by Alan Parker
When American brother and sister Marcus and Hannah Miller get into the bike on Friday night (Dec. 8) they will become just the fourth brother and sister to drive at the same Gloucester Park meeting.
Photo courtesy of Alan Parker
Hannah and Marcus Miller will both drive at Gloucester Park on Dec. 8.
They will join Greg Kersley and his sisters Kellie, Kate and Karen. It was some 11 years ago that Greg and Kate Kersley last drove at the same Gloucester Park meeting.
Also in this unique group are Rick and Lisa Smith who last drove at the same Gloucester Park meeting some 30 years ago.
The only brother and sister combination currently driving in Perth are Vance and Tonia Stampalia and they in fact both won a race at the same Gloucester Park meeting on March 31, 2012. It was a midweek meeting and Tonia won with No Future and Vance with Governor Art.
Greg and Kellie Kersley are the only other brother and sister combination to win at the same Gloucester Park meeting and they achieved the feat on Oct. 9, 1989 when Kellie won with Rite and Greg with Mystic Cove. Again it was a midweek meeting.
Kellie Kersley won a heat of the 1996 Perth Inter Dominion with champion mare Norms Daughter to become the first female driver of an Inter Dominion heat winner in Perth.
Kellie (95 Perth winners) and Kate (94 Perth winners) still head the list of most successful drivers in 107 years of racing in Perth with current driver Lauren Jones in third place with 74 Perth winners.
Lauren will be driving in the Retravision Lady Drivers Challenge at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hannah Miller will drive the Bernie James trained Parisian Partygirl in race three, the Retravision Invitation Ladies Drivers race at 6:22 p.m., while her brother Marcus will be driving the Ross Olivieri trained Wrappers Delight in the Sky Racing Drivers Series Heat 3 which is race two at 5:52 p.m. He will then drive again in the Slater Gartrell Drivers Series Heat 4 at 7:22 p.m. behind the Nathan Turvey trained Ohoka Darcy.
- North American visitors have a little more luck in ballot for horses (Tuesday, December 05, 2017)
World Driving champion James MacDonald from Canada and American Marcus Miller have both fared better in the ballot for horses in the two heats of the Sky Racing/Slater Gartrell International Drivers Series which will conclude with a further two heats on Friday night (Dec. 8) at Gloucester Park.