DePaul University enrolled a record number of transfer students this year because it offers high-quality academic programs that accommodate the needs of a wide range of students. One transfer student who especially appreciates this flexibility is junior marketing major Marcus Miller, who, five nights a week, commutes from the classroom to the horseracing track to compete as a harness driver.

Miller, 20, is in his rookie year as a driver at Maywood Park and Balmoral Park racetracks near Chicago. And what a year it has been. He won the $240,000 Orange & Blue Stakes, one of local circuit’s premier races, driving the aptly named horse Power of the Moment at Balmoral in September. So far, he’s amassed winnings of $1.7 million (drivers typically receive 5 percent of the prize money). Since starting his career at 15 on the amateur and state fair circuits, Miller has competed in more than 1,600 races.

"I’ve been much more successful than I ever hoped," Miller said. "The thing I’m most proud of is being in the top 10 (for wins) at both racetracks. I’m ranked sixth at Balmoral and seventh in Maywood."

Miller said he transferred to DePaul from Eastern Illinois University this fall because of DePaul’s academic reputation, flexible programs and the proximity of the university’s Lincoln Park Campus to the racetracks. He now lives on campus and visits his home in Springfield on weekends.

"Because DePaul is a big university and offers lots of class choices, I’ve been able to work out my schedule so I can continue to race," he said. "When I was going to Eastern (in Charleston, Ill.) it took three hours to get home from the racetracks, and that was exhausting. I wanted to be closer to the parks. Now, Maywood is only 14 miles away and Balmoral is just 40."

On a typical weekday, Miller goes to class in the morning, does homework in the afternoon and then, at 5 p.m. heads to the racetrack. Mondays through Wednesdays he competes at Balmoral Park in Crete, Ill., and on Thursdays and Fridays he races at Maywood Park in Maywood, Ill. He usually drives in half of the night’s 12 to 14 races. At midnight, he heads back to DePaul.

Miller’s roommates and friends at DePaul are now fans of the sport and have come to see him race. "Every night when I get home, they ask if I won," Miller said.

Horseracing is in Miller’s blood. His father, Erv, is a two-time winner of harness racing’s Trainer of the Year award. For the past 25 years he has managed Erv Miller Stable in Springfield, where he trains hundreds of yearlings and young horses to be champions. Marcus got his start in the family business at age 12 exercising horses at the stable. His uncle, Andy, is a top-five rated harness diver at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, the "Yankee Stadium of horseracing," as Miller calls it.

Miller chose to major in marketing because "it’s an area lacking in harness racing and something I could apply." He plans to use his marketing skills to promote himself as a driver among horse owners and trainers, and, if he ever trades his silks for a suit in the future, he will pursue marketing as a career.

But for now Miller’s post-graduation dream is to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and make it to the big leagues of harness racing. "I love Illinois harness racing, and right now it’s a great place to learn. But if I’m good enough, I hope to compete somewhere on the East Coast. That’s where the sport is booming."

Editors’ Note: To view a YouTube video of Miller’s 2009 win at the Orange & Blue Stakes at Balmoral Park, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqEm8UO7K-c