The 152nd Kentucky Derby will be charged with emotion for many fans, but none more so than 94-year-old Leverett Miller, breeder of Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy.

As the most exciting two minutes in sports unfold, the nonagenarian is sure to experience a rush of emotions as he recalls his late wife, Linda, and the wonderful 48-year ride they enjoyed together before she succumbed to cancer on March 7, 2021.

Linda Miller at ease with her horses. (Miller family photo)

Leverett said of their blissful relationship, “I can’t tell you what it means. There are no words.”

Perhaps for the sake of her husband, Linda overcame her fear of horses to the point that she assisted in foaling approximately 60 mares per year and meticulously developed the female line that led to Derby contender So Happy. He was sired by 2015 champion male sprinter Runhappy. He apparently draws stamina from his dam, So Cunning, who is by 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame.

“She would love the name So Happy because she named everything ‘So,’” Leverett noted. “And they were pretty good horses.”

The Millers established T-Square Stud, a prominent Fairfield, Fla., breeding and breaking operation they proudly oversaw for 25 years.

“One of the things I have always admired greatly about my parents’ breeding program is that they have never bred to produce anything other than a sound racehorse,” said Penelope, their daughter. “They are not subscribers to flashes in the pan.”

The Linda and Leverett love story is worth telling from the beginning. They were married in 1976. Leverett celebrated with a gift that foretold of things to come.

“We’re going down to Miami,” he told Linda. “I’ve got a present for you.”

“Oh, you’re buying me jewels,” his bride responded.

“Well, not quite.”

Leverett presented Linda with a small gray colt named Mob Scene. “This is your wedding present,” he declared.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped.

So Divine as a yearling at T-Square Stud. (Miller family photo)

Penelope explained that her mother was “more of a city gal. It was more of a Green Acres situation.”

Linda needed to make adjustments. And she did.

“Mom went from not knowing much about horses to delivering foals to supervising her own breeding program,” Penelope recalled. “She truly learned to love it. She loved the ins and outs, the arts and sciences, of breeding and maintaining quality racehorses.”

Linda’s giving spirit led her to want to share her newfound passion with others. She would invite advanced biology students to come to T-Square Stud to witness the wonder of birth and the magnificence of new life as foals unsteadily rose to their feet.

She also was among the trailblazers in Thoroughbred aftercare by establishing the first Florida program in which prisoners enhanced their eventual job prospects by learning to tend to retired horses. The successful effort eventually expanded to incarcerated women and juveniles.

Leverett often showed his love through gifts, and there were more of the four-legged kind. One was a $2,700 filly, on the small side and not well-bred, that he was drawn to because she was a surviving twin. Linda named her So Divine, after one of her mother’s favorite exclamations.

Leverett believed So Divine’s challenging circumstances reflected well on her makeup. He was so right. So Divine produced stakes winners So Dashing, Race Artist, and So Charming. She was the grandam of five other stakes winners. Those included Silver Wagon, a multiple Grade 1 winner.

So Happy, who has 59-year-old Hall of Famer Mike Smith as his regular rider, has demonstrated his quality in winning three of four starts with earnings of $480,000 for owners Norman Stables and Saints or Sinners. He defeated Potente, a $2.4 million yearling conditioned by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, by 2 ¾ lengths in the Santa Anita Derby to provide trainer Mark Glatt, 53, with his first Kentucky Derby starter.

Reading the Racing Form to Royal Douglass (Miller family photo)

Interestingly, So Happy suffered his lone defeat when he came in third to Potente and Robusta in the San Felipe Stakes Presented by DK Horse on the fifth anniversary of Linda’s death. The Millers are not the only connection to the Runhappy colt who know what it is to suffer loss. Dena, Glatt’s wife of 25 years, died abruptly of heart failure on Feb. 12. She was 57.

“This horse has, I think, carried a lot more than a jockey in his races when you consider what the Glatt family has been through and then mirroring the story of my parents’ love and my mother’s unexpected demise,” Penelope said.

Mark can only hope to carry on as well as Leverett has. Leverett is robust enough to play doubles in tennis twice a week and sharp enough to continue to nurture 12-year-old grandson Royal Douglass’ interest in racing. Royal is the son of Whitney Douglass, Penelope’s sister. Leverett read the Daily Racing Form to Royal as a newborn.

Leverett continues to embrace life, even after such a devastating loss. Whatever the Derby outcome, So Happy has invigorated him.

“Every time we watch this horse, So Happy, it’s a happy thing,” Penelope said. “Dad says, ‘Oh, your mother would be so excited. She would be so, so excited!’ And that means the world.”