Chris Page grew up in Mount Vernon riding his bike to work at Mr. Pizza on Martinsburg Road. He drives a much different vehicle at work these days, as he is a sulky driver who won this year’s $641,550 Little Brown Jug, billed as “The Great America Harness Race,” at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, Sept. 22.
Page won the 77th edition of the event driving Burke Racing Stable’s Bythemissal. He took an elimination heat, then, in a battle between the two elimination winners – Fourever Boy won the other heat – came from behind in the final quarter, run in 27-seconds, to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:51.1. Ron Burke, who trained the winning gelding, said he wanted to win more for Page and the horse than for himself. “I want people to realize what a good horse he is, and I want Chris to experience what I have experienced. What a great race this is to win. It is maybe the best, or one of the best, races to win.”
Page’s road to Delaware started in Mount Vernon (MVHS class of 2002), as a city farmer who raised rabbits, competed in FFA and 4H and played football and basketball for the Yellow Jackets.
He was inspired to enter the world of harness racing (trotting) by his uncles. “I had uncles who were hobby horsemen, with real jobs, but who also had race horses at Mount Vernon Fairgrounds,” Page said. “In 1994, when I was 10 years old, they took me to Delaware Fairgrounds, where 40,000 people were watching the undercards before the Little Brown Jug was run. I loved it and right there I mused how I wanted to win that race someday."
Page weighed 160 pounds in high school and was too big to be a thoroughbred jockey. “My family had brood mares and my uncles raced their foals and allowed me to work them,” Page said. “Before Ohio allowed slots and casinos, the sport was on the verge of drying up and most top drivers left Ohio. I went to Ohio State University to learn veterinary science, hoping to become a vet, when my driving career took off and I entered that profession full-time.”
Page turned pro in 2009-10 and driving more than 37,000 races, he has earned more than 6,000 wins. Above the success and the money – 5% of winning purses – Page said it is the horses he truly loves. “The rules have tightened up so that drivers keep both hands on the reins. That is good as I am a fan of the horses. I own some, I understand the game, and when I was younger, I helped train them from raw to experienced. I love them, so I never race them as if it were last race. They have races beyond the current one.”
Page is proud of this accomplishment, and dream fulfillment, but is equally proud of the sport. “Harness racing is a fun, family-oriented sport and it has allowed me to raise a family in a very family-friendly place … Delaware,” Page said. But he has not lost his love for Mount Vernon. “Delaware is like Mount Vernon, where my family – mom, step-dad and brother – live and I come home often. It is still home.”
SIDEBAR
The Little Brown Jug, often called the premier pacing classic for 3-year-olds, is enriched by the tradition of the famed Grand Circuit and the picturesque backdrop of the Delaware Ohio County Fairgrounds, steadily maintains the flavor of the sport and competition from the days of its origin. The founding of the Jug sets roots more than 65 years ago, to 1937, when the Delaware County Agricultural Society’s members, at their annual meeting, voted to move the County Fair, held since its inception at Powell, to Delaware on a tract of land at the northern edge of the city. Two years later a half-mile track was built and provided the stage for harness racing. R.K. McNamara, a local contractor, designed and built the lightning fast track.
The Little Brown Jug Society was formed to stage the Grand Circuit meeting. Neville headed the organization with Thomson as secretary-treasurer.
Then came the birth of the Little Brown Jug, named through a newspaper contest, with its previews in 1944 and 1945. The initial Jug in 1946, with a purse of $35,358, was won by Ensign Hanover with Delaware’s Wayne “Curly” Smart driving.
