David Miller looking to make history at Little Brown Jug

When David Miller slips into the sulky behind the Night Hawk for the 2022 Little Brown Jug on Thursday, he will be seeking more than a trophy and a hefty payday.

Miller will be chasing history.

Should he and the bay pacing colt capture the $641,550 race, it will mark Miller’s sixth time in the winner’s circle, making the Reynoldsburg native the winningest driver in Jug history.

“I know how hard it is to win this race,” Miller said. “To win it again, I wouldn’t know how to explain what it means. It would be mind boggling for me to win a sixth.”

Known around harness racing as The Buckeye for his Ohio roots, Miller is as synonymous with the Delaware County Fair as blue ribbons and corn dogs.

He is the winningest driver in the fair’s history and has competed in 23 consecutive editions of the Little Brown Jug − 28 overall. Miller is tied with Hall of Famers Billy Haughton and Mike Lachance with five Jug wins each.

“David has such a familiarity with that oval,” said handicapper Dave Brower. “That gives him a confidence advantage whenever he is racing there. He always puts his horses in the best position to win.”

Miller’s history at the Jug is the stuff of legends. His first drive came in 1992 when he was literally pulled out of the stands to steer Ruff Hewn after the pacer’s regular driver was injured. The pair ended up third.

He captured his first Jug trophy 11 years later, steering No Pan Intended to victory, on their way to the Pacing Triple Crown.

“I thought he could win it all, but it was still a fairytale for me,” Miller said.

In 2008, he chose Shadow Play after qualifying two horses for the final, and then learned the pacer suffered a foot ailment between heats that required expert and emergency farrier support. Shadow Play then romped to a six-length win.

In 2011, Miller steered Big Bad John to a hometown hero win, as his trainer was Delaware-based Ron Potter. Betting Line’s victory in 2016 was overshadowed by unsubstantiated allegations that trainer Casie Coleman had given the horse a performance-enhancing substance before the race.

Miller’s most recent winner, Courtly Choice in 2018, broke stride in his elimination but finished strong and was placed second after a disqualification. That got him into the final, where he outpaced Dorsoduro Hanover and won by a neck.

“I thought going into the final that he could win it,” Miller recalled. “I was really confident in him. I figured the race would go a certain way, and we took advantage of that. He raced exactly the way I thought he would.”

This year, Miller’s hopes rest with Night Hawk, a winner of six races and $333,621, and Six Feet Apart, a winner of five races and $143,555. Both are trained by fellow Buckeye Brian Brown.

Night Hawk has had more success this year, but the pacer suffered stomach ulcers earlier in the year that have been remedied. Night Hawk is also based at the Delaware oval, which Miller sees as a benefit.

“He’s been a very solid horse this year,” Miller said. “I think he has a really good, legitimate shot. He’s trained over this track for two years. I always say homefield advantage is an edge.”

Miller said his inspiration this year is Brown, who would lift the Jug trophy for the first time with a win. The pair came close in the 2015 Jug, but Lost for Words was beaten a nose by eventual Horse of the Year Wiggle It JiggleIt.

Miller and Brown most recently finished fourth in 2017 with Fear the Dragon.

“I would want to win more for Brian Brown than myself, “ Miller said. “We came so close with Lost for Words. To win for him would mean the world.”

Brown, in turn, said there is no one with whom he would rather capture his first Jug than Miller.

“David has been my driver of choice for years,” he said. “He is a winner. He knows how to get a horse to go. “For him to break the Jug record with one of my horses, and for me to win my first, would be amazing.”

Miller, inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2014, turns 58 this year. He knows he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and his chances to win another Jug may be limited.

But the second leading money-winning driver of all time with just over $266 million is not ready to step off the track just yet.

“Winning never gets old,” Miller said. “Especially winning the Jug.”

Little Brown Jug

When: ThursdayWhere: Delaware County FairgroundsTickets: www.littlebrownjug.com/admission/

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: David Miller looking to make history at Little Brown Jug