Mauricia Miller’s competitive family keeps her going when times get tough

by Matthew Lomon

Growing up, Mauricia Miller was no different than any other girl her age.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve liked horses,” she said. “Probably like 80 per cent of little girls out there.”

It wasn’t long before a nascent interest blossomed into a full-fledged passion – one that led her to the Keady, ON barn of respected horseman Larry Hall in 2009.

“I worked with Larry for quite a few years as a groom,” Miller said. “He broke a lot of young horses and liked training young stakes horses more than anything.”

Miller’s time with Hall was an enriching endeavor across several key areas of horse stewardship, including, but not limited to, care, management, and ownership.

Life started progressing quickly for Miller after about five years under Hall’s mentorship.

In the summer of 2014, she married her husband, Ezra Miller. It was also around this time that she needed to make a decision about her future in harness racing.

“When I got married, Larry got older and aged out of it, so if I wanted to race horses, I had to do it myself,” Mauricia said. “So, I went out and got my trainer’s license.”

Now off, but not on her own, Mauricia, with Ezra by her side, began building the life in racing they envisioned.

“We don’t put a whole lot of money into buying young horses, but I like fixing up horses,” she said. “A lot of horses that we get come to us from other trainers who maybe have better stock to work with, and we get lucky. We get some that just know how to race, and we try to fix them up and keep them going.”

Between the fundamentals Mauricia gained from Hall, and Ezra’s enthusiasm for working with horses and honing his craft, the Millers embarked on their racing journey with a strong foundation beneath them.

And they’ve only deepened their understanding of the equine business since.

In doing so, the Millers relied heavily on a cross-disciplinary approach and the guidance of fellow husband-and-wife team Bill and Bonnie Rowntree.

“They’re like family to us,” Mauricia said. “They’re big in the thoroughbred world, so they have a book full of horse knowledge that we’ve picked up, particularly on the business side. They had a very good structure with their yearling business and were highly successful. I’ve done a lot of yearling prep work over there, and so has Ezra.

“They’re always a big help to us if we ever need anything, from hay to a babysitter. They’re always here for us, and we’re very grateful for them.”

The Millers’ quest for knowledge doesn’t end with thoroughbreds.

“We also have a pair of percheron mares,” Mauricia said. “We’re going to be at the International Plowing Match this year, and I think having that cross-discipline experience is very important. Whether it be exercise or working, you learn a lot from different sectors, and you apply it to standardbreds. It just seems to work out.”

Mauricia and Ezra’s unique approach first paid dividends on Dec. 19, 2015, when 18-1 underdog Macktwowilldew pulled off the upset on a mild winter night at Flamboro Downs.

The moment almost felt too good to be true.

“I had another horse going that I had to warm up right after that race and I didn’t even realize we won,” Mauricia said with a laugh. “I was telling Ezra, ‘You need to come over here and help me get over with this horse,’ and he’s like, ‘No, we won.’ I didn’t know why the horse wasn’t coming in, but then we all rushed out.

“In the win picture, I was actually sitting on the bike of the other horse I was warming up and I just stopped by – I almost missed my own first win picture. When the race went off, I saw that he left last, and he was more of a front-end horse. But Alfie Carroll did such a great job. He just flew.”

Macktwowilldew, at the time a 6-year-old son of Mach Three, was one of the first horses Mauricia trained after taking the reins of her own stable.

The bay pacer’s impact on Mauricia ended up being as profound as it was lasting.

“He knew more about racing than I did, and he definitely made me feel like I could do it,” she said. “When you’re starting out, you don’t know if you’re going to be a good trainer or not, but he helped instill that confidence in me.”

In the years that followed, the Williamsford, ON-based conditioner continued to forge strong bonds with her trainees, namely, Stars Treasure and the gregarious gelding, Joe King.

“Stars Treasure was a really nice, good-gaited horse,” said Mauricia of the Millers’ first homebred. “He came along training. It just came to him so easy. He was so smart.

“Joe King was another one that just loved to race. When he got claimed from us, the whole barn just took a little note. He was so charismatic. He seemed like he was all that. He thought he was something. He was just a beautiful horse; a beautiful athlete.”

For everything Macktwowilldew, Stars Treasure, and Joe King meant to Mauricia, none will be remembered for delivering her first Woodbine Mohawk Park victory.

That distinction belongs to another bay pacer, Mikron, who was anything but similar to the transformative trio.

“He was probably one of the most challenging horses we had,” Mauricia said. “Ezra did a great job looking after him, even though shoeing was particularly difficult.

“He had been with a lot of different trainers — it was like he was too fast for his own good and wanted to make breaks all the time — but we got him leveled out a couple times.”

Striking the right balance has been a running theme throughout Mauricia’s 12-year training career.

As a mother of three, there were times when racing had to take a backseat to raising a family.

“If you look at the stats, they kind of go up and down,” Mauricia said. “My first son was born in 2014, and my last son was born in 2022. You can definitely see when life took me in another direction.”

Instead of letting her rapidly advancing personal and professional lives overwhelm her, Mauricia, with the help of her family, found a way to make both thrive.

“My aunt, Janet Rigsby, has had a lot of patience,” Mauricia said. “Anytime that I need her, she’s there at the drop of a hat to watch the kids or get them to bed.”

Having found their rhythm at home and at the racetrack, the Millers are still going strong in 2026.

Their stable of three consists of reliable warhorse Keystone Dakota and 4-year-old trotters Charmbo Chip, and Cash Out Hall.

“He knows what he’s doing, he knows how to race,” said Mauricia of Keystone Dakota. “I don’t think it matters who’s in the bike, he likes to take them for a ride. Charmbo Chip is a good-gaited horse. The kids really like him, too. He’s friendly. Cash Out Hall is a well-bred colt that we’re trying out. We’ll see how he improves over the next little bit.”

The Millers even have their own secret weapon on race day, their daughter Melanie.

“She wanted it known that the horses win because she gives them treats and pets all the time,” Mauricia said. “She’s definitely their biggest cheerleader.”

What started as a duet has since grown into a full-scale family operation.

With Mauricia and Ezra leading the charge, the Millers are right at home in the world of harness racing.

“It just seems to find us,” Mauricia said. “Sometimes, if you’re good at something and you step away, it bothers you that you’re not participating. It’s just hard to sit on the sidelines. I’ve done that a couple times having had three kids. You’re just sitting around waiting to do it again, looking for an opportunity.

“This sport is tough – it’s very competitive, but we’re a competitive family.”