Edwardsville racehorse defies age with another win at FanDuel in Collinsville

By any standard, Bam Bam Cam is old for a racehorse, but he keeps finding ways to win and he keeps enjoying his carrots.

The 13-year-old horse, owned by Rob Wiemers, an assistant hockey coach at Edwardsville High School, is one of the oldest running thoroughbreds in North America. Saturday night at FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing (formerly Fairmount Park), Bam Bam Cam won his second race in a row and also has one second-place finish and one fourth place finish this year.

Bam Bam Cam, who is trained by the husband-and-wife team of Harry and Becky Lynch, is named after Wiemers’ 21-year-old stepson, Cam Gillen, a former EHS hockey player.

“He’s been incredible, and he just keeps defying age,” Wiemers said. “They say the last thing to age on somebody is their heart and he has a great heart. This has really been special, and it couldn’t happen without the excellent care that Harry and Becky give him.

“People love watching him run and they know about him all around the Midwest. Harry goes to Hawthorne (Race Course) in Chicago and they even talk about him up there.”

The horse’s improbable comeback began two years ago at age 11 when he returned to racing after a five-year absence due to injuries. Competing at FanDuel, he won three races in a row plus one second place and one third place.

Bam Bam Cam fractured a leg as a 3-year-old but came back as a 5-year-old and won six races. A ligament injury, though, forced him into retirement on the farm, and it seemed his racing days had ended.

The story of Bam Bam Cam, though, was far from over.

“He was off for five years and came back as an 11-year-old and won three in a row. He had an OK year last year but didn’t win any races but this year he has been on fire especially the last two races,” Wiemers said.

“He’s been inspirational to all of us old guys. We don’t know how much longer he will race, but we’re anxious to see and enjoy what he can do from here, and he should have another race in about three weeks.”

“I never imagined when Susan Jakovac, Bam Bam’s breeder, told me he just loves his carrots on the farm years ago as a baby that we would be celebrating two wins in a row as a 13-year-old.”

Both of Bam Bam Cam’s victories this season have been with jockey Victor Santiago.

“He came to the barn and asked to ride Bam Bam around a month ago,” Wiemers said. “He won both races and that’s the only two times he rode him.”

Even Harry Lynch, who has more than 40 years of horse training experience, has been surprised by what Bam Bam Cam has accomplished over the past two years.

“I never thought he would make it back to racing again with five years off and being 11 years old,” said Lynch, who operates Lynch Stables at FanDuel. “But we take good care of him, and he got special care all winter and it’s paying off now.

“He stays 100% sound. We all agree if he has any problems, we are not going to push it and will retire him but in the meantime, he’s got a big heart, and he gives you everything he’s got every time he runs.”

The horse got his name from Cam Gillen, who got the nickname Bam Bam Cam during his early hockey days because he like to hit everything.

“He’s the namesake for Bam Bam Cam and a lot of family and friends come down to watch Bam Bam race. We usually squeeze a lot of people into the winner’s circle pictures.”

Nowadays, Bam Bam Cam is the horse racing equivalent of the legendary Gordie Howe, who was the oldest man to play an NHL game at age 52.

And when it comes time to race, the horse has a personality that would make “Mr. Hockey” proud.

“Bam Bam loves the attention, and he always wants to know what is going on,” Wiemers said. “You come in here on a non-race day and you feed him carrots and he’s loveable. But when it’s race day and he hears the national anthem, he starts pacing. He wants Harry to get him out there and he always thinks it’s his turn.

“When it’s ‘go’ time for him, he goes. In the horse industry, a lot of horses know when they win, but he also knows when he loses, and he does not like it. He’ll come back here, and he’ll pace more than any horse Harry has in the barn. His personality has kept us going with keeping him here and letting him race as a 13-year-old. He still has that compete level.”

The horse’s resiliency, especially at his age, is equally vital to his late-career renaissance.

“He comes back from races very well,” Wiemers said. “Where other horses might be a little sore, he doesn’t show any soreness. If you or I ran a race, we would be sore.”

“As a hockey coach, you’re always blessed to know you’re getting a player’s best effort every shift, and its no different with Bam Bam. We know what we’re going to get every race.”

The horse’s success at FanDuel has brought him his own unofficial fan club, the president of which would surely be 13-year-old Isabel Armstrong of Edwardsville. Isabel, who will be an eighth grader at Lincoln Middle School, may be the No. 1 fan of Bam Bam Cam.

“Isabel is an athlete and she’s a hockey player for the Edwardsville Tigers,” Wiemers said. “She started to come down here and feed Bam Bam carrots (his favorite treat) and watch him and all the other horses run.

“She started to make posters and pictures of Bam Bam and we’ve had some hanging up here in the barn. We also have a couple of her pictures at the ice rink. She and her family have been great coming down here to watch him race.”

Isabel was on hand Monday morning for a photo session with Bam Bam Cam at his barn and of course she fed him a lot of carrots.

“My family moved here when COVID started, and we started going to the horse races for fun,” Isabel said. “We met Rob when I started playing hockey and we came here and he took us back to the barn.

“I really connected with Bam Bam, and I started feeding him carrots. We just clicked.”

It didn’t take long before Isabel was inspired to display her love for the horse through her artwork.

“I’ve always liked to draw and do art and I love to draw horses,” she said. “I like to draw Bam Bam, and his last two wins have been especially inspiring to draw.

“When we first took a picture with him, he nuzzled up on me. He’s always been a really sweet horse.”

Wiemers currently has four other horses in the same barn, and they’re all youngsters compared to Bam Bam Cam.

“If you add them all up, I don’t think they match up to Bam Bam combined,” Wiemers said, laughing. “We have a 4-year-old, two 3-year-olds and a 2-year-old. We own JW Racing Group, which I’m the managing partner of, and Bam Bam is the grandpa of the whole barn.”

When Bam Bam Cam’s racing career finally does end, Wiemers’ plan is for him to become an equine therapy horse to help children.

“There’s a farm near Grafton that does a lot of great equine work and we’ve talked about possibly putting him up there in retirement,” Wiemers said. “He can live off the River Road and work with kids.”

And also keep eating lots of carrots.