Dayton, OH — Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway got into the Halloween spirit on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 30) by presenting their second annual Gray Ghost Handicap Pace on the matinee program. Nine gray and roan horses lined up behind the Mike Woebkenberg starting gate to chase a $10,000 purse. When the dust settled, heavily-favored Splended Party overcame his assigned outside post position to win in 1:53.3.

Pacers approach the clubhouse turn in the Gray Ghost Handicap at Dayton Raceway. Conrad Photo.

Driver Hunter Myers fed the 7-year-old son of Party At Artsplace plenty of racetrack from the word “go,” but could not clear until past the first quarter, reached first by Raider Gun (Tyler Smith) in :27. Splended Party was able to race relatively unchallenged the rest of the way, stopping the halfway timer in :56.2 and the three-quarter beam in 1:24 before sprinting to a 3-1/4 length advantage through the stretch. Time To Casper (Trevor Smith), the second choice in the betting, raced near the back of the field in the early going but rallied for second place in the end. Raider Gun managed to hold on for third.

John Turigliatto of Toledo owns Splended Party, who won for the 27th time in 118 lifetime starts. The roan stallion, trained by Ray Farmer, increased his career bounty to $134,879 as the best gray horse currently competing in southwest Ohio.

Reinsman Chris Page returned to Dayton following his first appearances in the Breeders Crown on Saturday night at Pocono and scored five wins. The 34-year-old won with Toughest Of All (1:53.4, $6.40), Hora Star (1:55.2, $3.80), Big Pink (1:55.2, $69.80), Dumas Walker (1:53.2, $3.80) and Zoe Ellasen (1:52.3, $7.20). Page currently ranks third in the Hollywood Dayton dash standings behind Jeremy Smith and Dan Noble.