david s. miller
Ohio native David S. Miller guided No Pan Intended to the Pacing Triple Crown in 2003. He has won a total of 11 Triple Crown races and captured 14 Breeders Crown trophies. Miller is a three-time winner of the Little Brown Jug and one of only two drivers (Billy Haughton in 1974) to capture both the Jug and the Jugette in the same year.
Miller has won at least $10 million in purses in a season 12 times in the last 13 years, including 9 consecutive years. He ranks No. 4 in all-time earnings with $179 million, behind only Hall of Famers John Campbell, Ron Pierce and Mike Lachance. On May 3, 2014 at the Meadowlands, Miller reached the 11,000 career victory milestone, becoming only the 8th North American driver to do so. He currently ranks 3rd among all-time leading 1:55 drivers with 4,167.
David Miller was born on December 10, 1964 in Columbus, Ohio. He grew up in Reynoldsburg, Ohio in a harness racing family - his father, grandfather, uncle, nephew and cousin were all drivers. Miller saw his first Little Brown Jug when he was 12 years old.
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, winning driving titles at both Lebanon Raceway and Scioto Downs. From 1993 to 1998, Miller ranked annually among the top 10 drivers in wins, including back-to-back seasons (1997-1998) in which he was No. 2 in North America. In 1994 Miller received the Rising Star Award from the United States Harness Writers Association.
In 1999 Miller moved from Ohio to the East Coast to begin a new chapter in his career. Major victories that season included the Nat Ray, Nadia Lobell, Battle of Lake Erie, Oliver Wendell Holmes and U.S. Pacing Championship. The following year, Miller and Trotting Horse of the Year Magician 6,1:52.2 ($3,579,103) proved to be a good pairing, together winning the $1 million Breeders Crown, Maple Leaf Trot, Cutler Memorial and American-National. Miller and Magician would team up again in 2001 to win the Classic Series and a second Cutler. Miller also had success that year driving pacer Cathedra Dot Com p,3,1:51 ($1,520,487) in both the Fan Hanover and Nadia Lobell. Miller won the Cane Pace behind Four Starzzz Shark p,6,1:47.4 ($2,537,267) and the Matron Stakes, driving both Victory Abroad 3,1:54.4f ($595,349) and McArdle p,3,1:49 ($2,455,609).
In 2002 Miller drove Trotter of the Year Kadabra 4,1:51.3 ($1,806,779) to wins in the Canadian Trotting Classic, Breeders Crown and Matron Stakes. Miller also drove to victory in the Peter Haughton Memorial, Merrie Annabelle, Goldsmith Maid, Art Rooney Pace and Messenger Stakes. He was the second-leading moneywinning driver of 2002 behind John Campbell.
Miller and Horse of the Year No Pan Intended p,3,1:50.3 ($1,581,735) teamed up to win the 2003 Pacing Triple Crown (Cane Pace, Little Brown Jug and Messenger Stakes). Miller won 10 races on Jug Day, finishing on the board in 15 of 18 events. He also set a Delaware County Fairgrounds track record of 124 lifetime wins. That year, No Pan Intended and Miller would also win the Breeders Crown, James B. Dancer Memorial and Art Rooney Pace. Other victories for Miller in 2003 included the Woodrow Wilson, She’s A Great Lady, a second Breeders Crown behind Forever Starlet 2,1:55.4 ($690,717), two divisions of the Matron Stakes and the Titan Cup. Miller was the leading moneywinning driver of 2003 with $11,490,590 and was voted the United States Harness Writers Association’s Driver of the Year.
In 2004 Miller would drive Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year Ken Warkentin 3,1:52.3 ($902,355) to wins in the Breeders Crown and Campbellville Stakes. Other Miller victories that season included the New Jersey Classic, Peaceful Way Stakes, Mistletoe Shalee and a second Breeders Crown with Always Cam p,5,1:49.2 ($969,333). The following year Miller triumphed in the Hoosier Cup, Progress Pace, Mistletoe Shalee, Sweetheart and Messenger Stakes. In 2006, the William Haughton Memorial, Breeders Crown, Governor’s Cup, the Three Diamonds and Sweetheart with Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year Isabella Blue Chip p,2,1:51.2 ($792,069), the Valley Victory, Matron Stakes and the Jugette.
Miller and Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year A And G’sconfusion p,4,1:50.2f ($1,472,566) teamed up to win the 2007 She’s A Great Lady. Pacing Horse of the Year Mister Big p,4,1:47.4 ($4,008,257) came up big with Miller driving in the William Haughton Memorial, U.S. Pacing Championship and the Allerage. Miller earned two more Breeders Crowns in 2008. Behind Shadow Play p,4,1:47.4 ($1,549,881) he also won his second Little Brown Jug, the Adios, American-National and Windy City.
2009 saw the pairing of Miller and Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year Poof She’s Gone 3,1:53.1 ($1,312,093) win the Breeders Crown, Merrie Annabelle and Ontario Sire Stakes final. Miller also stood in the winner’s circle after the 2009 Sweetheart, Valley Forge, U.S. Pacing Championship, Quillen Memorial and Matron Stakes.
In January 2010, Miller was enshrined in the Ohio Harness Racing Hall of Fame. To celebrate, he and Pacing Horse of the Year Won The West p,5,1:47 ($3,939,836) garnered trophies in the Canadian Pacing Derby, Breeders Crown and Molson Pace. Miller also had victories that year in the She’s A Great Lady, Yonkers Trot, Three Diamonds, Woodrow Wilson and the Sweetheart.
In 2011 Miller became the 10th driver in North American history to reach 10,000 wins. He also won the Little Brown Jug for the third time in his career, driving Big Bad John p,3,1:49 ($1,000,559). Other victories included the Elegantimage, Colonial, Yonkers Trot, Kentucky Futurity, Nadia Lobell and the Jugette.
In 2012 Miller captured his first Hambletonian Oaks with Personal Style 4,1:53.1s ($778,391), and also won a Breeders Crown with Bettor Sweet p,4,1:47.2 ($2,782,353) and the Merrie Annabelle with Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year To Dream On 3,1:52.1 ($975,395). Miller’s best career year for earnings came in 2013 with $12,236,554, while winning two Breeders Crowns, the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial, Valley Victory, William Haughton Memorial and Three Diamonds.
In addition to his success on the track, David Miller is also a good citizen of racing, supporting the Standardbred Retirement Foundation and many other industry organizations. He lives in Cream Ridge, New Jersey with Misty, his wife of 19 years. They have two daughters.