Walter Miller (1890–1959) was an American jockey. Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York. He rode in his first race at age 14. At the age of 16, he won 388 races, a record not broken until Anthony DeSpirito did it in 1952. Between the years 1905 and 1908 Miller won 1,094 races from 4,336 mounts for an extraordinary 25.2 winning percentage. He led the U.S. in victories in both 1906 and 1907. In 1906, he won the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

on Whimsical. He also won the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

, Champagne Stakes,

Saratoga Special Stakes The Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six furlongs on the dirt. With its first ru ...

, and

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-ol ...

. He was the United States National Riding Champion in 1906 and 1907. In his career, more than half the time his horse finished "in the money". On July 29, 1906, Walter Miller rode five winners on a single

racecard A racecard is a printed card used in horse racing giving information about races, principally the horses running in each particular race. Racecards are often given in newspapers. Also known as a race book, which in this case is a small booklet ...

Brighton Beach Race Course The Brighton Beach Race Course was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, opened on June 28, 1879 by the Brighton Beach Racing Association. Headed by real estate developer William A. Engeman, who owne ...

.''New York Times'', July 29, 1906
/ref> He set a record by riding eight consecutive winners, over a two-day period at

Benning Race Track Benning Race Track was a horse racing and motorsport venue that opened in 1890 on the east side of Washington, D.C. With the close proximity to the capital, the races were attended by many politicians. A journalist once took a photo of Alice Roo ...

. His career ended in the United States after he gained weight as a late teenager. In 1909 and 1910 he rode primarily in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

where weight restrictions were less stringent. Walter 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 The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1983.

External links

'' Winning the Futurity'', 1915

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

made by the Walter Miller Feature Film Compan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Walter American jockeys Sportspeople from Brooklyn 1890 births 1959 deaths Jewish American sportspeople United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American Jews