Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Growing up in Michigan, Keith Ravis would look for any excuse to avoid going to the track with his father and brother.

“In all honesty, I was forced to go,” said Ravis, now a novice horse owner, with a laugh. “I tried my darndest to get out of it and my (older) brother was very interested. My mom still says today, ‘Keith I can’t believe you’re in horse racing,’ because of all the times I begged ‘Don’t make me go!’”

Oh, the irony of life.

Flash forward to the present, and Keith has every reason to want to be at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday but can’t.

“Sadly, I won’t be there,” said Ravis, the project manager of Carter Lumber in Indiana. “I have a prior commitment.”

What makes it so sad is that Dreamonhigh — owned by Keith, his dad Thomas, and breeder Amos Leon Lengacher as K A T Stables — is racing in the $250,000 Delmonica Hanover Stakes for 3-year-old female trotters at Pocono. She is 15-1 on the morning line after drawing post seven. Yannick Gingras will be in the sulky for Per Engblom, who took over as trainer earlier this season.

Dreamonhigh is coming off a nine-length victory in the Arden Downs with a stakes-record time of 1:54 at The Meadows on July 30. Chris Gooden photo.

In seven races this year, Dreamonhigh has two wins, two seconds and $78,954 in purses. She is coming off a nine-length victory in the Arden Downs with a stakes-record time of 1:54 at The Meadows on July 30.

“Amos was able to be at the last race and in the winner’s circle; he was truly impressed with how her muscles were so visible and toned right now,” Ravis said. “That last race was very impressive to watch. She just kind of let the horses clear, she coasted around them, and she did her thing.”

Dreamonhigh is the first stakes horse purchased by Ravis, and the opportunity was brought to him by Lengacher. They agreed to terms with a verbal handshake commitment prior to her first race as a 2-year-old. The deal was made official one day after the horse won her debut. She went on to win the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship in 1:54 at The Meadows to set the track record for a 2-year-old trotter, male or female.

“Amos was a little nervous, he was covering costs all by himself,” Ravis said. “He and I have known each other, we’re very tight. He does a lot of work for me. He said, ‘I’d love to just team up with you and go down this adventure together and see what we could make out of it.’ It really didn’t take much persuasion.”

Saturday will provide a challenge for Dreamonhigh as the daughter of Andover Hall-RC’s Dream will face a group that includes Hambletonian runner-up Joviality S and Hambo fourth-place finisher Jiggy Jog S.

“I think she can challenge,” Ravis said about Dreamonhigh, who has won six of 15 career races and earned $317,770. “I think if she gets the perfect trip, she’s going to be in the mix. Joviality and Jiggy Jog are so very impressive. I’d love to be able to say coming down the stretch we have those two in sight and see what Dreamonhigh can do against the two best in the class.”

Although Keith won’t be there to watch, he will certainly be keeping close tabs on the race, as the Standardbreds are in his blood now.

Thomas Sr. was an avid horse bettor who frequented tracks all his life. While Thomas Jr. enjoyed going with dad, Keith went because he had to. Ironically, the younger Thomas is not active in the ownership group now.

When big Thomas retired, he and wife Noreen moved to Florida. When the pandemic hit and the siren’s song of grandchildren got too hard to resist, they returned north to Fort Wayne, Ind., where Keith lives. By then, the younger Ravis had actually bought a few horses when he went in with Dan Lengacher, Amos’ father.

“I was just dabbling,” he said. “I did it as an investment thing. I liked the challenge, I’m very competitive. And I sat home watching races every day. We teamed on our first horse together in 2019 — I Want Kandy — that’s how the story started.”

The two also bought female pacer Allbeastnobeauty, who won multiple divisional honors in Illinois before becoming a broodmare. When Thomas moved to Indiana, he and Noreen decided to purchase a horse the family could own.

“It was something to talk about and make money; we split it amongst me, my brother and my parents,” Keith said. “He bought a horse named Johann, and it did all right at the beginning. Obviously, horse racing changes as the wind blows in a different direction. We sold that horse, and I could tell my dad was a little bummed. He’s always enjoyed the horse racing atmosphere.”

Keith started to think about giving up the racing game, until Amos Lengacher approached him about buying Dreamonhigh and 4-year-old Champagne On Ice. They also approached Keith’s dad, who was reluctant at first until Noreen said to go for it.

“We all met and formulated a stable,” Ravis said. “We have not been in it very long at all. But it’s been very entertaining and challenging and nerve wracking at the same time. The more I started to get into it, the more the competitive edge came out in me. I look forward to seeing where we’re entered in the races, what position we get, what drivers we get, what tracks we’re at.

“It’s very entertaining. It has also been very educational.”

In what way?

“That this is a whole new world,” Ravis said. “Looking back as a child I always thought there’s horses running around with drivers. I did not know the dynamics of the veterinarians and how heavily they’re involved; the track conditions — different half-mile tracks, five-eighth-mile tracks. I always thought ‘Why does it matter; we’re all running a mile right?’

“It really does make a difference. Just learning how good these drivers really are. These guys are driving pretty fast, kind of like NASCAR. Obviously, this being a big stakes year for Dreamonhigh, I was heavily involved in getting all that information. It’s just been an eye-opening year, to say the least.”

And quite the change for a guy who they now have to drag away from the track rather than to it.

The Delmonica Hanover is part of a Sun Stakes Saturday card at Pocono that includes the $300,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters, the $300,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial for 3-year-old male pacers, and the $250,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for 3-year-old female pacers.

For free programs for The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, visit the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association website here.