Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — For Chris Page, it’s not about achieving a milestone as much as what it takes to get there.

He felt that way after his 1,000th driving win, and still feels that way after getting his 6,000th win June 9 at his home track of Eldorado Scioto Downs.

“As far as that goes, to me, I’ve always been a guy that gets up and does the work every day,” said Page, who on Saturday will try for the most lucrative Grand Circuit win of his career when he drives Sea Silk in the C$401,000 Fan Hanover Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park. “I guess if I’m going to pat myself on the back it’s for a job well done, it’s for getting up and going to work.”

His milestone victory also meant he had 6,000 reasons to feel happy for his trainers and owners.

“I find satisfaction winning races for other people,” the 38-year-old said. “I know that sounds kind of weird, because obviously I make a good living doing what I do. But just the look on people’s faces, the excitement, the whole nine yards. I know that sounds kind of cheesy and winning doesn’t get old, but at this point of my career I definitely enjoy that aspect of it.”

He hopes to keep enjoying it for a long time.

Chris Page celebrated his 6,000th career driving win with his wife Brianna and son Carter at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Conrad photo.

“People say 6,000, that’s a lot of wins,” Page continued. “But for Chris Page, I’m hoping this ain’t the finish line. I still feel very good. I feel young. I don’t just enjoy what I do, I love it.

“At this time of year, it’s stakes season, moneymakers. I don’t think much about (6,000 wins). But it’s like ‘Wow time flies’ when you get a chance to sit back and think about it. I started driving when I was 16, been doing this over half my life, but wouldn’t choose anything else. I’ve just got to win the Little Brown Jug before I die. That’s on the bucket list, that’s the number one thing, being from Ohio.”

And while Page acknowledges his 6,000th victory as basically another day at work, it meant a lot to him in the days leading up to it. Then again, it was for the sake of others. Specifically, wife Brianna and 19-month-old son Carter.

“It was kind of taxing,” he said. “I don’t pay much attention to numbers, and then (Scioto Downs Racing Secretary) Jason Roth said, ‘You’re only a few wins away.’”

That came at the start of last week, and Chris went home to tell Brianna.

“She starts coming to the races every day with our kid so she doesn’t miss it,” he recalled with a laugh. “She came Tuesday, I didn’t get it. Then she came Wednesday. On Wednesday I thought I had a little shot at it, swung for the fence and missed, so that was a whiff.”

The memory was made on Thursday, when Page drove trainer J D Perrin’s and owner Ameer Najor’s 4-year-old mare, Lovely Munro, to victory in race nine.

“The first couple races I thought I could win,” he said. “I didn’t win, and I started to feel the pressure, but it worked out.”

Page’s first exposure to horses came with uncles who were hobby horsemen. The Mount Vernon, Ohio, native started racing at age 16 and began taking it seriously after his junior year in college. Page attended Ohio State University in hopes of being a veterinarian and got a summer job working with vet Dr. David Crum.

“One of our stops was Scioto Downs,” Chris recalled. “That’s when they trained horses there and we were on the backside. I kind of got hooked that way. I ended up buying a horse and having a little bit of luck with him. I had three years of college with no money, and I got a horse, and started making some good money. So, I said ‘Wait a minute, I’m going to do something different.’”

Page’s career began uber-modestly in 2000, when he had a second and third in nine starts for $489 in purse winnings. He gained his first three victories in 2001 and kept plugging from there. In 2006, Chris had 85 wins and $301,564 in purses for his first six-figure earnings year.

He was on his way.

“I had a little bit of experience, but not much when I started,” Page said. “I definitely loved the game. It was addictive for a young kid, but the actual knowledge part was more kind of learning on the fly, learning to experience everything.

“Really, I just kind of had good people around me at that time. I knew a few trainers. I didn’t come from a family of big names so each win kind of means something. I worked pretty hard as a young man to get established. But I also had a lot of luck.”

One of his biggest breaks came when trainer Ron Burke, who will be inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame on July 3, made Chris one of his regular drivers.

“That was probably the highlight of my career, to tell you the truth,” Page said. “Guys kept choosing off up at Northfield, then I’d go in and start winning a little bit; next thing you know I just got the job.”

Page won a season-high 539 races in 2016, which is when he broke $5 million in purse earnings for the first time. He cracked $6 million two years later and earned an all-time best of $6.80 million last season. This season, Page has 181 wins and $2.41 million in purses.

On Saturday, he drives Sea Silk in the Fan Hanover for the Burke Brigade. The filly was Ohio’s 2-year-old female pacer of the year in 2021 when she won an Ohio Triple Crown (Ohio Sire Stakes final, Ohio State Fair Stakes, and Ohio Breeders Championship) and set a half-mile-track world record (1:51.2) at MGM Northfield Park. She also won on the Grand Circuit at Lexington’s Red Mile and finished second in the Breeders Crown final.

Sea Silk has two wins in the Ohio Sire Stakes series this year, including a track-record score at Miami Valley Raceway. Conrad photo.

In three starts this year, she has two wins in the Ohio Sire Stakes series, including a track-record score at Miami Valley Raceway in her debut, and a third-place finish in her Fan Hanover elimination behind Treacherous Dragon and Prohibition Legal.

Treacherous Dragon is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Fan Hanover final, followed by Prohibition Legal at 7-2 and Sea Silk at 4-1.

“We drew (post six), that’s the winningest post position at Mohawk, so I like her spot. There’s a lot of upside going into this weekend,” said Page.

“Treacherous Dragon, I raced against her twice as a 2-year-old. I know 2 and 3 are different years but they’re definitely beatable. They’re very nice fillies, too. I’m not disregarding any of them, but any one is beatable.”

For her career, Sea Silk has won 11 of 14 starts and earned $642,368. She is a daughter of Downbytheseaside out of Silk Purse. Page drove Downbytheseaside five times in his 2017 Pacer of the Year season, winning all five, including the Monument Circle, Matron Stakes, and the Progress Pace.

He drives Sea Silk for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Knox Services, and Hatfield Stables.

“I’ve driven (Sea Silk) her whole life,” Page said. “She’s special. She’s very easy to drive. She drives two fingers; she goes when you ask her. She makes my job pretty easy.”

The C$401,000 Fan Hanover is part of a stakes-rich card Saturday at Mohawk, highlighted by the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup for 3-year-old male pacers. Also set for that night are the C$315,000 Roses Are Red for older female pacers, C$251,000 Goodtimes for 3-year-old male trotters, and C$211,000 Armbro Flight for older female trotters.

Racing begins at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park. For free Mohawk programs, visit the track’s website here.