Anderson, IN — Driver LeWayne Miller has had his share of big nights in his young driving career at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, but on Thursday (June 20), Miller had one of his biggest.

Not only did Miller score five driving wins on the evening’s 14-race card, he also recorded his 1,000th career driving win. In addition, three of the five victories were recorded with horses also trained by Miller, including Gotwuteverittakes in the co-featured event of the evening, the second division of the $47,500 Indiana Sires Stakes for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings, in 1:55.2.

LeWayne Miller piloted Madelines Craycray to victory to notch the 1,000th win of his career.

Heading into the evening’s program, Miller needed two wins to reach the 1,000-win milestone and he went right to work, capturing the first race of the night behind Last Mission, a horse he also trains. Miller reached the 1,000-win club in the fourth race of the evening after scoring from off the pace with another horse from his stable, Madelines Craycray. Stopping the timer in 1:53.4, Madelines Craycray recorded her second consecutive win of the season and provided a career milestone for the 32-year-old reinsman.

“I tried not to think about it, but I felt like I had a good chance to reach 1,000 coming into tonight,” Miller said with a smile. “I had a bad week last week, I felt like I had a monkey on my back. So it feels great to have that one under my belt and even better to do it with one of my own that I train. That’s pretty special to me.”

In just his tenth season as a driver, Miller began his driving career under the direction of trainer Erv Miller in 2009 and had 25 recorded drives with seven trips to the winner’s circle. Since then, Miller has lined up behind the gate over 8,000 times and surpassed the $12 million mark in purse earnings. He recorded his best season to date in 2014, when he won 158 races and earned over $2.2 million in purses. For the past six consecutive seasons, Miller’s earnings have eclipsed the $1-million mark.

“I never dreamed I would be here,” Miller continued. “As a kid, I used to come watch the drivers at Hoosier Park, but never thought it would be possible for me to be out here competing with them. Tonight was one of those nights you don’t forget. It feels pretty awesome.”

After notching win number 1,000, Miller went on to win the very next race with Karefree Kara for trainer Dylan Davis and visited the winner’s circle again a few races later with Alwaysasweetvictory for trainer Ken Rucker. Miller’s final win of the evening came after steering Gotwuteverittakes to victory in the second division of the Indiana Sires Stakes for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings.

Gotwuteverittakes captures the second division of the $48,000 Indiana Sires Stakes for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings. Linscott Photography.

Sent off as the heavy 7-5 favorite, Miller had the son of Bluto and Raysofgrace De Vie perfectly positioned second-over turning for home, and the colt used a :27.4 final quarter to record his second win of the season. Miller also co-owns Gotwuteverittakes with Last Chance Racing Stable and C11 Racing.

“He’s got a lot of talent,” Miller noted after the victory. “He has his share of problems but he is a nice colt. He’s still learning and I don’t think he was 100 percent tonight, but we made some changes after his last start and they really seemed to help him. I enjoy training these young horses and watching them develop.”

One race that Miller did not win was the first division of the $47,500 Indiana Sires Stakes. It’s A Herbie and Verlin Yoder continued their winning ways and delivered as the heavy favorite, going gate-to-wire in 1:55. Owned, trained and driven by Verlin Yoder, It’s A Herbie recorded his third consecutive Hoosier Park victory this season and his sixth win from 16 lifetime starts.

Indiana Sires Stakes action will continue at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday (June 21) with three divisions for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings and two divisions for 3 three-year-old pacing fillies.