A big weekend of racing at Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway kicked off on Friday night with the Ohio Sires Stakes Gray Championships.
Driver Dexter Dunn won two of the four $100,000 trotting divisions after he guided Travel Nurse and Countryofmars to victory in their respective events.
Travel Nurse recorded the faster mile of the two, winning the sophomore filly race in wire-to-wire fashion in a lifetime-best 1:54 4/5. After leaving from post four, the daughter of Enterprise recorded fractions of 28 1/5, 56 4/5 and 1:25 1/5 and finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Sienna Sunrise (Chris Page). Triump Over You (Aaron Merriman) was third.
It was the second win of the season for Travel Nurse, who has five career victories and $165,528 in earnings. Her previous best mark was 1:56 3/5. She is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr. for owner Joyce A McClelland Stable.
After sitting third at the quarter pole, Countryofmars took the lead going to the half and led the rest of the way en route to winning the sophomore colt dash in a lifetime-best 1:55. Second-place Rose Run Alex (Page) was three-quarters of a length back while Dublins Angel (Merriman) finished third. Rose Run Alex led the way at the quarter mark in 27 4/5 before Countryofmars moved first-up and to the front heading to the 56 4/5 half. Countryofmars built a lead of 1 1/2 lengths at the 1:25 4/5 three-quarters en route to the victory.
Countryofmars, a Marseille gelding, is trained by Jason Borowski for owners James and Patty Borowski. He has three career wins and $99,971 in earnings.
Soulful Saul (Brett Miller) recorded the fastest mile among the four divisions of trotters, winning the test for 2-year-old males in a lifetime-best 1:53 3/5, overtaking his previous mark of 1:55 1/5. The Ready For Moni gelding rallied from sixth place at the halfway mark to edge Tom Largo (Chris Lems) by a nose. Where Theres Smoke (Sam Widger) led the field past the first two calls in fractions of 27 seconds and 55 3/5. Tom Largo moved first-up and into the lead going to the 1:24 3/5 three-quarters. On the outside, Soulful Saul continued to reel in Tom Largo down the stretch en route to the photo-finish victory. Grape Crush (Page) was third.
Soulful Saul is trained by Steve Carter for Jay Mossbarger, Peggy Carter, and Philip Skinner. He has hit the board in nine of 13 seasonal starts with four wins and $94,569 in earnings.
Tom’s Babe (Jeremy Smith) led at all three calls in fractions of 28 1/5, 57 4/5 and 1:26 1/5, but Seven Lick Range (Tyler Smith) used a late surge on the outside down the stretch to win the 2-year-old filly trot in 1:55 4/5. Tom's Babe finished a length back in second, followed by Divvy It Up (Miller) in third. It was the first career win for Seven Lick Range, who was third at the quarter and halfway marks. The In Range filly is trained by Miles Wollam for owner Woodland Ridge Farm. She has $90,936 in seasonal earnings.
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Page, Burke Team to Win Two of Three Pacing Divisions
Driver Chris Page and trainer Ron Burke joined forces to win two of the three $100,000 pacing divisions in the Ohio Sires Stakes Gray Championships.
Page drove Burke stablemates Sunonmybuns and Skull N Crossbones to victory in their respective tests.
Sunonmybuns posted the faster mile among the two, winning the sophomore filly flight in a lifetime-best 1:53. In third place entering the stretch, she used a late surge to win. Sea Her Rule (Luke Hanners) took the lead off the gate and was in front at the quarter pole in 26 4/5. Odds On Sue (Dexter Dunn) moved first-up and into the lead going to the 55 1/5 half and was in front at the three-quarters in 1:24. As the field entered the stretch, Sunonmybuns took the passing lane and edged Sea Her Rule by half a length. Downthejerseyshore (Austin Hanners) was third.
A Downbytheseaside filly, Sunonmybuns is owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. She has hit the board in 14 of 19 seasonal starts with four wins. She has five career victories and $117,059 in earnings.
In seventh place and two lengths back of leader Fires Champ (Cameron McCown) at the three-quarter pole, Skull N Crossbones rallied to win the race for 2-year-old males in 1:53 4/5 for his first career victory. Skull N Crossbones was in sixth place as the field crossed the first two calls in fractions of 26 seconds and 54 seconds. Continuing to work through traffic on the outside in a tightly-compacted field, the Downbytheseaside colt dove inside of Fires Champ down the lane and won by half a length over Odds On Sugar (Dexter Dunn), with Sunnys In The Sea (Trevor Smith) in third.
Owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Country Club Acres, and Joe Sbrocco, Skull N Crossbones increased his lifetime earnings to $68,681.
Ima Beach Girl (Dunn) took the contest for rookie fillies in 1:53 with She's Lit (Tyler Smith) in second and Lil Keisha (Page) in third. She's Lit led at the quarter pole in 27 2/5, but Ima Beach Girl went out in front going to the half and led the rest of the way in fractions of 56 1/5 and 1:24 3/5 en route to her first career win. The Downbytheseaside filly is trained by Sam Schillaci for owners Schillaci Stables, John Manning, and Sam Bova Racing. She has hit the board in four of eight seasonal starts and has $88,162 in earnings.
The Gray Championships serve as the OSS consolations. The 2025 Ohio Sires Stakes season concludes Saturday (Sept. 27) with eight divisions of the Scarlet Championships as part of a 14-race card at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway. Seven of the divisions have a purse of $300,000, while the purse for the sophomore colt and gelding pace is $400,000 since there was no consolation on Friday. The Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association will provide live streaming coverage of the OSS Scarlet Championships and the four $250,000 Dayton Oaks Derby Grand Circuit races as part of its "Saturday Night at the Races" program on the OHHA YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as HarnessRacingOhio.com.
--press release (OHHA)--