Lebanon, OH — Despite drawing the outermost post position, Classicist and driver Chris Page cruised to a second straight triumph, winning Thursday’s (Jan. 5) $30,000 Mares Open at Miami Valley in 1:53.

Page pushed the gate away intent on securing the front end prior to the :28 first-quarter clocking. From there, the 5-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous backed the half off to :57.1, then sped home through closing splits of :28 and :27.4 to seal the deal.

Classicist held off Single Girl in Thursday’s $30,000 Mares Open at Miami Valley. Conrad photo.

Long shot Single Girl (Trevor Smith) was second across the finish line in the full field of 10, prompting a $100 exacta payoff. Alexa Skye (Mitch Cushing) secured third.

Ron Burke trains Classicist, who now has banked $347,952 for owner Eric Good. Her Miami Valley score came on the heels of a winning 1:51.2 effort on Dec. 29, 2022, at Hollywood Dayton.

Miami Valley racing resumes on Sunday (Jan. 8) with the start of the regular Sunday-through-Thursday live racing schedule. Post time is always 4 p.m.