For the fifth straight year, driver Chris Page and trainer Ron Burke have captured the Jerry Kaltenbach Memorial Trophies.
The Jerry Kaltenbach Memorial Trophies were established in 1988 and are awarded annually to the driver and trainer who have earned the most dollars competing in Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) events in a single season.
It is the eighth Kaltenbach title for Page, who passes David Miller for the most titles won. Page started in 98 OHSS events, winning 27 races, finishing second 10 times and adding 11 third-place finishes, earning $1,365,200. Last year, Page started in 74 OHSS races and had a 23-15-8 record, earning $1,442,700.
Aaron Merriman finished second with 15 wins, 15 second-place finishes and 10 third-place finishes in 73 starts, and earnings of $1,015,800. Brett Miller finished third for the second straight year. Miller started in 84 races and had a record of 12-11-9 and $913,150 in earnings.
A total of 58 drivers participated in the 2023 OHSS events with 47 garnering at least one purse cheque. Sixteen had earnings of $100,000 or more, with eight amassing earnings of more than $250,000.
The Kaltenbach title was the sixth for Burke, who had 108 starts in the 2023 OHSS legs, championships and consolations. His total money earned from these OHSS events was $1,555,000. Burke finished with 29 wins, 10 second-place finishes and nine third-place finishes.
Chris Beaver finished second for the fifth straight year with $626,900 in earnings with a 7-9-8 record from 49 starts. Virgil Morgan Jr. finished third. He had earnings of $460,850 with a record of 8-4-2 in 27 starts.
A total of 113 trainers participated in 2023 OHSS events with 17 earning more than $100,000 and six with earnings of more than $250,000.
In the 36 years the Kaltenbach trophies have been awarded, Page leads all drivers with eight trophies followed by David Miller with seven. David Hawk and Brett Miller have three each. On the training side, Burke and Morgan Jr. have captured the title six times, while Jim Dailey won the award four times. Only two horsemen have won the Kaltenbach in both the training and driving categories -- Sam “Chip” Noble III and Dave Rankin.
(With files from Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association)