Lebanon, OH – Fearless Ginger won her second Open in row on Thursday night (Jan. 29) in Miami Valley Raceway’s $36,000 headliner for pacing mares.
Leaving from post five, regular driver Chris Page fired out quickly off the gate to take the lead in the short field of six, as they lined up single file and stayed that way past the quarter and half in fractions of :27.3 and :56.3. As they moved up the backside, Ron Burke-trained stablemate Naked On A Hill waited until near the three-quarter mark to pull and make her first-over advance, and after a few quick strides, pulled within a neck of leader Fearless Ginger as she tripped the three-quarter timer in 1:24.3.
Fearless Ginger turned away that advance around the final turn, edging away from the challenger to reestablish her lead and cruised home up by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.3. Naked On A Hill retained second while Tarapasta rallied for third.
The win was the second in a row for Fearless Ginger, pushing her 2026 earnings to $43,000, already a quarter of what she earned last year, in just four 2026 starts. For Burke, it was one of three wins on the Thursday night card, as he swept both Opens, the other with High Flyin’ Filly, and Lady Cafe Au Lait won the popular Nw10 class.
Burke led all trainers on the card with three wins, while Steve Searle, Herman Hagerman and Heather France each recorded doubles. Page led all drivers with four wins, Jeremy Smith had three and Luke Hanners and Trace Tetrick each had a double.
The trainer standings after the completion of week four have Virgil Morgan Jr. (17) maintaining his lead. Ron Burke (13) and Heather France (13) are tied in second, while Steve Carter (9) and Ken Rucker (8) round out the top five. The title race among drivers remains a tight one with the Ohio returning David Miller (30) leading the way. Chris Page (29) sits one off the lead, with Brett Miller (26), Jeremy Smith (23) and Luke Hanners (21) rounding out the top five.
Racing action returns on Sunday (Feb. 1) with a 4 p.m. (EST) post time.