Little Brown Jug (horse race) facts for kids

The Little Brown Jug is a famous harness racing event for young horses. In harness racing, horses don't have riders on their backs. Instead, they pull a small, two-wheeled cart called a sulky, with a driver sitting in it.

This race is for three-year-old Standardbred horses that are "pacers." Pacers move both legs on the same side of their body forward at the same time. It's a special way of running!

The Little Brown Jug has been held every year since 1946. It takes place at the Delaware County Fairgrounds racetrack in Delaware, Ohio. You can watch it on the third Thursday after Labor Day.

This race is one of the most important for Standardbred horses. It's often compared to the Hambletonian Stakes, which is a big race for "trotters" (another type of Standardbred that moves its legs in diagonal pairs).

The race is named after a real horse called Little Brown Jug. He was a pacer who won nine races in a row! He became a famous horse in the USTA Hall of Fame in 1975. There's also a similar race called the Little Brown Jugette for three-year-old female horses, called fillies.

History of the Race

The story of the Little Brown Jug began in 1937. Members of the Delaware County Agricultural Society decided to move their County Fair to a new spot in Delaware, Ohio. Two years later, they built a special half-mile track for harness racing.

A local builder named R.K. McNamara designed this track. It became known for being very fast! Joe Neville, whose family loved horse racing, and Henry C. "Hank" Thomson, a sports editor, helped make the track famous. They managed to get "Grand Circuit" dates for the new Delaware track. The Grand Circuit is like a major league for harness racing.

Joe Neville especially wanted to highlight pacers, not just trotters. So, the Little Brown Jug Society was created to organize the big race. Joe Neville led the group, with Hank Thomson as secretary.

The name "Little Brown Jug" was chosen through a newspaper contest. The first official race was in 1946. A horse named Ensign Hanover won, with Wayne "Curly" Smart as the driver. Curly Smart later became the track superintendent, helping to keep the track super fast.

Over the years, the Little Brown Jug became a very traditional and important race for pacers. In 1956, it became part of the "Triple Crown of Pacing." This means winning the Little Brown Jug, the Cane Pace, and the Messenger Stakes. It's a huge achievement for a horse!

How the Race Works

The Little Brown Jug is run in several parts, called "heats." Think of it like a tournament with rounds.

Before 2017, a horse had to win two heats to be the champion. The first heat was split into smaller races. The best horses from these smaller races would then compete in a second heat. If one horse won both heats, they were the winner! If not, there was a special "race off" between the top horses to decide the champion.

Since 2017, the rules are a bit simpler. The first heat is still split into a few smaller races (usually two or three). The top horses from these races move on to the second heat. But now, the horse that wins the second heat is automatically the champion of the Little Brown Jug! It doesn't matter if they won a first-heat race or not.

After each race, the winners of the Little Brown Jug have their names written on a special jug. This tradition started in 1946. In 2005, they ran out of space on the first jug! So, they made a new one. The new jug is made of plastic, which makes it lighter than the old clay one.

Records

Here are some of the amazing records from the Little Brown Jug:

• Most Wins by a Driver:
  • 5 wins – Billy Haughton (1955, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1974)
  • 5 wins – Michel Lachance (1988, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001)
  • 5 wins – David Miller (2003, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2018)

• Most Wins by a Trainer:
  • 6 wins – Billy Haughton (1955, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1985)

• Fastest Race Time:
  • 1:49 0/0 – Betting Line (2016)

Little Brown Jug winners