Dayton, OH — Tough Muscle stiff-armed his competition in the $22,000 Open Trot on Tuesday (Nov. 22) at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.

Driven by Chris Page, Tough Muscle left conservatively off the gate, getting away fourth and sitting patiently through a :26.4 opening quarter. Past the half in :56, Tough Muscle popped first-over to challenge the leader. As the field reached three-quarters in 1:24.2, the 4-year-old gelded son of Musclesprinctonian hit his gear. After pulling away at the top of the stretch, Tough Muscle hit the wire in 1:53.3 to equal his lifetime mark. Winning Ticket (Trevor Smith) was second while Lockbox (Tyler Smith) rallied for third.

Tough Muscle won the $22,000 Open Trot in 1:53.3. Conrad photo.

Tough Muscle has tallied eight victories in 24 seasonal starts and has hit the board an additional six times, good for $113,765 in seasonal earnings. Ron Burke trains the gelding for the partnership of Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.

Leading driver Jeremy Smith added five more wins to his seasonal total. Brett Miller followed behind with a driving triple.

Live racing at Dayton Raceway will resume Wednesday (Nov. 23) with first post at 4 p.m. Free programs are always available online. For more information on the facility and live racing season, visit the Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway website.