The Inspiring Tale of Mariah’s Storm

It's a time tested fact that stories of strong determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds holds a special appeal to the general public. Such is the dramatic tale of Mariah's Storm, the inspiration behind the 2005 film 'Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story'. Mariah's Storm was born in 1991 on Crescent Farm in Kentucky, owned by Donald T. Johnson. As the daughter of Rahy and Dreaming of Anna, Mariah's Storm had bright prospects ahead of her in the world of horseracing, but her promising racing career almost came to a premature end.

In 1993, while running in the Alcibiades Stakes at the Keeneland Race Course in her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, it appeared that the filly's promising career had been cut short as she took a tumble, fracturing her front left cannon bone. At the time she had been working on building points to qualify for a place in that fall's Breeders Cup. Although a cannon bone fracture would normally end a horse's racing career, Mariah’s Storm's owners and trainers were determined that she would be given every opportunity to recover and continue her career. With the dedicated efforts of a team of skilled veterinarians, the injury healed well and the filly regained her strength, but whether she had recovered sufficiently to race again, remained to be seen.

Prior to her injury, Mariah's Storm had taken first place at the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes in September 1993. Following her recovery, in 1994, she took to the racetrack with renewed energy and determination, winning both the Arlington Oaks and Arlington Matron Stakes and going down in history for her rare accomplishment of winning all three of Arlington Park's stakes races. In September 1995, Mariah's Storm once again tasted victory as she took the winner's trophy at the Turfway Breeders' Cup Stakes at Turfway Park and the Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs, before coming in ninth in a ten horse field at the Breeders Cup Distaff later that year. In addition to all her accomplishments on the racetrack, as a broodmare Mariah's Storm produced Giant's Causeway, judged as the 2000 European Horse of the Year, and Freud, both by Storm Cat. Freud has the distinction of being the leading sire in New York in 2008.