Hall of Fame reinsman David Miller added yet another lofty accomplishment to his loaded resume on Friday (August 21), as he recorded his 13,000th career driving victory while in action at Harrah's Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. He becomes just the fifth driver in North American harness racing to win 13,000 or more races.
Miller came into Harrah's Philadelphia's Friday program needing just one victory to reach the milestone mark. In the afternoon's 12th race, Miller guided 27-1 longshot Mr Censi to a gutsy first-over score, holding off Lifeonthebeach A (Joe Bongiorno) and Soho Wallstreet A (Tony Morgan) for the historic victory.
Miller, 54, trails only Dave Palone (19,244) and Tony Morgan (16,666) among active drivers for career dash wins. Over the course of his career, Miller has steered his drives to an astonishing $248-million (CAD) in purse earnings, which is second only to John Campbell's mark of $303-million (CAD).
Born into a harness racing family in Ohio, Miller and his father, grandfather, uncle, nephew and cousin were all reinsmen. In 1981 at the age of 17, Miller started earning money driving Standardbreds. His annual tally of victories increased steadily through the late '80s and early '90s, as he captured driving titles at both Lebanon Raceway and Scioto Downs.
From 1993 to 1998, Miller annually ranked among the top 10 drivers in wins, including back-to-back seasons (1997-1998) in which he was No. 2 in North America. Miller took his career to the next level in 1999 when he relocated to the east coast. And, simply put, the rest is history.
Since the year 2000, 'The Buckeye,' as he is lovingly referred to in the industry, has tallied 16 seasons in which he has steered his drives to more than $10-million in purse earnings. Miller's list of stakes accomplishments and notable star drives is too long to mention here, as his success on the Grand Circuit is as vast as it is impressive.