Adios Pace winner McWicked and Cane Pace champ Lyonssomewhere are the morning line favorites for Thursday's 69th edition of the $647,500 Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair.
The mile pace is the second leg of the Pacing Triple Crown for 3-year-olds and Little Brown Jug conditions require the champion to win two heats. The 16- horse field will be divided into two $103,600 eliminations with the first four finishers advancing to the $310,800 final. If a race-off is necessary, the three-horse event would be worth $129,500.
Lyonssomewhere is the 5-2 favorite for the first elimination and will start from post 7 with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Jimmy Takter and owner Geoffrey Lyons Mound. The colt is a $45,000 supplemental entry.
"The outside post isn't the greatest, but I would rather have the seven hole in that elimination than the three or four hole in the second elimination," commented Gingras.
McWicked will leave from the inside post in the second elimination with David Miller driving for trainer Casie Coleman and owner S S G Stable.
"I am always thrilled to draw the rail at Delaware," noted Coleman. "We are in the toughest division, but I like where we are starting."
McWicked became a millionaire in winning the $260,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Final at Harrah's Philadelphia on Sept 7.
Here are the fields for the elimination races in post position order: Let's Drink On It, Tyler Smith, 5-1; Winds Of Change, Brett Miller, 8-1; Three Of Clubs, Doug McNair, 10-1; On Golden Ponder, John Campbell, 7-2; At Press Time, Matt Kakaley, 8-1; Beat The Drum, Ron Pierce, 15-1; Lyonssomewhere, Yannick Gingras, 5-2 and Rediscovery, Chris Page, 20-1.
McWicked, David Miller, 7-5; Limelight Beach, Yannick Gingras, 6-1; Avalance Hanover, Aaron Merriman, 12-1; Capital Account, Ron Pierce, 10-1; Somewhere In LA, Brett Miller, 7-2; He's Watching, Tim Tetrick, 5-2; Sometimes Said, Tim Tetrick, 10-1 and Cammikey,(Brian Zendt, 15-1.
The Little Brown Jug will air live from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The last Jug elimination heat will be shown live at approximately 5:11 p.m. The remaining eliminations will be covered on a tape delay basis. The 2nd heat of the Jug will be shown live at approximately 6:15 p.m. if a race off is necessary, post time of the race-off would be approximately 7:02 p.m. and CBS Sports Network will cut into its regularly scheduled program at 7 p.m. to show the race-off live.
The Pacing Triple Crown will conclude with the Messenger Stakes on Saturday, Oct. 25.
[SportsNetwork.com]
