All in the family: Miller, Ryder set for Breeders Crown moments

Nine years ago, Marcus Miller won his first drive in a Breeders Crown final, capturing the race with a horse trained by his father, Erv, no less.

Miller will have the chance to win a second trophy, again while teamed with his dad, when he drives Unreasonable in Saturday’s $600,000 (USD) Grade 1 Breeders Crown final for 3-year-old pacing fillies at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

One day earlier at Mohawk, driver Patrick Ryder will have the opportunity to duplicate Miller’s accomplishment of winning his first Breeders Crown start with a horse trained by his father. Ryder will get behind Bettor Be A Star, conditioned by his dad, Chris, in the $700,000 (USD) final for 2-year-old pacing fillies.

Miller and Unreasonable, the 7-2 second choice on the morning line, will leave from post two. She finished a fast-closing second to Miki And Minnie in the sole Breeders Crown elimination this past weekend. Miki And Minnie, Saturday’s 6-5 favorite, won by a half-length in 1:48.2, equaling the track and Canadian record for sophomore female pacers. A Dan Patch Award winner in 2024, she is seeking her second Breeders Crown.

“Miki And Minnie is a great filly, and she’s the one to beat, of course,” Miller said. “But there are no slouches in there. My focus will be on trying to get (Unreasonable) in a spot where she can do her thing. She can absolutely tear home, and I know she will show up.”

Unreasonable has hit the board in all 13 of her races this season, winning seven and earning $457,114 for owners Ervin Miller Stable and David J. Miller. In her start prior to the Breeders Crown elimination, the daughter of Huntsville-Roaring To Go won the Glen Garnsey Memorial (G3) at The Red Mile by a half-length over Looksgoodinloulou in 1:47.4, the fastest mile of the season by a 2-year-old filly.

In the Garnsey, Unreasonable got away in second from post three in a 12-horse field before multiple lead changes during a :53 middle half shuffled her back to fifth on the pylons heading for home. Miller found room to his outside and Unreasonable charged to the wire in :26.4 for the victory.

“That was one of the wildest races I think I’ve ever been in,” said Miller, who just recently got the 5,000th win of his career. “I felt I was in nowheresville at the top of the stretch. I was able to kind of wiggle out and she exploded. The way she powered past them, after taking that big of a shuffle after leaving, impressed me maybe more than any horse I’ve driven before. It was unreal that she still had that kind of explosive power.”

Unreasonable’s explosiveness was on display again in the Breeders Crown elimination, where she paced home from fourth in :25.1.

“She’s just really fun to drive,” Miller said. “When you ask her to go, she steps on the gas hard. When you dream about them doing that in a race, she does it in real life.

“(In the elimination), she was still digging hard right through the wire. I think we’re in as good a position as we can be going into the final.”

Miller won his first Breeders Crown with 2-year-old pacing filly Someomensomewhere, by a nose over hard-charging Agent Q, in 2016 at The Meadowlands.

“It’s still a thrill to think about, and it’s the race people bring up every now and then,” Miller said. “I just remember how close the finish was. I was just trying to do everything I could do, and we hit the wire together. That was probably the longest photo wait of my life. It felt like forever.”

PATRICK RYDER READY FOR FIRST FINAL WITH BETTOR BE A STAR

On Friday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, driver Patrick Ryder will have the opportunity to duplicate Marcus Miller’s accomplishment of winning his first Breeders Crown start with a horse trained by his father. Ryder will get behind Bettor Be A Star, conditioned by his dad, Chris, in the $700,000 (USD) final for 2-year-old pacing fillies.

“My wife and I had joked about driving in the Breeders Crown, but to be honest, I never really imagined that it would be a reality,” Ryder said, referring to Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown stakes manager Nadia Tarnawa. “It sounds cliché, but this is literally a dream come true. And to drive one for your dad, it’s great. It’s just so special.”

Bettor Be A Star finished third in this past weekend’s single Breeders Crown elimination for freshman pacing fillies, which was won by Loua Dipa (the 1-5 morning-line favorite in the final) in 1:49.3. Bettor Be A Star was eighth on the pylons after three-quarters of a mile but rallied with a :27.1 last panel after Ryder found room to the outside. Only second-place finisher I’m A Lou Lou came home faster.

“It worked out even better than I could have ever imagined, to finish third with a lot of pace,” Ryder said. “I know this filly is a nice filly, and she’s gone with those types of horses the last few weeks in the Grand Circuit races at Lexington, but just with it being my first time driving at Mohawk, and having never driven in the Breeders Crown before, I was really thrilled to be third.”

Bettor Be A Star headed to the Breeders Crown off consecutive third-place finishes at The Red Mile in divisions of the Bluegrass and International Stallion stakes, both Grade 3 events. For the year, the daughter of Bettor’s Wish-It Can Happen has hit the board in seven of nine races, winning two and earning $65,378 for owner Ryder Stable.

“I love the young horses,” said the 30-year-old Ryder, who launched his driving career in 2021 and assists his dad every morning at the stable. “It’s my favorite part about training, developing the young horses and watching them go from not knowing what they’re doing to being professionals on the racetrack. I like to think that I do a good job with the young horses. So, for this to be a 2-year-old filly, it’s really cool.”

Ryder was a little anxious about driving at Woodbine Mohawk Park for the first time last week but some of his fellow drivers helped him settle in.

“I wasn’t so much nervous about driving in the Breeders Crown, it was more so not knowing the track,” Ryder said. “Dexter (Dunn) and Scott (Zeron) were really helpful to me up there. They made me feel so much more comfortable. They really helped me feel at home. And the valet up there, Chris, made me feel like I was just one of the other guys.”

Ryder is happy to have that first-ever Mohawk drive under his belt and is looking forward to the second on Friday. Bettor Be A Star, a 103-1 longshot in the elimination, will leave from post one, her same starting spot as last week, in the final.

“If you can keep her covered up, she will follow all day long and come home really good for you,” Ryder said. “She’s got such a quick turn of foot. Some horses take a little bit to get going. She’s just so handy.”

As grateful as Ryder is for his first Breeders Crown opportunity, he’s even more thankful for the backing of those around him.

“My dad doesn’t say anything to me (about how to drive),” Ryder said. “He just makes me feel confident and knows that I know what to do. He understands that it’s very fluid out there.

“And I definitely couldn’t do it without all of my wife’s support. She’s so good as far as us having a family and sacrifices so much to help me succeed driving. She’s just wonderful.”

Ken Weingartner
​Media Relations Manager
​U.S. Trotting Association