Naked On A Hill used a strong first-over move to secure a win in the $49,315 Fillies and Mares Open Handicap Pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Thursday, March 19.

Hey Hey Mama (Luke Hanners) fired off the gate to quickly take the lead as Tarapasta (Austin Hanners) settled in the pocket with Naked On A Hill (Chris Page) gapped out in third and the rest of the field single file as they passed the opening quarter in :27.1. Hungry Lizzo (Trevor Smith) aggressively moved into the outer flow from last and quickly gained ground nearing the midway point, eventually flushing out Naked On A Hill from third. 

With the half completed in :56 and the field turning to the backside, the tempo quickened as Hey Hey Mama was now under pressure from Naked On A Hill, who was steadily making up ground outside the leader. Naked On A Hill took a one-length advantage on the outside at three-quarters in 1:23, shuffling Hey Hey Mama back to second while Tarapasta slid off the rail from third. As they turned for home, Naked On A Hill had extended her lead to three lengths, and that was all the cushion she needed as she won by 1-1/4 lengths in a lifetime-best 1:50.2. Tarapasta held second while a hard-charging Foxy Hill (David Miller) finished third.

Naked On A Hill tallied her fourth win of the year in nine tries and her 25th lifetime victory in 71 starts. Her career earnings now stand at $637,592. The five-year-old daughter of Nob Hill High-Naked By Nine is trained by Ron Burke and owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. She paid $9.60 to win.

For Miami Valley leading trainer Burke, it was his second winner of the day, his being Fast Approach ($21.80). The win capped off a natural hat trick for Page, who went on to tally once more and lead all drivers on the 14-race Thursday card with four victories.

After 11 weeks, the battle for the driving title remains tight between David Miller (100) and Page (97). Luke Hanners (78), Brett Miller (75) and Tyler Smith (52) round out the top five.

On the training side of things, Burke (47) continues to lead the standings while Virgil Morgan Jr. (40) sits in second. Heather France (34), Steve Carter (30) and Mike Hitchcock (18) round out the top five.

Racing will return to Miami Valley on Sunday with a post time of 4 p.m. 

(Miami Valley Raceway)