Hall of Famer Wise Dan and his trainer Charlie LoPresti always have been homebodies. Now they can enjoy more of that hominess together in Lexington, Ky., at Forest Lane Farm, which is owned and operated by LoPresti and his wife Amy.
During his stellar career, Wise Dan wintered at Forest Lane which has become his permanent residence. The 13-year-old Wiseman’s Ferry gelding closed his career in 2014 with a $7.6-million bankroll and 23-2-0 record in 31 starts. His 11 Grade 1 victories include the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2012 and 2013, the same seasons he earned Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year, champion older horse and champion grass horse for a total of six trophies. He was named to the Hall of Fame this year.
Admirers have not forgotten Wise Dan and routinely send cards, holiday greetings and treats. Although he has made guest appearances at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Park, Wise Dan has not left the property since starring in a fundraiser at Old Friends Equine in nearby Georgetown last year. LoPresti is reluctant to take Wise Dan out of his familiar surroundings but welcomes visitors by appointment, including the gelding’s former jockeys and their families.
“He has people who want to see him and if we can accommodate them, we will,” LoPresti said. “John Velazquez has been out numerous times and Jose Lezcano came to see him when he was in town for the Breeders’ Cup. I even legged him up so he could sit on him in the stall.”
When not mingling with guests, Wise Dan does a whole lot of nothing in his natural yet pampered lifestyle. He spends most of his time in a spacious paddock with his G2-winning half brother Successful Dan, a 14-year-old Successful Appeal gelding who banked just shy of $1 million while winning eight of 15 starts. The sons of the winning Wolf Power mare Lisa Danielle were bred and raced by Morton Fink, who passed away in 2019 at age 89.
The siblings are brought into the barn each morning for breakfast and grooming. Then they “just hang out” in their stalls until being turned back out in mid-afternoon after an early dinner. This is their routine unless extreme weather such as an ice storm keeps them stabled.
“They like to be outside,” LoPresti said. “Cold weather doesn’t bother them. They grow a good winter coats. The more time horses are outside, the better off they are.”
LoPresti said he offered them blankets but they were intent on pulling them off each other.
Describing himself as semi-retired, LoPresti will be spending more time with “the Dans” this winter while he concentrates on breaking yearlings instead of commuting to Keeneland where he trained racehorses year-round for the past two decades.
“I enjoy the young horses and taking care of the farm,” he said. “And there is much less pressure.”
A photo of Wise Dan winning the Firecracker H. won the 2013 Eclipse Award for Photography. Photo was taken by Jamie Radosevich-Hernandez
Looking back
Wise Dan was a fan favorite for countless reasons including his somewhat humble beginnings, longevity at the highest level, the loyalty between LoPresti and Fink and their horse of a lifetime, and Wise Dan’s remarkable comeback.
Fink owned and bred Thoroughbreds for more than half his life with considerable success before Wise Dan and his elder brother came to him through sentimentality and incredible good fortune. As Fink downsized his Thoroughbred holdings, he was unwilling to part with just one of his horses because she was named for his granddaughter. So he kept the somewhat ordinary mare and bred her to Kentucky stallions with moderate breeding fees.
The results have been astounding. In addition to Wise Dan and Successful Dan, Lisa Danielle has produced six runners that earned nearly $200,000 each at the track including stakes winner Our Royal Dancer and G2-placed Enchanting Lisa.
As a racer, Wise Dan was particularly popular at Keeneland, where he is the only horse to win seven stakes races. His status as a local hero was maximized because he was a year-round Lexington residence. Except for trips for stakes engagements, Wise Dan was housed at Keeneland or Forest Lane. When he took his show on the road, he made the locals proud with triumphs at Santa Anita in two Breeders’ Cups and at Woodbine in two renewals of the Woodbine Mile.
Of all his accomplishments and fond memories, the one LoPresti thinks of first when looking back on Wise Dan’s career was his score in Saratoga’s Bernard Baruch Handicap in the summer of 2014. Just three months earlier, Wise Dan underwent emergency colic surgery. His recovery is testament to his greatness.
“I had a lump in my throat because horses usually don’t come back to that level the way he did,” LoPresti said. “I was very fortunate. I was just a little trainer with 15 or 20 horses. I never thought that doing things the way I did — not traveling, not having multiple divisions, turning horses out for winter — that I would ever have a horse like Wise Dan. It was just amazing.”
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