Miller, Walter
[Walter Goldstein]
Horse Racing
b. 1890, New York, NY
d. 1959
Miller is known chiefly for riding an incredible 388 winners in 1906, a record that stood until 1952. The feat won him the nickname "Marvelous Miller" from the press. Among his victories that year was the Preakness, aboard Whimsical.
There were usually just six races on a card at that time, and Miller won all six on three different occasions. He once won eight consecutive races at Bennings Track: the last five races on April 3, 1906, and the first three races the following day.
The national riding champion in 1906 and 1907, Miller finished in the money in more than half of his races. His 388 winners came in just 1,384 races; he also had 300 second- and 199 third-place finishes that year.
He was the jockey for Colin in most of that horse's races in 1907, when the two-year-old went undefeated. Miller rode 334 winners in 1,194 races that year. In 1908, he began to have weight problems and started only 870 races, but still brought home 194 winners.
For the next two years, Miller rode primarily in Australia and Europe, where weight restrictions are less rigorous.
During his brief career on American tracks, Miller had 1,904 winners in 4,336 mounts, a remarkable 25.2 winning percentage.