“I would say my year has been just okay,” Erv told Trot Magazine earlier this year. “I know a lot of people would think that is odd for me to say and I realize it is. I really have nothing to complain about. “I have an awful lot of nice horses and the stable has won a lot of races. It’s just that as far as some of the younger horses, things didn’t work out as well as we might have hoped. But the season isn’t done yet.”

Erv bases most of his operation at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and likes racing at Mohawk and Woodbine as well.

“It’s a little different than most places, with the big first quarters and slower middle halfs,” Miller said. "The action isn’t quite as deep as at the Meadowlands where they always seem to go all four quarters. If you have a good horse, it seems they can hold up better there.”

“I like to get there every other week or so,” Erv added. “I need to have that hands-on feel for the horse to make something good come out of it. I try to watch the races on TV all the time and I take a look at the post parade.  I can tell by the way a horse is hitting the track if he’s moving the way he should be. Being around them my whole life, I think I’ve been fortunate enough to have that horse sense. Sometimes it’s a change of atmosphere. Sometimes it’s a change in shoeing. I really think I was born with that ability.”

“Everybody thinks about how tough a game golf is, but if you work on the mechanics of the golf swing and keep it simple, the game isn’t as difficult,” Erv said. “Racing is the same thing. If you work at it and pay attention to the mechanics of the horse, you can do a lot of good.”

“The first 10 years were tough years,” Erv said. “They were a lot of hours and very little cash flow. I didn’t have much quality and it was hard to work my way up. Today a lot of people say I’ve got it made but believe me, I started with nothing. I was working for a couple hundred a week and lucky to get that. It wasn’t easy. A lot of people think that when they get some success things change and that they’ve got it made. I still have a lot of critiquing to do in my own business. I don’t feel I’ve done my best work yet.”

Erv Miller's Career Statistics through May 1, 2011
Year    Starts    1st      2nd      3rd      Earnings      UTRS
2011         87        17       17        10      $198,368          .342
2010      1312      302      216      173      $5,629,822      .366
2009      1418      321      237      184      $5,499,315      .362
2008      1746      419      320      213      $6,865,339      .382
2007      1462      433      258      187      $6,896,343      .437
2006      1150      318      181      130      $5,725,598      .406
2005      1123      310      166      159      $5,358,840      .405 
2004      1024      270      165      128      $3,814,406      .395 
2003       769       197      122      108      $2,203,395      .391 
2002       914       215      139      105      $2,084,524      .358 
2001       737       174      116      102      $1,492,988      .370 
2000       553       147        94        75      $1,247,593      .405 
1999       522       161        88        61      $ 934,372        .441 
1998       464       113        86        60      $ 334,704        .390 
1997       329        89         70        37      $ 300,680        .426 
1996       195        31         21        32      $ 142,119        .274 
1995       108         8          13        12      $ 61,552          .178
1994       168        25         30        25      $ 142,856         .298
1993       172        27         25        26      $ 154,731         .288
1992         89        18         11          5      $   68,334         .290 
1991         39         7           2           3      $   23,696         .234 
Totals                3,601                         $49,175,225