Midnight Dragon went off
as the 1-2 betting choice and took the lead right off the gate. The pair never had an anxious moment at any
point in the mile and won by 6 ½-lengths, posting fractions of :27.1, :56.2,
1:25.4 and 1:54.4. The win marked the
third consecutive win for the four year-old pacer.
Chris Page is not from a
“horse family.” Neither of his parents
have ever been involved in harness racing.
His love for horses began when he started helping his cousin, Tom Hall,
work in his stable at the Knox County Fairgrounds. His love for the sport was cemented when he
attended his first Little Brown Jug.
“That was the year that Life Sign won,” recalled Page, “It was an epic
Jug and is one of the best races ever.”
Chris Page drove his
first race in 2000, finishing sixth in a $900 FFA pace at the Knox County
Fair. He won his first race in 2001 at
the Champaign County fair aboard Titanic Fella.
Page graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 2002 and then attended
The Ohio State University.
Page’s driving career
started blossoming in 2006 and he has since driven several sub1:50 miles and
has earned purses in excess of $7.5 million.
His richest win is a $100,000 Ohio Sires Stake Final, which he has won
three times. He credits his favorite
horse he has ever driven as being Carly’s Crown, “She was the best trotting
filly in Ohio that year,” explained Page, “I was still young. I hadn’t driven many good horses and she was
really a lot of fun.” Carly’s Crown had
eight starts as a freshman, winning six times and finishing second twice,
earning $114,263.
Page, 29, says his career
goals are to stay in Ohio and drive at Northfield Park and Scioto Downs. Page is the current leading driver at
Northfield and is third in the standings at Scioto. “I have traveled a lot and have driven at a
lot of tracks,” said Page, “At this point of my life, I am glad I can stay
home. Slots are coming to Northfield and
Scioto is a place where horsemen can make a decent living now.”
Page says he most admires
and looks up to Brian Sears and Dave Palone, “They are both great drivers. Sears is just phenomenal and the amount of
respect that Palone commands on the racetrack is incredible.”
