The royal colour is generally considered to be purple, but for this year's Little Brown Jug the silks fitting the king of the Delaware County Fairgrounds on Thursday, Sept. 19 could be white, blue and yellow if James MacDonald or Louis-Philippe Roy have their way.
Two of the top drivers currently based north of the 49th parallel, Roy and MacDonald have achieved significant success in harness racing, both in their base of operations at Woodbine Mohawk Park and on the Grand Circuit, but have yet to gain prominence at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.
In addition to his three O'Brien Awards, Roy's major stakes accolades include winning the 2022 Breeders Crown with Gaines Hanover, the 2023 Canadian Pacing Derby with Tattoo Artist, and the 2024 Pepsi North America Cup with Nijinsky. A three-time O'Brien Award winner in his own right, MacDonald has multiple Grand Circuit titles, recently capturing the 2024 Peaceful Way Stakes with Monalishi and this year's Meadowlands Pace and Cane Pace with Legendary Hanover.
Both of the 'kings' — MacDonald nicknamed 'King James' and Roy's surname translating to 'King' in English — have the utmost confidence in their sophomore pacing colts heading into the third and final leg of pacing's Triple Crown, the 79th Little Brown Jug.
Nijinsky heads to Delaware with a number of variables that bode well for the Anthony Beaton trainee.
- He drew into the first $50,000 USD elimination, carded as Race 17, so he gets a bit more time to rest before the final in Race 21.
- Originally leaving from post four, he's now moving in one spot with the scratch of rail starter Timeisonmyside.
- In his most recent start, he defeated the horse many would argue is his main competition: stablemate Legendary Hanover.
A son of 2001 Little Brown Jug champion Bettors Delight, Nijinsky sports a 9-1-0 record from 10 starts this year for trainer Beaton and owners West Wins Stable of Wellington, Fl., John Fielding of Scarborough, Ont. and Mark Dumain of Pine Bush, N.Y. He took his mark of 1:47.3 winning his Meadowlands Pace elim, and he's the richest pacer of 2024 with $1,097,720 in earnings.
Roy makes his Little Brown Jug debut on Thursday, with his Race 17 drive aboard Nijinsky (as of press time) counting as just his second start as the Delaware County Fair. He had one drive there five years ago with trotting colt Union Forces in the Old Oaken Bucket. Thursday will be five years to the day since Union Forces ran behind the starting gate and was never a factor.
There are no nerves this time around, but that doesn't mean Roy doesn't anticipate feeling the energy from that throng of fans in the stands and around the Ohio half-mile oval.
"Going in as one of the favourites in those big races, it's always a little more pressure, but that horse is so handy, and he makes you have so much confidence," Roy told Trot Insider. "If you're well prepared, you should make a good decision when it comes time.
"A lot of people are attracted to the track on that day and on that week. So it sure makes it exciting when there's a lot of people. As I talk to you right now, I don't feel the vibe as much, but I'm sure that when I'm going to be there with thousands of people in the stands, it's going to be different."
What's going to be different is the track size. Nijinsky has one lifetime start on a half-mile, and that was nearly a year ago. Mind you, Delaware isn't your typical half-mile, two-turn track. But the turns aren't a concern for Roy.
"I never drove him on a half mile, but I'm not really worried about it, because he likes the turns. It doesn't matter to him. He's the same straight or turns, he doesn't change his stride at all."
Nijinsky doesn't change his stride during any point of the mile, and according to his driver, Nijinsky doesn't really change his attitude either. Roy sees that as a plus heading into a two-heat contest.
"The thing that might help him is that he doesn't get excited for nothing. He's easy on himself in that way," added Roy. "Some horses can get pumped up a little too much, and they're tougher on themselves."
Roy will take in the races at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, and he'll be accompanied on the trip from Campbellville, Ont. to Ohio by the driver of his main rival — James MacDonald, who will be favoured in the second Jug elim with Legendary Hanover.
The sport's fastest pacer in 2024 by virtue of his 1:46.2 Meadowlands track record performance in the Cane Pace that followed his stakes record 1:46.3 Meadowlands Pace victory, Legendary Hanover has won six of his 11 sophomore starts while adding more than $973,143 to his $1.3 million career bankroll. A 12-time winner from 20 races, the son of Huntsville is owned by Eric Good, West Wins Stable and Mark Dumain.
Legendary Hanover was last seen in pari-mutuel action on Sept. 7 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, finishing second to Nijinsky as the 1-5 Simcoe Stakes favourite. MacDonald did not want to take anything away from Nijinsky's performance, but he did indicate Legendary Hanover might not have been feeling as good as his name.
"To be 100 per cent honest, it absolutely wasn't Legendary Hanover's best day," indicated MacDonald. "I guess he scoped not perfect...not making an excuse for him, that's life, but he definitely wasn't himself that day. And I think come Little Brown Jug, when the real Legendary Hanover shows up, I don't think there's a horse on planet Earth that can stick with him.
"I'm not using that as an excuse, because Nijinsky has beat Legendary Hanover when he's been good, but I just think when Legendary Hanover is on his game, I just think he's a notch above anything I've ever seen. So hopefully that's the one that shows up."
There is no sense of concern when MacDonald discusses Legendary Hanover, nor should there be. And when Trot Insider asked him before the draw about position on the starting gate, trip strategy and half-mile track inexperience, there's less importance on those elements as much as MacDonald is hopeful that Legendary Hanover — the one with "no flaws in his game," according to his driver — is at his best on Thursday.
"On a half-mile track, things can go wrong in a hurry. So I think if you've got the best horse and you have the choice of trip, you take the risk out of it and put him on the front if the horse can do it — and I think my horse can. That said, if he draws bad, I have no qualms racing him off a helmet either. He's just a really gifted horse that can do anything."
MacDonald also spoke highly of that rival/stablemate Nijinsky, who he drove to victory in Ontario Sires Stakes action on Aug. 16 at Woodbine Mohawk Park while Roy was on a mini-vacation.
"It didn't change my thoughts on him; he's the North America Cup champion and I already thought he was an amazing horse. It just solidified in my mind how good these horses are. And I expect him to be amazing at the Jug.
"If my horse doesn't bring his A game, or even if they both have their A game, he's definitely capable of winning."
With one drive in the Jug itself last year aboard Beaton's Redwood Hanover — who finished third in his elim and eighth in the final — MacDonald's experience in the Little Brown Jug is slightly greater than that of Roy. And right now, this is the race that tops the P.E.I. native's bucket list.
"The other ones are already gone for this year," said MacDonald with a smile. "It would be the biggest race of my career, without a doubt. The Meadowlands Pace is gigantic, but the Little Brown Jug is not only on my bucket list, it's on every horse driver's bucket list."
Legendary Hanover will leave from post three in the second elim. He's the 9-5 favourite.
"It's a great draw, we avoided the outside. Now we just need some racing luck and, like I said before, I think we have the horse to beat."
Nijinsky drew post four in the first elim but he will also leave from post three with the scratch of rail starter Timeisonmyside.
"I didn't actually go to church Sunday but I was praying [for a draw of] anything inside six so I'm pleased," said Roy after Monday's fields were released.
The complete fields for the $50,000 USD elimination heats are listed below. The top four finishers from each elimination will advance to the $525,000 USD final later in the day. The 21-race card will kick off at 11 a.m.
$50,000 USD Little Brown Jug First Elimination
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Timeisonmyside - Anthony MacDonald - Tim Twaddle (SCRATCHED)
2. Captain Luke - Scott Zeron - Tony Alagna - 6-1
3. Escape To America - Dexter Dunn - Deborah Daquet - 12-1
4. Nijinsky - Louis-Philippe Roy - Anthony Beaton - 5-2
5. Huntingforchrome - Matt Kakaley - Travis Alexander - 9-2
6. Captain Albano - Todd McCarthy - Noel Daley - 5-1
7. Mirage Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Jake Leamon - 9-2
$50,000 USD Little Brown Jug Second Elimination
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Captains Quarters - Jody Jamieson - Herb Holland - 9-2
2. Total Stranger - Dan Noble - Virgil Morgan Jr. - 10-1
3. Legendary Hanover - James MacDonald - Anthony Beaton - 9-5
4. Rose Run Zane - Austin Hanners - Dan Venier - 6-1
5. Solid Character - David Miller - Ron Burke - 4-1
6. Play Action Pass - Dexter Dunn - Brian Brown - 25-1
7. Sweet Beach Life - Matt Kakaley - Travis Alexander - 7-2
Program pages for the 2024 Little Brown Jug program are available here.
(Standardbred Canada; photos courtesy New Image Media and Lisa Photo)