Grove City, OH – Driver Chris Page and trainer Ron Burke teamed to win two of the three $100,000 pacing divisions in the Ohio Sires Stakes Gray Championships on Friday (Sept. 26) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.
Page drove Burke stablemates Sunonmybuns and Skull N Crossbones to victory in their respective divisions.
Sunonmybuns posted the fastest mile among the two, winning the sophomore filly pace division in a lifetime-best 1:53. In third place entering the final 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. Odds On Sue (Dexter Dunn) moved first up and into the lead going to the :55.1 half and was in front at the three-quarter mark in 1:24. As the field entered the final 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 division for freshman colt pacers in 1:53.4 for his first career victory.
Skull N Crossbones was in sixth place as the field crossed the first two calls in fractions of :26 and :54. Continuing to work through traffic on the outside in a tightly compacted field, the Downbytheseaside colt dove inside of Fires Champ down the final stretch 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 freshman filly pace division 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, but Ima Beach Girl went out in front going to the half and led the rest of the way in fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.3 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 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 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.
For more information:
Wes Mayberry
wmayberry@ohha.com
614-221-3650
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association (OHHA) is a non-profit organization serving Standardbred horse owners, breeders, trainers, drivers, and fans who participate in the sport of harness racing in the Buckeye State.
OHHA was founded in 1953. The mission of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association is to preserve, protect, promote, and serve the entire Standardbred industry in Ohio and beyond.