DELAWARE — The iconic starting trumpet will sound for the 81st Little Brown Jug in less than two days.
But before the 11-horse field paces to the starting gate Thursday afternoon and thousands of Jug fans crowd the Delaware County Fairgrounds, two drivers spoke with Delaware Source about how they’re preparing for one of harness racing’s biggest events.
A look at the field
Ronnie Wrenn Jr. drove Louprint to a first-place finish in last year’s Jug and enters this year’s race behind a colt named Melillo, the odds-on favorite.
Melillo races out of the Burke Racing Stable trained by five-time Jug winner Ron Burke, alongside Jason Melillo and Weaver Bruscemi. Burke also trained Louprint last year and has Al Papi, Frantic Hanover and Watch Em Win in this year’s field.
Melillo enters the Jug fresh off a victory at the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, earning $150,000 of the $300,000 purse for the win. The colt has earned a little over $1 million throughout his career.
Meanwhile, Jody Jamieson is back in the Jug this year driving a gelding named Redland Rocket Man. The Ontario, Canada native last won the Jug in 2007 behind a colt named Tell All.
Murray Cox and Gary Volpe own Redland Rocket Man, who is trained by John Pentland.
Jamieson said he began driving the gelding just three races ago. Redland Rocket Man has earned about $370,000.
The two will meet before any potential trip to the finale.
Melillo and Redland Rocket Man both drew the second elimination heat Thursday, with Melillo starting from Post 4 and Redland Rocket Man from Post 5.
A storied event
The drivers, trainers and owners have the résumés to command attention — but on Jug Day, there’s a general feeling that all of it goes out the window.
Both Wrenn and Jamieson heralded the Jug’s history and environment, but Jamieson highlighted a strategic piece of the race’s format he’s keeping in mind, too.
“The Jug is one of the hardest races in harness racing to win,” he said. “It used to be that you had to win two races on the same day; now you just have to win the final but you still have to race twice.
“It’s a taxing event on the horses, you have to be strategic and the horse has to be great that day,” he said. “There’s so many things that have to come together on the one day to win the Little Brown Jug.
“It’s a storied event.”
Wrenn and Jamieson have each competed in more than five Jugs. For Wrenn, the race’s prestige is only part of what keeps bringing him back to Delaware.
The Michigan native said Jug week also gives him a chance to reconnect with family.
“Usually the Jug is towards the end of stake season for us, so its nice to stay in one spot for four days and catch up with some family and some of the local guys I started driving against when I first started my career in Ohio,” Wrenn said.
Wrenn’s father, Ronnie Wrenn Sr., was also a harness racing driver and was inducted into the Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association Hall of Fame in 2009. Wrenn Sr. passed away at age 62 in 2014.
But Wrenn said he doesn’t feel weighed down from any pressure. In fact, he said he and most harness racing drivers love it.
“I played a lot of sports growing up, competitive sports at a high level and I got used to that feeling of the big stage,” Wrenn said. “I’ve raced in quite a few big races that go for a pretty decent amount of money, so I’m used to what that feels like.
“I like the pressure, and I think that’s what every driver in the Jug would probably say,” he said. “That’s why we do it — for races like this.”
Jamieson echoed Wrenn’s words.
“When you get 40,000 to 50,000 people showing up to watch this race it’s really cool,” Jamieson said. “We don’t get that many fans for harness racing very often.
“When it comes to the Delaware County Fair on the third Thursday in September, it really jacks up the juices and it’s just a real fun time.”
The weather’s possible role for Thursday
Jamieson joked that the horses sometimes handle the Jug Day crowds better than the people do.
The weather, however, is a different story.
“We never like racing in the mud and the rain anyway, but I will say this: I don’t remember the last time the Jug was raced in the rain,” Jamieson said. “It’s one of those mythical types of events that it just doesn’t rain on those days.”
Jamieson took an optimistic view of Thursday’s forecast, reasoning that a 50% chance of rain also meant a 50% chance it wouldn’t rain.
But Wrenn and Jamieson have both raced in all kinds of conditions — and with them both hailing from chillier parts of the world, they’ve even raced in the cold and snow.
“Standardbred horses are tough and they’re resilient — they’re unbothered by a lot of things and weather is one of those things,” Jamieson said.
Wrenn said he’s hoping for the best as well, but said poor weather does change the race’s dynamic a little bit.
“[The Jug] usually favors horses that are more aggressive and go toward the front early in the race,” Wrenn said. “But when you throw in bad weather and tiring track conditions, it doesn’t always favor the front.
“Horses from back might be more favored because they weren’t really used early in the race, they don’t tire out as much,” he said. “I’m confident in my horse, he’s in this race for a reason and he’s sharp right now coming into the race.”
What it would mean to win again
For all the tradition, crowds and uncertainty surrounding Jug Day, Wrenn and Jamieson ultimately have the same thing on their minds: winning.
Both said another Little Brown Jug victory would mean a great deal.
“It’d feel just as great as it did last year,” Wrenn said.
“I loved driving Louprint last year, being able to get the job done and winning a race that I’ve always wanted to win since I got into racing was awesome,” he said. “But to have another shot this year, I feel very blessed and this is why you work so hard to have opportunities like this.”
For Jamieson, to win after almost two decades is certainly the plan.
“I have a notch on my belt buckle for this one, but to come back almost 20 years later and win it again, it’d be really cool,” Jamieson said.
“It’s going to be a tough thing, obviously. It’s the Little Brown Jug, it’s big — it’s right up there with the biggest races in the world.”
