by John Manzi, for the NAADA

Monticello, NY — The World Cup, considered the Super Bowl of amateur racing, will take place in Budapest, Hungary in September 2016 and Hannah Miller has been designated to represent the United States in that prestigious event. This year the World Cup will pit 12 countries from three continents in an international amateur driving competition.

Geri Schwarz photo

Hannah Miller will represent the USA in the World Cup of Amateur Racing.

Miller was named the USA’s Amateur Driver of the Year for 2015 by the United States Harness Writers Association and she has been chosen to drive for the North American Amateur Drivers Association against her mostly male counterparts in a series of races to determine the champion amateur driver of the world.

As a member of FEGAT, NAADA has been entitled to send a United States representative to the World Cup, something they have been doing for the past few decades.

“Hannah was selected because of her talent as a driver, her fearless competitive nature, her UDR numbers and lastly because she was the only first ballot unanimous selection as National Amateur Driver of the Year,” said Joe Faraldo, president and founder of NAADA. “Her selection, by the North American Amateur Drivers Association, which considered other candidates, ended eventually as a walkover.

“A credit to her family and to her ability, the industry was led down but one road as to who will represent the United States in its so far elusive quest for the World Amateur Driving Cup and that led unequivocally to Hannah Miller. We hope lady luck will be the charm when our entrant competes in Budapest, Hungary in the first week in September 2016.”

She’s known as “Hurricane Hannah” because she has taken amateur racing by storm. Last year, in her first full season of driving, and overwhelmingly against male counterparts, Miller won 32 races and finished with a .418 UDR in 120 drives.

Her 32 driving victories are the most ever in a single season in recorded amateur racing. And Hannah is also the first woman to win the National Amateur Driver of the Year Award.

She is a member of multiple amateur driving clubs and ‘danced every dance’ including as a participant in the granddaddy of them all, the C.K.G. Billings Series, which she dominated this season. There Hannah finished as the combined points champion and she won the east region final at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. But unfortunately for her in the Billings Gold Cup final at Harrah’s Philadelphia, her horse, who was sent off at odds of 3-10, made a break early in the mile and she finished back.

And along the way this past year Hannah also won a NAADA trotting series and a Catskill Amateur Club’s pacing series and she went two-for-two in amateur contests at The Red Mile this past fall.