Marcus Miller—the 22-year-old ‘boy wonder’ has accomplished what few drivers in Chicago harness racing history have been able to do—capture the driving titles at the sister tracks of Maywood and Balmoral Parks.
The last driver to win both titles was Tony Morgan, who did so in 2003, the same year he claimed the national driving title for the third time.
Marcus has every reason to succeed…his father is top trainer Erv Miller and his uncle is one of the top reinsmen on the East Coast—driver Andy Miller. The Olney, Illinois native just wrapped up his third straight year as a professional driver and has amassed $2,970,881 in seasonal earnings, with 495 wins, 362 seconds and 310 thirds in 2,492 trips postward for a national UDR of .321.
At both Maywood and Balmoral Miller is the leader in both wins and earnings—no small feat—with 203 wins and $798,766 at Maywood (.325) and 254 wins and $1,644,762 at Balmoral (.314) through Dec. 14, 2011. He started a combined 2,318 times over these two Chicago ovals and also accumulated 149 seconds and 122 thirds at Maywood and 187 seconds and 166 thirds at Balmoral. Total combined earnings at both venues? $2,443,528.
The ever-humble Miller said he made the transition from county fair ovals to the big leagues of Chicago because he had a good base from which to start.
“I think it’s a combination of things—right from the beginning I had a great teacher—my dad, and he was right there to tell me what to do and what not to do and even today he watches my races,” Miller explained. “I had a couple of big breaks early—I was driving two or three a night my first year in Chicago (2009) and when a few drivers left, I was able to take over those spots. I also had some good horses like Power Of A Moment early in my career too.
“But what really made a difference was that when my dad was based in Springfield I was going a lot of miles with a lot of different horses when I was pretty young (16),” Miller continued. “That year my feet were hardly ever on the ground at Springfield—for a couple of years we had 150 horses that had to get out and I was busy from 6 am until 2 pm every day. I gained a ton of experience there.”
“When I was driving at the county fairs I was lucky to have some good stock,” Miller acknowledged. “One of the first times I was driving a horse that my sister owned in Chicago (when I was 18), I remember thinking ‘hey, I can keep up with these guys (the other drivers).’ My goal when I was at the fairs was to get good enough to drive at the pari-mutuels, and it is a lot different, but not enough so that I wasn’t able to adapt pretty readily.”
Miller bested seasoned drivers Casey Leonard (134 wins, $609,580), Brian Carpenter (133 wins, $542,792), Mike Oosting (110 wins, $465,038) and Sam Widger (86 wins, $263,837) for the 2011 title at Maywood Park.
“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to know where you’re at on the track relative to the pace of the race,” Miller offered. “That’s the hardest thing to learn—the timing is what, as a driver, you have to figure out. I don’t carry a watch but I think I have a pretty good one in my head.”
At Balmoral, Carpenter was again the bridesmaid role (148 wins and $713,996), with Oosting third (141 wins and $839,952), Bobby Smolin fourth (109 wins and $519,155) and John Roberts (104 wins and $561,074) fifth.
“I like going back and forth between the mile (at Balmoral) and the half (at Maywood),” Miller said. “There’s a different style of driving at either track, but I just try to drive as good a race as I’m able with the horse that I have. I read the program, but I’m not religious about it. The horses in Chicago have been the same and I know most of them off-hand. I can look at them on the track and know who they are. For the most part the program just reminds you who’s who.”
Miller enjoyed a breakout season in 2009, when he steered 242 winners to $1,723,145 in seasonal earnings. He followed that up with 393 winners and $2,320,481 in 2010, and now has career statistics of 1,292 winners and $7,618,999.
“The best part of racing is winning—that’s just great for me,” Miller stressed. “But winning for people who are just so excited to be in the winner’s circle is one of the greatest feelings ever. The other thing is that I come to work every night and it’s never the same—I really enjoy that aspect of racing the most.”
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