Harness Racing's most exciting race, the 77th renewal of the $559,000 pacing classic "the Little Brown Jug" will take place on Thursday, September 22 in Delaware, Ohio over the most famous half mile track in the world at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.
Racing kicks off on Sunday, September 18 and concludes after five days of the best racing in North America with the Little Brown Jug on Thursday, September 22.
The elimination heats have been drawn for the 77th edition of the Little Brown Jug for three-year-old pacers to be contested on Thursday, September 22 at Delaware County Fairgrounds.
A pair of $50,000 elimination heats will be held on Thursday, with the top four finishers advancing to the $541,550 final later on the card.
Local Ohio trainer Brian Brown has three chances to take home his first Jug trophy with Night Hawk in the first elimination heat and Ohio-sired Gulf Shores and Six Feet Apart in the second elimination. David Miller, one of the winningest drivers in the race's history with five victories to date, will drive Night Hawk and Six Feet Apart in their respective eliminations.
Trainer Ron Burke, who sends out a trio of Jugette contenders on Wednesday, will aim to sweep the Delaware County Fair week's top sophomore events for the second consecutive year. Lous Pearlman gave Burke his third Jug victory in 2021 and this year he has a pair of contenders including Birthday and the supplemental entry, Adios and Milstein champion Bythemissal.
Two of the P.E.I.-born MacDonald brothers are among the Canadian connections in this year's Jug, with Anthony driving Atlas Hanover for Guelph, Ont. trainer Jason McGinnis and part-owner Thestable Atlas Hanover, and Mark driving Greatest Ending for trainer Ian Moore and owner Reginald Petitpas of Irishtown, N.B. Moore, a P.E.I. native and resident of Cambridge, Ont., previously won the 2008 Jug with Shadow Play.
The connections of Bythemissal and Messenger champion Pleaseletmeknow supplemented to the Little Brown Jug for a fee of $45,000.
The complete fields for the elimination heats are listed below in post position order.
Little Brown Jug Elimination Heat 1
Post - Horse (Driver/Trainer)
Little Brown Jug Elimination Heat 2
Post - Horse (Driver/Trainer)
The connections of a pair of three-year-old colts have paid $45,000 to supplement into the 77th edition of the Little Brown Jug, taking place Thursday (Sept. 22) and presented by the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association.
Bythemissal is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Bruscemi and conditioned by Ron Burke. He is a gelded son of Downbytheseaside and is looking to be the first Ohio-bred Jug champ since BJ Scoot (1988).
Bythemissal had only one start as a two-year-old but had made up for lost time this season. He has amassed more than $537,000 in earnings thanks to wins in the $350,000 Adios Pace Final and the $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial, where he paced over the half-mile oval at Northfield Park in a world record-equalling 1:48.4. He is the second-highest ranked sophomore pacer in the sport, behind only Beach Glass, and will enter the Jug as one of the favourites.
Pleaseletmeknow was recently crowned as the New York Sire Stakes champion. He is trained by Travis Alexander for the Fiddler's Creek Stable. A homebred son of American Ideal, Pleaseletmeknow has eight seasonal wins in 12 starts and has earned $522,194 in his lifetime.
Supplemental entries have fared well in the Little Brown Jug. Two of the recent Jug champs were supplemental entries - Wiggle It Jiggleit (2015) and Courtly Choice (2018).
The complete field will be announced after the entry box closes on Monday, Sept. 19 at 10 a.m.
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