“Everything matters in life,’ says Chris Page (above). “If I ever get to the point where I’m not excited about going to the winner’s circle then I’ll be hanging up the colors. That’s why we do it.” (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The youthful driver from Mount Vernon is piling up wins and purses while establishing his reputation as being one of the harness racing’s most dependable bets. Does he ever tire? It doesn’t sound like it.
In a sport that honors the dedicated work ethic as much as any you can name, Mount Vernon driver Chris Page is the Energizer Bunny of harness racing.
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Of course, the Energizer Bunny is purely fictional and a made-up image from Madison Avenue. Page is the real thing, the Cal Ripley, Jr. of harness racing, if you will. That is, if you want to compare him to the baseball legend who went all those years without as much as missing a start for the Baltimore Orioles.
An absolutely great interview and enthusiastic ambassador for the sport of standardbred racing, I met him exactly two years ago (July, 2023) at Scioto Downs at the suggestion of OHHA media coordinator Frank Fraas.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“You want a story that’ll keep you busy? Talk to Chris Page,” smiled Fraas.
At the time Page was sitting on 6,400 career wins, and in the neighborhood of $45 million in purses won during fourteen years as a professional driver. As of Monday night, July 13, 2026, he was sitting on 7,972 wins and a biscuit shy of $90 million in purses won – an increase of about 23.4% in a span of three years. And at 42, with a family and two small children, there’s no end in sight, or the prospect of slowing down.
There is the occasional on-track mishap, which could hiccup his assault on career numbers like David Miller’s (14,000 wins and $300 million in purses). But that’s an occupational hazard he accepts. Miller, himself, made it back to the winner’s circle last week just 63 days after breaking his leg in a May 8th pileup at Scioto.
But twenty years Miller’s junior, Page is on pace exactly to catch Miller’s current mark by the time he’s Miller’s current age. And while he doesn’t dwell on it, he’s no less dedicated to his craft and the pursuit of competition than he was the first time we met.
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“It feels different than it does when I started,” said Page recently. “Because now I’m feeling like one of the older guys in here (he doesn’t look it). But you develop a passion for the game, or at least I have. It’s a labor of love, for sure. It’s what I gave up everything else to do.”
And, like it was when we met in 2023, it’s a labor in anonymity, compared to that of the thoroughbred community. Standardbreds don’t get the attention. And they don’t get the money compared to that of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.
A rising star in harness racing drivers, Chris Page won the 2022 Little Brown Jug behind Bythemissal.
Nor does the work ethic seem the same. Hall of fame thoroughbred jockey Bill Shoemaker never saw the day when he would drive (or ride) thirteen horses in a day. His record for most mounts in a day was eight, on a day when he won six of the eight rides. And to his credit, he rode six winners a total of nine times in his illustrious career.
To compare, Chris Page, David Miller, and numerous others drive as many as 10 to 12 races on an average day, nearly twice the work load. Page’s maximum documented day in the sulky numbers 14 times. But he doesn’t complain about the difference.
“Everything matters in life,” he smiles. “Some things a lot, and some things a little. They just don’t give wins away, you know, and to the younger guys that really does matter when you consider [David Miller numbers]. You know what I mean? And if I ever get to the point where I’m not excited about going to the winner’s circle then I’ll be hanging up the colors, because each time we win it’s just as exciting. And that’s why we do it.”
To his point, he’s highly motivated by the fact of having another good year, having good horses, and for being the top driver in this summer’s Scioto meet, followed closely, in fact, by Luke Hanners, an up-and-coming driver in the manner of Page tree years ago. Everything matters, says Page, including the competition.
“We love competition,” he grins. “David Miller? That’s what keeps him going ’cause he’s won all those races and the money. He’s checked that off. Competition keeps you sharp coming to work – sharp at your craft. You gotta’ stay sharp, and healthy in the mind. That’s important.
“My question for David Miller is…what keeps him hungry? He’s an animal for competition, and he’s twenty years older than Chris Page. That’s amazing, at least to me. The guy’s still motivated. And at this stage of the game. Money motivates most people, but he already has that, so he’s just a fierce competitor.”
He doesn’t take days off, or at least not many, and his commitment to his responsibilities as a husband and father is nothing less than he is to his career.
“My wife stays home and raises the kids,” Page admits. “And I go away and make the bacon.”
He already owns a Little Brown Jug title (2022, driving Bythemissal), and his daily work is nothing less than him leveraging for another horse of that caliber and a second Jug title.
“Oh, I’m always up for that,” he laughs. “There’s nothing right now, but you never know. The year is still young.”
That’s nine weeks away (September 24), and an average of 8 to 10 races a day for six days on an average week (approx. 500 races). In respect to the title of this column…..
Can you see anyone catching up with Chris Page?
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