Oh Look Magic used his rail starting position and a confident drive from Chris Page to score an impressive win in the $39,437 Open Trot on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway.

Famous Father (Luke Plano) was aggressively driven away from the gate, putting Oh Look Magic in the pocket in the opening panel in a quick :26.2. Page then pulled the right line of Oh Look Magic to retake the lead and rated him to a half of :55.4. Oh Look Magic extended the lead down the backstretch to three-quarters in 1:23.3 and cruised to a 3-1/4-length win in 1:52.2. Flagman (Rick Plano) edged out Easter Jack (Brett Miller) for second.

Ron Burke trains Oh Look Magic, a five-year-old son of Lookslikeachpndale-Miami Magic, for Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The gelding is now 22-for-81 lifetime with a bankroll of $754,790. He paid $2.60 to win.

One race earlier, in a $14,085 conditioned claiming pace for fillies and mares, a three-horse photo finish resulted in a dead heat for win. Stonebridge Alibi (Brett Miller) and Sectionline Flame (Tyler Smith) were noses apart at the start, a foreshadowing of events to come. Sectionline Flame eventually cleared to the top and passed the quarter in :27.3 before Rose Run Anabelle (Sam Widger) made a quick brush to the front and led the field of eight past the half in :57.1 and three-quarters in 1:25.3. 

The top three had some separation from the others and came down the lane as a group – Sectionline Flame in the passing lane, Stonebridge Alibi on the outside, and Rose Run Anabelle in the middle. The photo couldn’t separate Stonebridge Alibi and Sectionline Flame for the win. Rose Run Anabelle was officially a neck back in third. The final time of 1:54.4 produced new lifetime marks for both of the winners.

Herman Hagerman trains Sectionline Flame, a three-year-old daughter of Catch The Fire-Sectionline Aqua. The filly, a seven-time winner in 41 career starts with $125,813 in earnings, is owned by Hagerman Racing and Charles Reeve. Her win price was $2.20.

Roy Murphy Jr. trains and owns Stonebridge Alibi, a sophomore Always B Miki-Cop A Plea miss. The filly is now two-for-17 with $22,344 in earnings. She paid $2.40 to win.

Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway’s next card on Thursday, Nov. 20 will kick off at 4 p.m.

(With files from Dayton Raceway)