years Eddie turns the lines over to some
of the sports top catch-drivers, which also included his cousin, Cat
Manzi, that is, before the Catman retired from driving.
Lohmeyer will admit that one of
his all time favorite horses was Eddy Jeff, obviously because the colt was a
family pet and the first star of his illustrious career. But when asked flat
out, he will tell you that from the countless horses he has developed or has
been involved with in the nearly 55 years he’s been in the game,
Pacific Fella is his all-time favorite even choosing him over his
$2.33 million earner, Pacific Rocket.
“Pacific Fella was gritty and a
great race horse. In fact he set the Hoosier Park track record of 1:48:2 in
1998 and it wasn’t until 2010 that the record was lowered,” he
boasts. “Still his (Pacific Fella) race time is the third fastest ever
there.
Lohmeyer’s career could fill a
book or even be good fodder for a movie, and to single out a few of his
wonderful experiences is no easy task. But of all the champions he has come
across in his lifetime none is finer than his lovely and accomplished wife, Dr.
Patty Hogan, the extraordinary veterinarian of Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex
fame.
In an industry where owners often
change trainers to this day, after nearly 45 years, Lohmeyer still trains
horses for Bob Tucker’s Stonegate Farm. In fact last year
Tucker’s 2 year old pacing filly sensation, Ideal Nuggets, trained by
Lohmeyer, took a record of 1:50.2 ,earned nearly $190,000, and figures to
be among the best sophomore pacing fillies during the 2015 campaign.
“I guess I’ve been blessed in all
aspects of my life,” he admits . “I’ve had some great horses over the
years and no way am I ready to hang up my colors. Who knows, that Hambletonian
or Little Brown Jug winner may come from my barn one of these days.”
