Columbus, OH – Brett Miller got career driving win 11,000 on Friday night (May 15) at Eldorado Scioto Downs, five races before Skywalker Sea put her name in the record book with a 1:47.3 victory that made her the fastest 4-year-old female pacer in history on a five-eighths-mile track.
Miller got his milestone triumph with 4-year-old male trotter Vekna in Friday’s fourth race. Vekna, a son of Enterprise-Rare Book trained by Kayne Kauffman, won a $20,000 conditioned event by 4-3/4 lengths in 1:52. Miller won four of the card’s first five races.
A 52-year-old native of Columbus, Ohio, Miller got his first lifetime win in 1992 at Northfield Park. He ranks 15th all time in career victories among North American drivers and is 19th in career purses, with nearly $129 million.
Skywalker Sea used her record-setting performance to capture a $16,500 conditioned event for female pacers by 1-1/2 lengths for driver Austin Hanners and trainer Todd Luther. Skywalker Sea sat second behind favorite Beautiful Seaside through fractions of :26, :53.1 and 1:20 before overtaking the pacesetter in the stretch with a :27.2 last quarter.
The time of 1:47.3 erased the previous record of 1:48 set by Somwherovrarainbow in 2014 at Pocono Downs and was one-fifth of a second off Sylvia Hanover’s all-age mark for a female pacer on a five-eighths-mile oval established last year at Plainridge Park.
Skywalker Sea, a daughter of Downbytheseaside-Pet Walker, is owned by Greg Luther Racing. She has won eight of 34 career races, hit the board an additional 11 times, and earned $406,502. She finished third in last year’s Grade 1 Breeders Crown for 3-year-old filly pacers.
Elsewhere on the card, Oh Look Magic won the $27,000 Open Trot in 1:53.1 for driver Chris Page and trainer Ron Burke. It was the 10th consecutive victory for the 6-year-old son of Lookslikeachpndale-Miami Magic, who has won 11 of 13 (with two seconds) this season.
Oh Look Magic is owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. He has won 36 of 97 career starts and earned $798,496.