Buster Millerick
Encyclopedia
Michael E. "Buster" Millerick (November 30, 1905 - September 30, 1986) was an American Hall of Fame
racehorse
trainer
.
Universally known by the nickname, "Buster," Millerick was born in Petaluma, California
and learned his trade at his cousins ranch in Sonoma Valley (Schellville Ca.] that today is known as the Larson Family Winery on Millerick Road. Owner Tom Larson is the great-grandson of Michael Millerick who bought the property in 1899. The Millerick family raised horses, ran the largest rodeo stock line in California and operated a rodeo
. Buster's uncles Tom, Jack and George also trained thoroughbred racehorses.
Buster Millerick began working as a professional trainer while in his twenties and went on to a career that spanned more than half a century. Shortly after Santa Anita Park
opened in Arcadia, California
in 1934, Millerick was hired to condition horses for Charles Howard and would work under head trainer Tom Smith when the stable acquired the legendary Seabiscuit
in 1936. In 1940, Millerick won his first important race for the Howard stable when Yankee Dandy captured the California Breeders' Champion Stakes
.
A modest man, Buster Millerick avoided the limelight as much as possible. In a July 2005 story on Native Diver
, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
quotes stable owner and Millerick client Louis K. Shapiro as saying that "you never saw him [Millerick] in a winner's circle photograph."
During his career, Buster Millerick trained a number of very good racehorses including DeCourcy Graham's Kissin' George
and Verne Winchell's
Champion filly
, Mira Femme. However, he is by far best remembered as the trainer of Mr. & Mrs. Louis K. Shapiro's U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee, Native Diver. A gelding
, Native Diver won thirty-four stakes races from age two through age eight, including an unprecedented three straight editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup
, and was the first California-bred to earn a million dollars in racing.
After a short illness, Buster Millerick died at age eighty on September 30, 1986 at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California
.
In 2010, Buster Millerick was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
racehorse
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
.
Universally known by the nickname, "Buster," Millerick was born in Petaluma, California
Petaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
and learned his trade at his cousins ranch in Sonoma Valley (Schellville Ca.] that today is known as the Larson Family Winery on Millerick Road. Owner Tom Larson is the great-grandson of Michael Millerick who bought the property in 1899. The Millerick family raised horses, ran the largest rodeo stock line in California and operated a rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
. Buster's uncles Tom, Jack and George also trained thoroughbred racehorses.
Buster Millerick began working as a professional trainer while in his twenties and went on to a career that spanned more than half a century. Shortly after Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
opened in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
in 1934, Millerick was hired to condition horses for Charles Howard and would work under head trainer Tom Smith when the stable acquired the legendary Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
in 1936. In 1940, Millerick won his first important race for the Howard stable when Yankee Dandy captured the California Breeders' Champion Stakes
California Breeders' Champion Stakes
California Breeders' Champion Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1935 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2011 it will be in its 72nd running....
.
A modest man, Buster Millerick avoided the limelight as much as possible. In a July 2005 story on Native Diver
Native Diver
Native Diver was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Louis K. Shapiro who had claimed his dam, Fleet Diver, the daughter of Devil Diver out of Our Fleet by Count Fleet. Despite the fact that her immediate lineage included members of Blood-Horse magazine List of the...
, the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association , founded in 1937, is a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in California. It is governed by a board of 16 directors elected by the association's general membership...
quotes stable owner and Millerick client Louis K. Shapiro as saying that "you never saw him [Millerick] in a winner's circle photograph."
During his career, Buster Millerick trained a number of very good racehorses including DeCourcy Graham's Kissin' George
Kissin' George
Kissin' George was an American thoroughbred racehorse, considered one of America's premier sprint horses of the late 1960s. Kissin' George was out of a Head Play mare called Nothead. He was sired by Slamruler, a grandson of the great Nearco through his son, Nasrullah.Kissin' George was active for...
and Verne Winchell's
Verne Winchell
Vernon Hedges "Verne" Winchell was the founder of Winchell's Donuts.On October 8, 1948 he opened his first donut shop in Temple City, California and earned the nickname "The Donut King" while making a fortune with a chain of Winchell's-branded donut shops in the western United States during the...
Champion filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Mira Femme. However, he is by far best remembered as the trainer of Mr. & Mrs. Louis K. Shapiro's U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee, Native Diver. A gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
, Native Diver won thirty-four stakes races from age two through age eight, including an unprecedented three straight editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
, and was the first California-bred to earn a million dollars in racing.
After a short illness, Buster Millerick died at age eighty on September 30, 1986 at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
.
In 2010, Buster Millerick was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
.