HORSE RACING NEWS & RESULTS

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When David Miller celebrates his 42nd birthday on Sunday, it will include doing what he enjoys the most - driving horses.

There will be time for a dinner celebration afterwards but work is what drives Miller and driving horses is what Miller has done since he was 17. The Ohioan arrived in New Jersey in 1999 and has been consistently one of the top reinsmen at the Meadowlands.

It was at the Meadowlands, on December 2, that he enjoyed one of the best nights of his career.

He drove in all of the Fall Final Four stakes for two-year-olds, winning three and finishing second in the other for a combined purses earned total of $763,350.

"I would say that this ranks right behind the day I won the Jug [Little Brown Jug with No Pan Intended] and won 10 races at Delaware Ohio [in 2003], Miller said. "Yes, this would be next best, very satisfying.

"It was the kind of night where things just broke my way -- right time, right place kind of thing," Miller modestly added. "With Blair Burgess's horse for example [Ogham in the $432,700 Valley Victory], I don't think even Blair thought he was going to win, just that he was improved. When you get a trainer of his caliber, or any trainer who's had top horses, you can be pretty sure they are not going to be racing in these kinds of races if they don't think they have a good shot."

In addition to winning the Valley Victory for trotting colts and geldings with Ogham, Miller's Fall Final Four night also included tallies with Isabella Blue Chip in the $439,000 Three Diamonds for pacing fillies and with Sutter Hanover in the $450,000 Governor's Cup for pacing colts and geldings. In his only loss, he was second with Gerri's Joy in the $410,000 Goldsmith Maid for trotting fillies.

Miller had already teamed with Isabella Blue Chip to win the $435,000 Sweetheart on August 4 at the Meadowlands. Among his numerous stakes victories in 2006 were the $650,000 WR Haughton Memorial with Leading X Ample and the $500,000 Breeders Crown with Susie's Magic.

Through December 7, Miller's mounts have reached the winner's circle 337 times and banked $9,827,540. He could very well record his fifth $10 million season in 2006, having reached or surpassed that plateau in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005.

On Sunday, with the Meadowlands dark, Miller will travel from his home in Cream Ridge, New Jersey, to suburban Philadelphia.

"I'm driving at Chester," he said. "I have a couple in the series finals. Then I'm going out to dinner with [wife] Misty and [daughter] Leah."

AROUND THE MEADOWLANDS FOR DECEMBER 8, 2006

"I'm not working for Bill Popfinger anymore, but we're still on good terms and I'm driving some for him," reported Jimmy Marohn Jr. "We train in the same barn next to each other [at the Meadowlands]. I'm driving some at Monticello during the day. This is the time for me to be paying my dues, I understand that. I have a few I'm racing at the Meadowlands -- J Js Gazette [second last week] is in Saturday night. I'm training four for Richard Bonvie and most of my concentration is going towards them. Someone told me it's not going to be easy to get live drives at the Meadowlands. It's like breaking into the Yankees lineup. I realize that. What I'm trying to do is get experience and gain some respect, too. You have to go out there and earn it. I was second at the Colonial meet, missing by a couple of wins. I was in a wreck in the middle of the meet and missed a week. Driving for Virgil Morgan Jr. was huge for me. It helped me a great deal."

Driver Eric Goodell is another horseman trying to make his mark at the Meadowlands. "I know most everybody here," said Goodell, who has nearly 3,000 career victories, most on the Michigan circuit. "Right now I'm staying at a motel. My wife [Jamie] is back home in Michigan. She just graduated nursing school. My son, Ty, is now three, and it's a good time for me to move him and get him settled in somewhere. This time around I plan on staying. I'm more focused and now I'm thinking about both my son's future and my own. Last time I was here, he wasn't even a one-year-old yet and that was part of my problem. I went back and forth and didn't establish anything here. It's time to get it done. I'm focused and ready to make it work." Goodell is driving at Monticello as well as trying his luck at the Meadowlands, with an eye toward Chester, Yonkers and the Delaware tracks. "Vinny Copeland [he drove at the Meadowlands 1984-1988] and I have talked a few times since I came here, he noted. "I talked to him an hour and a half the other day. He's constantly telling me to hang tough, to not get discouraged, and that I can do it here. It takes time and patience, and the fact that he drove here for a while really means something when he says it."

Riki Road N, claimed for $15,000 on October 26 at Harrington, will be facing the $40,000 claiming class at the Meadowlands in Saturday night's eighth race. He has transported trainer Carl Cito Jr. to higher and higher levels each week since the claim, winning four of five. "I didn't do a lot with him when I got him, maybe changed his shoes some," said Cito. "He's not a crazy horse like some from New Zealand can be. He's got speed, and he's an easy horse to drive. He seems to keep getting a little better each week as I train him." Cito is based at Misty Acres in Cranbury, New Jersey, and is racing five of his horses at the Meadowlands. "I don't run a public stable," he explained. "I own most of my own. Occasionally I'll have a friend or a relative involved. I sometimes get back in the bike when I get the itch. Then, after a year or so, it goes away. Like now, I'm just training. Cat Manzi does most of my driving. I've driven against him since 1983. So I know him pretty well. He does a good job, and we get along well together." New Zealand-breds have provided Cito with some of his biggest successes. "Time Share N and Mighty Khan N would probably be the two best," he said. "I claimed Desert Sign for $20,000 and he won in for $50,000 at the Meadowlands. I took MLs Boy for $15,000 and he wound up winning the open at Dover."

Cat Manzi is not about to take any time off in December. "I'm in a slow spell right now, that time of the year, the Hall of Fame driver noted. "I'm not taking any time off in December. I can do that later on. I would say I'm happy with the way the year turned out." One of Manzi's highlights was winning the 2006 Meadowlands Pace with Artistic Fella. "I don't know exactly what happened to him [after his summer's success]," he added. "He wasn't right at the end but nothing that would prevent him from coming back strong as a four-year-old [in 2007]."

Trainer Nat Varty has a trio of entrants competing on the Saturday night card at the Meadowlands: Extender N in the fourth, Odds On BP in the seventh and Up Front Peyton in the tenth. "Extender N is a real class horse," said Varty. "He shows up. If you check out his back form, you'll see that his history says he has had some trouble from the outside posts. He tends to get parked, but we decided to take a chance this week with him [in for $55,000]. I've been training for [Chicago-based conditioner] Robin Schadt for six or seven years. She always leaves two or three behind for me to train. Odds On BP has got nine wins this year, and I really think he's the kind of horse who can go on further. He's a late bloomer, and he's found a good class. Now he moves to the non-winners of four. Robin has always been high on him." Up Front Peyton, owned by Ed Mullinax, is a relatively new addition to Varty's barn. "I've had him for three starts, Varty said of the three-year-old. "He's an impressive colt, a beautiful animal. I think he's got a bright future, too. He had a minor injury which delayed his coming back at two. He's staked all through the winter here. This is his first big test against older horses, but I feel he's ready. He loves to fly off of cover. He tries out on the track 100 percent, no doubt about it."

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