Looking back at harness racing legend Delvin Miller
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Delvin Miller
Clay Kilgore
Courtesy of the Washington County Historical Society
Delvin Miller was one of the most celebrated harness racing drivers.
Courtesy Meadows Standardbred Owners Association
Delvin Miller had always wanted to build a harness racing track in Western Pennsylvania, and through his ties with the Washington Trotters Association saw it happen through the construction of the Meadows Racetrack, built in 1962.
Courtesy of the Washington County Historical Society
A postcard of harness racing at The Meadows Racetrack
Washington County Historical Society held its fifth annual Hall of Fame Awards Banquet last week. The event is intended to honor Washington County community members who are making a lasting impact and to honor historical figures who have left their mark on the county.
This year’s honorees included Duncan & Miller Glass Co. founders George Duncan and John Ernest Miller; the father of battlefield triage, Dr. Jonathan Letterman; local artist Ray Forquer; author of “Concussion” and “To Obama,” Jeanne Marie Laskas, and local newspaper publishers and philanthropists, the Northrop family.
Also among the historical figures was harness racing legend, Delvin Miller. Delvin was a breeder, owner, trainer and driver who competed in harness racing for eight decades. Throughout his career, Delvin raced on every continent and in all but one country in which there was harness racing. He also won every major stake race in harness racing at least once.
Delvin’s connection to this region can be traced to 1786, when George Miller Sr. came to Washington County. Although he went back to Ireland for a time shortly thereafter, he returned to Pennsylvania in the early 1790s and purchased a 190-acre tract of land in Cross Creek Township. Delvin’s grandfather, Thomas, inherited the farm from his father. The farm initially was used to raise cattle, but later included horses as well. Thomas contracted them out for use in the construction of railroads.
Thomas’ son, Earl, would travel along when the horses were delivered, and he quickly became fascinated with railroads. Upon finishing school, Earl moved west, traveling on the newly completed tracks. While traveling, he stopped in Iroquois, S.D., where he met Amy Grannis. The two married and moved west, settling in Boca, Calif., where their first child, Albert, was born on June 20, 1911. They moved once again in 1913 to Pomona, Calif., and their second son, Delvin, was born on July 5, 1913. When Delvin was 4, his parents decided to move back to Western Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, his father’s return home would be short. Earl soon contracted the flu and became one of the thousands of victims of the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic. After Earl’s passing, Delvin’s grandfather took the family in and they lived together on his homestead, now called Bancroft Farms. And, of course, there were horses on the farm.
In an interview with Hoof Beats in 1983, Delvin would say;
“I fell in love with them right off the bat, and that’s how I got started in the horse business. At first, I couldn’t even reach the stirrups when I went to ride horses on the farm. I was only about 8 years old. But I eventually learned to ride under saddle. Pretty good, too.
Grandfather gave me a mare. Her name was, I believe, Donna Jones, and I got a lot of experience with her. I broke her, trained her myself and drove her in my first race. That was in Burgettstown, Pa., and that turned out to be the beginning of my career as a driver and trainer of harness horses. The track in Burgettstown was a third of a mile track.
I believe that I won $8 in purse money.”
That 1929 race, during which he was just 16, would be the beginning of an 80-year career for Delvin Miller. A decade later, Delvin was already one of the biggest names in harness racing. In 1940 he won the Fox Stakes, which was the biggest race in the sport at the time. World War II required his harness racing career to be put on hold, however. While serving in the conflict, his equine expertise was called upon to train pack mules that hauled supplies for the infantry in the China-Burma-India theater.
Upon his return from the war, Delvin was determined to make a name for himself. He purchased Adios to stand stud and his farm in Meadow Lands. Adios is considered to be the greatest horse in harness racing history. He sired eight Little Brown Jug winners – more than any other horse. Two of his sons, Adios Butler and Bret Hanover, became winners of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers.
As a driver, Delvin continued the dominance he showed prior to the war. He won nearly every major stake race at least once, including the Hamiltonian with Lusty Song and the Little Brown Jug with Dudley Hanover in 1950, becoming the first driver to complete the feat in the same year. He drove and trained such stars as Dale Frost, Countess Vivian, Tarport Hap, Tyler B., Adios Betty, Harlan Dean, Meadow Rice, Helicopter and Stenographer.
Delvin also devoted himself to improving his beloved sport. An avid baseball fan, Delvin took inspiration from America’s pastime in the 1950s to take a progressive step toward making harness racing safer. He thought it best for racers to forego soft caps in favor of protective helmets, such as the batting helmets baseball players wore. After getting his hands on one from the Pittsburgh Pirates, he consulted with the Pittsburgh Steelers equipment manager on designs and then lobbied racing officials to make them mandatory.
His friendships with horsemen and legislators helped bring pari-mutuel wagering to Pennsylvania. Pari-mutuel betting is a system in which all bets on a particular horse race are pooled together. The more bets that are made, the larger the pool becomes. All bettors who win their wagers share in the overall prize pool. In addition, Delvin had always wanted to build a harness racing track in Western Pennsylvania, and through his ties with the Washington Trotters Association was finally able to see that happen. Construction of the Meadows Racetrack began in November 1962 with work being completed in June 1963. It was in that same year that Delvin had the track carpeted with the first synthetic racing surface. This allowed racing to take place even in unfavorable weather conditions. Unfortunately, the surface was found to be unsatisfactory and was replaced in 1975.
Although he retired in 1990, Delvin’s final drive in harness racing occurred on May 3, 1996, when he was 83. It was a non-betting race at the Spring Garden Ranch in DeLeon Springs, Fla. He, of course, won.
In his eight decades of racing, Delvin Miller won 2,442 races and amassed $11 million in purses. He was inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1969. When asked if he would like to start all over again in the sport of harness racing, Delvin answered, “I’d like to start over, sure. Because I see the great future that these youngsters have in this business. But, on the other hand, I’ve kinda bridged the generation gap and had some wonderful moments in my lifetime. Maybe it’s best to just say, ‘Thanks for the Memories.'”
Clay Kilgore is executive director of the Washington County Historical Society.