Fearless Ginger tasted victory for the first time since October as she took the $44,444 Fillies and Mares Open II Handicap Pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Thursday, Jan. 22

The five-year-old Fear The Dragon-Ginger Shark mare hasn't raced below Open ranks since November 2024, a span of 34 starts. But despite a string of solid efforts — five top-three finishes in her last six outings — the win photo had been eluding her of late, with only one trip down victory lane in her last 12 starts. 

Leaving from post eight, regular pilot Chris Page fired her off the wings, and she easily cleared and crossed over to lead the field past a quarter in :28. Favourite Louisville Gb (Dave Miller) soon came calling with a first-up charge and pulled even just before the half-mile turn, but she was quickly repelled by Fearless Ginger as the speed quickened past the midway point in :56.1. As the field headed down the backside, Fearless Ginger opened up by 1-1/2 lengths and looked to be under a comfortable hold by Page as she cruised past the three-quarter pole in 1:24.2. From there, the only battle was for second as Fearless Ginger drew off to win by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:52.2. Adashious Hanover (Trace Tetrick) used a pocket trip to finish second while Rose Run Vision (LeWayne Miller) rallied from sixth to round out the triactor.

Fearless Ginger brought her career win total to an even 20 in 65 starts. Ron Burke trains the mare, who is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The win price was $13.80.

Earlier on the card, Art Of Racing once again demonstrated her flawless technique with her ninth consecutive victory. While stepping up in class and moving from Dayton to Miami Valley, she raced second-over from the midway point for driver Dave Miller and caught her cover, Under The Desk (Trace Tetrick), by a head to prevail in 1:54.4. Nurse Judy (Luke Hanners) was third. Art Of Racing, a four-year-old daughter of Racing Hill-Arts Fantasy, is now 10-for-26 lifetime. The mare, owned and trained by Tessa Perrin, paid $6.60 to win.

Fearless Ginger's Open win was one of two on the card for Ron Burke, North America's leading trainer, and one of four for driver Chris Page. David Miller and Jeremy Smith each had three driving wins while Miami Valley leading trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. also had a conditioning double.

After three weeks of action, the driving title is hotly contested. Returning Buckeye David Miller leads with 26 wins while Brett Miller and Chris Page each have 20. Luke Hanners and Jeremy Smith round out the top 5 with 19 and 16 wins, respectively.

On the training side, Morgan has a comfortable lead with a haul of 16. Heather France, fresh off a hot Wednesday night, sits second with nine while Ron Burke and Ken Rucker follow with eight and seven wins, respectively. A two-way tie for fifth between Brittany Baker and Steve Carter, with five wins apiece, finishes off the top five.

Racing action is slated to return to Miami Valley on Sunday, but horsepeople are advised to be on the lookout for text alerts regarding the status of the card with an impending winter storm currently forecasted to dump about a foot of snow over the area on Saturday and Sunday. A decision will be made to race or not late Friday or early Saturday once the track of the storm and potential snow amounts are more accurate.  

(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)