NEWS
Jim Miller
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2010 2:19 PM
JIM MILLER
Hawthorne Race Course
Jim Miller has done a little bit of everything at family-run Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois.
As the track’s assistant general manager, Miller oversees the entire racing operation, handles horsemen’s relations, and provides an open line of communication between the track, horsemen, and customers.
Miller is the morning-line odds maker and on-air analyst. He is a horse owner and also has worked as a jockey’s agent, clocker, chartcaller, and fill-in track announcer.
“It is a family-run organization, and there’s a loyalty involved. Everyone knows everyone, and we know all our employees,” said Miller, who played four years of minor league baseball before getting into racing professionally. “Everyone is allowed to expand their wings and show what they can do. It’s one of the reasons I love it here at Hawthorne. I’ve had opportunities to go elsewhere, but I haven’t done so because I truly like working for the Carey family.”
Miller points to the 2% handle increase at Hawthorne’s 2010 spring meeting as a sign that racing is not dead, as some suggest.
“Seeing that the industry has been down as a whole, we were able to post a 2% increase in handle this spring,” Miller said. “While it doesn’t seem like much, it shows that there is still interest in racing, but the philosophy needs to change. Everybody is going through trouble, but I think we’ve turned the corner.”
Miller said the industry must focus on improving its core product.
“While racing is a business, it requires people who know about racing to really make it succeed,” Miller said. “We need to have open lines of communication with our horsemen and fans to know what they want.”
Date of birth: August 1, 1975
Birthplace: Park Ridge, Illinois
Residence: Lockport, Illinois
Title: Assistant general manager
Company: Hawthorne Race Course
Education: Bachelor of Arts in communications, Carthage College
Family: Married, two children
Career: Ten years at current position; previous stints as public relations director at Hawthorne and in public relations at Arlington Park
Favorite horses: Cigar, Zenyatta
What book are you currently reading? Dead Heat, by William Murray
Last movie you saw at the theater: Shrek: The Final Chapter
Biggest personal achievement: “Aside from my marriage to a great woman and two great kids, it would be getting drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1997 amateur baseball draft.”
Outside interests: Playing baseball, enjoying time with my family, continued physical activity
Personal motto: “You only live once, enjoy it!”
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READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Steve , Kenosha , WI on July 27, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Jim is a stand-up guy and always talked to us when we had horses in the paddock at HAW. Hopefully I can get back into the game. HAW can be a nice place. I wish they had more summer dates.
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