Miami Valley Raceway leading trainer Ron Burke and new co-leading driver Chris Page teamed up for a grand slam, including a sweep of the featured Open events, at the Lebanon, Ohio track on Sunday, March 22.
In the $49,315 Horses and Geldings Open Handicap Pace, Racing Rebel left hard to secure the front, taking the field past the quarter in :27. As they moved towards the half, last week's Open winner Gem Quality (Luke Hanners) pulled first-over to challenge Racing Rebel past the midway point in :55.3. Racing Rebel accelerated to three-quarters in 1:22.1 and Gem Quality hung tough on the outside while Oakwood Heymiki Ir (Brett Miller) closed in from the back after making a three-wide move into a second-over position.
As they moved into the stretch, Racing Rebel edged clear of a tiring Gem Quality while Oakwood Heymiki Ir continued to close steadily on the outside and Alta Revelry N (Trevor Smith) used a pocket trip to close up the inside. But Racing Rebel was able to resist the challengers, hanging on by a head to defeat Oakwood Heymiki Ir in 1:49.4. Alta Revelry finished third by a neck.
Racing Rebel earned his first victory of the season in two starts for Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Page, and Marjorie Polhamus. The five-year-old son of Racing Hill-Awakening is now 18-for-60 lifetime. He paid $6.60 to win.
In the sub-featured $43,836 Horses and Geldings Open II Pace, Burke trainee Rick Wink had to work hard to clear for the lead as he reached the front of a single-file field past the quarter in :26.4. From there, Page tapped the brakes and provided a second-quarter breather to his charge as Downbythedanceclub (Brett Miller) advanced first-over through the half in :55.3.
As the field moved up the backside, Page elicited more speed from Rick Wink while Downbythedanceclub slowly closed on the leader and pulled to within a neck at three-quarters in 1:23. The top two battled nose-to-nose around the turn, opening up on the rest of the field, but Rick Wink edged away down the stretch with minimal urging, winning by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:50.2. Downbythedanceclub finished second while Im Skinnydipin N (Trace Tetrick) closed for third.
For Rick Wink, the win was his first of the season in two tries and his 14th lifetime in 28 starts. The four-year-old Bit Of A Legend N-Mcgrin N Mcbare It stallion is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, RAS Racing LLC, Knox Services Inc. and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby. He returned $2.40 at the windows.
Burke won a total of four races on the card: the aforementioned two as well as the second with Night Shadow (1:51, $2.80) and the 13th with Martins Millions (1:50.2, $11.80). With 51 Miami Valley wins, he is now 10 ahead of Virgil Morgan Jr. in the trainers' standings. The Hall of Famer once again leads the United States with 144 victories so far this year.
Page drove all four Burke winners and one for trainer Steve Carter, Outlaw Aceofspades (1:51.1, $4.40). His five tallies moved him into a tie for the lead in the drivers' title race with Dave Miller as both reinsman have 102 local victories. Page has raced exclusively at Miami Valley through the first 12 weeks of the year.
Racing action will return to Miami Valley on Monday with a post time of 4 p.m.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway; photo of Racing Rebel winning on Aug. 23, 2025)