David Miller hits 14,000 win milestone

Hall of Fame driver David Miller posted the 14,000th victory of his career on Friday (May 19) afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia when he guided Island Of The Sea to victory. It was not an easy journey for the Always A Virgin gelding, parked past a :26.1 quarter to get the lead then going on to hang up numbers of :54.2 and 1:22 before pacing on to a 1:50 win for trainer Eric Ell, co-owner with Lisa Ell.

Miller, 58 and a proud son of Ohio known as “The Buckeye,” recorded his 14,000th victory in career start 69,240, reflecting a lifetime win percentage over 20%. He is the sixth North American driver to reach the 14,000 figure and sits fourth among active drivers: preceding him, listed in current order of lifetime victories, were Dave Palone, Tony Morgan, Herve Filion, Cat Manzi, and Aaron Merriman. Miller is also the leading active driver in terms of his horses’ career earnings at $272.5 million, and trails only John Campbell’s all-time mark of $299.9 million.