Grove City, OH – Driver Dexter Dunn won two of the four $100,000 trotting divisions in the Ohio Sires Stakes Gray Championships on Friday (Sept. 26) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Dunn guided Travel Nurse and Countryofmars to victory in their respective divisions.
Travel Nurse recorded the fastest mile of the two, winning the sophomore filly trot division in wire-to-wire fashion in a lifetime-best 1:54.4. After leaving from post four, the Enterprise filly recorded fractions of :28.1, :56.4, and 1:25.1 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. She is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr. for owner Joyce A McClelland Stable.
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 trot division 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 before Countryofmars moved first up and to the front in the :56.4 half. Countryofmars built a lead of 1-1/2 lengths at the three-quarter pole in 1:25.4 en route to the victory. The 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 division of freshman colts in a lifetime-best 1:53.3, overtaking his previous mark of 1:55.1. 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 and :55.3. Tom Largo moved first up and into the lead going to the 1:24.3 three-quarters. On the outside, Soulful Saul continued to reel in Tom Largo down the final 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, :57.4, and 1:26.1, but Seven Lick Range (Tyler Smith) used a late surge on the outside down the stretch to win the division for freshman filly trotters in 1:55.4. 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.
The Gray Championships serve as the OSS consolations. The 2025 Ohio Sires Stakes conclude 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 pace division is $400,000 since there was no consolation in that division 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.