by Gerry Connors, secretary, The United States Harness Writers Association

Harrisburg, PA — Erv Miller, the Illinois-based trainer who made it big on the national scene in 2005 with the likes of trotter Classic Photo and pacer Loyal Opposition, has been named the Glen Garnsey Memorial Trainer of the Year in voting by the directors of the U.S. Harness Writers Association. The award honors the memory of the Hall of Fame horseman who passed away in his prime in 1985.

Miller, 39, was the training brains behind Classic Photo, who earned over $1 million in a season that saw him as the horse to beat in the very competitive three-year-old trotting colt ranks, winning the prestigious Canadian Trotting Classic, until injury forced the horse to the sidelines. Another Miller standout was Loyal Opposition, an older pacing mare who dominated her division and capped her season with a Breeders Crown victory.

Combine these two with freshman filly standout Little Miss K and other top-notch trotters and pacers, and the tally quickly rises to over 300 training victories in 2005, and earnings for the barn of over $5 million, marking Miller as indeed a worthy award winner from the conditioning ranks.

Miller will be honored at the Night of Stars banquet on Wednesday, February 8 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, during the Harness Racing Congress being held that entire week.

For information about advertising in the Night of Stars dinner journal, contact Judy Davis-Wilson at (302) 233-3047. The Journal is this year dedicated to the late Stanley Dancer; anyone wishing to salute Dancer in the book should call Debbie Little at (212) 930-8711.

For more information about the dinner or the Harness Racing Congress, contact Harness Tracks of America at (520) 529-2525.