Eleven three-year-old pacers were entered in the 81st edition of the Grade 1 Little Brown Jug, the third leg of pacing's Triple Crown, with two $50,000 USD elimination heats to be held ahead of the $550,000 USD final on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Delaware County Fair.

Trainer Ron Burke will send out four contenders with Frantic Hanover (Tim Tetrick) and Al Papi (Yannick Gingras) drawing the inside posts in the first six-horse elimination field while the second elimination field of five includes Watch Em Win (Tim Tetrick) from post two and Melillo (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) in post four.

Burke, who has three contenders in Wednesday's Jugette, will be looking to sweep the Delaware County Fair classics for a third time in his career and for the second year in a row.

Delvin Miller Adios champion Al Papi ($1,502,775) is the richest of the Burke brigade followed by Carl Milstein Memorial and recent Pennsylvania Sires Stakes Championship winner Melillo ($1,434,588). Al Papi was a runner-up over a half-mile track to Yonkers Raceway's Messenger Stakes champion Fragment, also a two-time New York Sires Stakes Championship winner who will start between the Burke duo in the second elimination for trainer Petter Engblom with Jason Barlett driving. Fragment is the richest among all the Jug entrants with $1,529,994 banked in his career.

Canadian-based trainers will be represented in each elimination with Blake MacIntosh trainee No Waitlist (Doug McNair) and John Pentland pupil Redland Rocket Man (Jody Jamieson) drawing the outside posts six and five, respectively. 

No Waitlist is a multiple-stakes placed colt with more than $250,000 in earnings for owner Tim Dickieson of Holland Centre, Ont.

Owned by Pentland and partners Murray Cox of Rockwood, Ont., and Gary Volpe of St. Thomas, Ont., Redland Rocket Man matched the 1:46.4 sophomore world record for three-year-old geldings in the Grade 3 Simcoe Stakes on Sept. 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and is one of two $45,000 USD supplemental entries. 

The other supplement is the Noel Daley-trained Toast Of The Town with Jason Bartlett driving the post three starter in the first elimination. 

The field for the eliminations heats are listed below.

$50,000 USD Little Brown Jug Elimination Heat #1
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Frantic Hanover - Tim Tetrick - Ron Burke
2. Al Papi - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
3. Toast Of The Town* - Jason Bartlett - Noel Daley
4. Thai Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Mitch York
5. Treacherous Lou - Tim Tetrick - Robert Cleary
6. No Waitlist - Doug McNair - Blake MacIntosh

$50,000 USD Little Brown Jug Elimination Heat #2
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Hunting Glory - Ridge Warren - Robert Cleary
2. Watch Em Win - Tim Tetrick - Ron Burke
3. Fragment - Jason Bartlett - Petter Engblom
4. Melillo - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke
5. Redland Rocket Man* - Jody Jamieson - John Pentland
*Supplemental entries.

Driver changes are due by 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

First race post time is 11 a.m. on Thursday. The Little Brown Jug elimination heats are scheduled as races 15 and 16 with the top four finishers in each advancing to the final in race 19. 

Standardbred Canada will provide a live stream of Thursday's card, as well as Wednesday's card featuring the Jugette, through the SC website. 

The Jug post position draw was conducted on Monday, Sept. 21 and can be viewed below.

(Standardbred Canada; photo of Redland Rocket Man winning the Simcoe Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park)