Walter Miller (jockey)
Walter Miller (1890–1959) was an American jockey.[1][2][3][4] In 1906, he won 388 races, becoming the first jockey to win more than 300 races in a single year, a record not broken until 1952. He was inducted for his achievements into the U.S. Racing Racing Hall of Fame, the Jockey Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Early life
[edit]Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was an Orthodox Jew.[5][1][2][3][6][7][8]
Racing career
[edit]He rode in his first race at age 14.[7]
At the age of 16, in 1906, he won 388 races, and became the first jockey to win more than 300 races in a single year (the following year he won 334 races).[9][10] It was a record not broken until Willie Shoemaker exceeded it in 1952.[10][5] He led the U.S. in victories in both 1906 and 1907, winning the United States National Riding Championship both years.[3][7][11][12][10] Between 1905 and 1908, Miller won 1,094 races from 4,336 mounts which is an extraordinary 25.2 winning percentage.[5][2][3][7][13]
In his career, more than half the time his horse finished "in the money".[7][12] On July 29, 1906, Walter Miller rode five winners on a single racecard at Brighton Beach Race Course.[14] He set a record by riding eight consecutive winners, over a two-day period at Benning Race Track.[7]
In 1906, he won the Preakness on Whimsical.[12][15] He also won the Travers Stakes, Alabama Stakes, Champagne Stakes, Saratoga Special Stakes, and Brooklyn Handicap.[12]
Writer Sam Elias described Miller as “a better rider than Tod Sloan.” [5] He rode at times for James R. Keene’s stable, Newcastle Stables.[5][10] Most of his career, he was managed by "Sunny Jim" Fitzimmons.[10]
His career ended in the United States after he gained weight as a late teenager.[12] He grew to 5’ 8.5” and 160 pounds.[5] In 1909 and 1910, he rode primarily in Australia and Europe where weight restrictions were less stringent.[12]
Honors
[edit]Miller was inducted into the U.S. Racing Racing Hall of Fame in 1955, into the Jockey Hall of Fame in 1957, and into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.[10][7][12][5]
External links
[edit]Winning the Futurity, 1915 silent film made by the Walter Miller Feature Film Company Winning the Futurity
References
[edit]- ^ a b Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz (2001). The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719730. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c Rita James Simon (1997). In the golden land: a century of Russian and Soviet Jewish immigration in America. VNR AG. ISBN 9780275957315. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Peter S. Horvitz (2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes; An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719075. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Bouyea, Brien (July 19, 2022). "HISTORY OF SARATOGA: Walter Miller's reign as America's top jockey was a brief one, but few have ever done it better".
- ^ a b c d e f g Riess, Steven A. (December 21, 2011). "The American Jockey, 1865-1910". Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal (2). doi:10.4000/transatlantica.5480 – via journals.openedition.org.
- ^ Bob Wechsler (2008). Day by day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 9780881259698. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Walter Miller". Jewishsports.net. April 3, 1906. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "Jews In American Sports". Jews in Sports. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ a b c d e f "Walter Miller". jewishsports.net.
- ^ Ilana Abramovitch, Seán Galvin (2002). Jews of Brooklyn. ISBN 9781584650034. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "National Museum of Racing, Hall of Fame, Jockeys". Racingmuseum.org. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "Under the Wire". TIME. January 12, 1953. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "New York Times, July 29, 1906". The New York Times. July 29, 1906.
- ^ Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica almanac 2008. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Incorporated. ISBN 9781593394752. Retrieved October 24, 2011.