Sportswriter, All Speed Hanover top Jug eligibles

Two-year-old North American pacing champion Sportswriter and his Breeders Crown nemesis All Speed Hanover are the early favorites in a wide-open 65th Little Brown Jug this year. A total of 148 three-year-old colts and geldings remain eligible to the $550,000 Classic which will be raced Thursday afternoon, Sept. 23, at the Delaware, Ohio County Fairgrounds.

 

Sportswriter was voted the Dan Patch Award as the best 2-year-old male pacer of 2009 by the U.S. Harness Writers and the son of Artsplace also received the O’Brien Award as Canada’s top juvenile colt pacer. The Cassie Coleman-trained colt,. who raced only in Canada in 2009, won the $920,000 Metro Pace in a world record 1:49.2s at Mohawk Racetrack.

 

All Speed Hanover swept divisions of the Bluegrass and International Stallion Stakes in October at Lexington’s Red Mile and followed that with a huge triumph over Sportswriter in the $600,000 Breeders Crown final at Woodbine Raceway. All Speed Hanover is trained by Noel Daley. Ron Pierce, who has four Jug wins including Well Said in 2009, drove All Speed Hanover in 2009.

 

The Little Brown Jug is the second leg of pacing’s Triple Crown. The first leg is the Cane Pace scheduled for Sept. 6 at Freehold Raceway. If a horse wins the Cane,but is not eligible to the Jug, his owner(s) may pay a $45,000 supplemental starting fee. Yonkers Raceway will play host to the Messenger Pace on Oct. 25, third leg of the Triple Crown. (LBJ)