Dayton: Burns scores first pari-mutuel win on Monday

It was an exciting Monday (Dec. 7) for 23-year-old provisional driver Kacey Burns as she scored her first ever pari-mutuel victory in the second race at Hollywood Dayton Raceway. Although she started racing at Ohio county fairs when she was 16, and has 20 wins on the summer circuit, this 1:58 2/5 tally with Bad Secret was her first in limited attempts at a commercial track.

Bad Secret also notched his first pari-mutuel win, narrowly defeating Fifty Flat (Jeremy Smith), Mic Patriot (Cameron McCown) and Friskieontherocks (Brett Miller). The 4-year-old son of Big Bad John had been knocking on the door for Burns, finishing second last week and third in the start prior to that. On this occasion, he put everything together and raced gamely for co-owner and trainer Roy Burns, who is Kacey's dad.

Kacey skimmed along the pylons with Bad Secret until just before the halfway point, then launched a first-over attack the remainder of the way. Moved up to second at the three-quarter marker, Bad Secret finally stuck his neck in front coming off the final bend and held off three challengers through the stretch to win by a half-length.

"It was great!" exclaimed Burns. "I don't really try to hit a horse very hard and everyone behind us were yelling and cracking their whips on their shafts. There was alot of noise. I pretty much just sat there and let Bad Secret do his thing. I wasn't sure we would hold on, but I was thrilled when we reached the finish line and I realized that we had won."

While Kacey Burns has driven in 153 races since turning 16, she hasn't just been spending her time at her father's barn. A graduate of Fairbanks High School in Milford Center, Ohio, Ms. Burns also owns an undergraduate degree in Agriculture from Wilmington College and is presently working on her Masters Degree in Agriculture at Ohio State University. The energetic young lady also works full-time at the O.S.U. Extention in Wilmington as a Snap-Ed program assistant.

2020 has been a banner year for Kacey Burns. She has now won 8 races in 24 starts and sports a near .400 Universal Driver Rating System average.

"My goal, once I get my Masters, is to get a good enough job that I can afford to own and race my own horses in my spare time," laughed Burns.

-edited release (Greg Keidel for Dayton)