Prince Of Honor prevails in photo finish

Driver Chris Page and Prince Of Honor picked up their second straight harness racing victory with a 1:53.2 effort in the $28,000 Open Trot at Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway on Wednesday (Oct. 29).

Scratched down to a field of six, the race started with a brief scuffle between Triathlon As (Jeremy Smith) and Prince Of Honor.

Triathlon As passed the opening quarter in :27.4.

No one moved in the second panel allowing the leader to cross the three-quarters in :56.3.

Going down the backstretch, a move by Helpfirstedition (Tyler Smith) flushed Prince Of Honor out of the pocket and the five- year-old Walner gelding started his chase after Triathlon As before the three-quarters in 1:25.3.

Triathlon As and Prince Of Honor trotted in unison for much of the stretch drive, but were joined by Yo Beth D (Trevor Smith) in the passing lane and Easter Jack (Brett Miller) on the outside.

The quartet waited for a photo that showed Prince Of Honor ahead by a neck over Yo Beth D. Easter Jack and Triathlon As were a half-length back in third and fourth, respectively.

PRINCE OF HONOUR REPLAY

In the $24,000 Open II Trot, Refined used a perfect pock trip from driver Tyler Smith to edge the pacesetting Angel Nation (Jeremy Smith) by a neck.

A trio of trotters competed for the early lead with Texsong Soprano (Luke Hanners) protecting his rail position and grabbing the lead in the opening panel of :28.

Refined cleared to the top at the three-eighths mark and Angel Nation took command before the half in :56.4.

The three-quarters passed in 1:26.3 in the rain and over the ‘good’ surface.

Refined was edged out of the pocket in the final turn and wore down Angel Nation down the lane and won in 1:55.1.

Texsong Soprano used the passing lane to round out the trifecta.

Virgil Morgan, Jr. trains the nine-year-old Uncle Peter mare for the Joyce McClelland Stable and Larry Wills.

An off-the-pace effort by Groove (Cameron McCown) in a $13,000 conditioned pace gave trainer Brian Brown his 2,000th career win.

The freshman filly by Downbytheseaside scored a half-length score over Callmeovrdahill (Trevor Smith) in 1:55.4.

The winner is owned by Diamond Creek Racing.

Brown picked up his first training win in the late 1980s and is enjoying a solid 2025 with a .353 UTRS.

Dayton Raceway returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 30) afternoon with a 14-race card starting at 4:00 PM.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results

By Jay Wolf for Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway