Miami Valley: Burke, Brett Miller capture year-end titles

Miami Valley Raceway completed its sixth and most successful season on Monday, May 6, crowning new winners in both the drivers and trainers dash derbies.

Brett Miller, in his first meet back in Ohio after an extended stay on the east coast’s biggest stages, copped the drivers title with 183 wins, good for $1,852,267 in purse earnings. His next closest rival during the 87-day meet was Dan Noble, who notched 156 victories, followed in the top five by Trace Tetrick (140), Chris Page (135) and Tyler Smith (93). Each of the top five reinsmen earned over $1.1 million in purses for the owners of the horses they drove.

On the training side, Ron Burke captured his first-ever dash title in Ohio. His 63 triumphs topped Virgil Morgan Jr. (47), Tyler George (40), Dan Noble (32) and Kayne Kauffman (30).

A total of $14.2 million in purses were awarded, an average of over $160,000 per program.

Of the 1,192 races (an average of 13.7 races per card), 86% featured full fields of 8 horses or more going postward. The No. 5 starting position produced the most winners, as it usually does on a five-eighths mile oval. The 229 winners from the 5-hole yielded a winning percentage of 19.2%, approximately 5% better than the four post positions closer to the pylons which all hovered around 14%. Overall, race time favorites during the meet succeeded at a 41.44% clip.

Miami Valley management and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank every owner, trainer, driver and caretaker who participated during 2019. We wish everyone continued success throughout the 2019 season and look forward to welcoming you back in January 2020.

-edited release (Miami Valley)