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Sport	Horse Racing
Name	Del Miller
Subtitle	The Babe Ruth of Trotting
Number	101-03
Info	An active driver for more than half a century, Delvin Miller bridges the development of harness racing from the time it was a virtually unknown sport limited to county fairs to today when it has become one of the world's most popular pastimes. A member of the Harness Hall of Fame, Miller has won more than 3,000 races and close to $10 million in his career. He still remembers the way it all began in 1928 in a tiny Western Pennsylvania town called Burgettstown. "My whole high school class came down to watch me the first time," Miller said. "I was driving over a one-third mile track. You went around three times. I won $9." His purses have improved substantially since then, and so have his working conditions. "When I started out, there was no starting gate, no photo patrols, no tests for horses. It was primitive. You can't believe some of the things that went on in turns." Slowly, the sport moved out of its dark ages and Miller moved with it. He was in the field the first time a starting gate was used. "Before that, we had a starter with a megaphone and he'd keep reminding you 'Gentlemen, don't beat the pole horse,' "Miller said. "Time after time, we'd have to re-start the race because guys were looking for any edge they could get." The starting gate solved that problem. Many drivers resisted the innovation but Miller supported it and helped get it accepted. It was Miller, too, who introduced safety helmets to the sport. "The first one was a baseball batting helmet, really'," said Miller. He borrowed the idea from an old friend, Branch Rickey, who pioneered the device in baseball. Besides being a champion driver and trainer, Miller compiled an enviable record as a breeder. His most famous trotter was the legendary Adios. Miller purchased him for $21,000, kept him seven years and then sold two-thirds of his interest in the horse for $500,000. Miller retained one-third of Adios, thus receiving a healthy share of the horse's $15,000 stud fee. His record in all phases of the sport has made Miller the Babe Ruth of harness racing.
Photo Info	DEL MILLER Born July 5, 1913, Woodland, Calif. AWARDS AND RECORDS Member, Harness Hall of Fame Driver, breeder, trainer
Copyright	© 1979, Edito-Service S.A., Geneva Photos USTA-Sports Photo Source Printed in Italy 03 005 101-03