Marcus Miller celebrated the 2,000th win of his career Friday afternoon when he guided Badiou Hanover to victory in the fifth race at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Julie Miller trains Badiou Hanover for owners Pinske Stables and Jim Simpson.
Miller, who turned 25 on May 6, got his first win in 2004. The son of trainer Erv Miller and nephew of driver Andy Miller, he has won more than $14.9 million in purses in his career.
A native of Illinois, Miller won a career-best 501 races in 2011.
His career high of $3.14 million in purses followed in 2012 and last year he missed a third consecutive $3 million-season by less than $50,000.
The featured race on Friday afternoon was a Winners Over $25,000 Lifetime Pace for fillies and mares. The wagering public was split between last week's winner at this class, Royal Cee Cee N, and the Ron Burke trainee, Continual Velocity.
As the wings closed, it was Regil Elektra who fired fast for the lead, but yielded the lead to Continual Velocity just beyond the quarter. The leader received mild first-over pressure from Royal Cee Cee N, but she eventually tired, leading to a stretch duel between the pacesetters. At the end, it was Regil Elektra coming through the open stretch to barely beat Continual Velocity by a nose in a time of 1:52 flat.
The win was Regil Elektra's first at this class in 2014. She is owned by the Monteleone Stables, trained by Monte Gelrod, and was driven by Brett Miller.
In other news, George Napolitano Jr had six driving wins on the card.
(With files from HRC & Harrah's Philadelphia)