Loua Dipa won the 56th edition of the Grade 1 Jugette for three-year-old pacing fillies in back-to-back heats on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at Ohio's Delaware County Fair.
Securing the inside post advantage after winning the first heat three races earlier, trainer Ron Burke's favourite filly Loua Dipa and regular reinsman Ronnie Wrenn Jr. established the lead off the gate and kept their rivals at bay through fractions of :27, :55.3 and 1:24.3 to score the 1:53 triumph in the $338,028 final despite the tiring track conditions listed as "good."
Darlins Angel and Lauren Tritton finished 1-1/4 lengths behind in second after securing an early pocket seat while the winner's stablemates, Im A Lou Lou (Tim Tetrick) and Sandyboots Yankee (Yannick Gingras), were third and fourth after rallying past an parked out Vanna By The River (Aaron Merriman) in the later stages of the race.
"I was more confident in the second heat than the first heat but she raced great," said Wrenn from the winner's circle. "She's a tremendous filly and I'm just really proud of her. She raced awesome."
Wrenn added a Jugette title to his growing Grand Circuit resume after getting a Little Brown Jug trophy last year at Delaware with Burke trainee Louprint.
"It's been awesome; these are a couple of moments that I'll never forget," said Wrenn of his Delaware classic victories. "My family is here with me, and I'm so happy for the Burke brigade for giving me the opportunity to drive these nice horses, and it always feel good to get the job done."
Burke, who holds the record for most training wins in the Jugette with six, boasts back-to-back victories in the event with Loua Dipa following up on Rodeo Drive Deo's victory last year. His first Jugette victory was back in 2012 with Darena Hanover, followed by Sassa Hanover in 2015, Warrawee Ubeaut in 2019 and Scarlett Hanover in 2021.
"These races are very important to me," said Burke. "And this horse, her mom was one of my favourite horses, and she's one of my favourite horses, so it really means a lot."
A homebred for Pennsylvania owners Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown and Weaver Bruscemi of Canonsburg, the Sweet Lou filly is out of the former Burke-trained Ohio champion mare Looksgoodinaromper.
A Dan Patch Award winner as a freshman, Loua Dipa enjoyed early season success in this year's Grade 1 Fan Hanover Stakes and Grade 3 Jerry Silverman Memorial before missing a portion of the summer due to throat surgery. With her Jugette victories, she improved to six-for-10 in her sophomore season and pushed her career earnings to $1.78 million.
"She's been great ever since and for her to come back from the [throat] surgery barely over two months ago and be back in the winner's circle in a Grade 1 event, we're very happy," said Burke.
Loua Dipa was the even-money favourite after making a quarter-pole move in the first heat to take the lead and holding off fillies on both sides by less than a length in a 1:53.3 mile. Burke had reported a bridle change from Kant See Back to blinkers for the final. The win payout was $4.20.
Loua Dipa Delivers In First Jugette Heat
Favoured Loua Dipa earned the coveted rail position in the final heat of the 2026 Jugette after her 1:53.3 victory in the $35,211 first heat on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio.
Driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. situated Loua Dipa in third as the eight three-year-old pacing fillies got away in post order heading to the first quarter, fronted by second choice Darlins Angel (Lauren Tritton). Wrenn moved Loua Dipa down the backside and the Sweet Lou-Looksgoodinaromper lass cleared to the top through a :27.3 opener. After a :55.4 half, Sandyboots Yankee (Yannick Gingras) started a first-over grind to pressure the pacesetter, providing cover to Im A Lou Lou (Tim Tetrick) as the third station was reached in 1:25. Loua Dipa maintained her position, and held off a pair of hard-closing finishers — Im A Lou Lou to her outside and Darlins Angel to her inside — to prevail by a diminishing length in 1:53.3 over a track listed as 'good'. Im A Lou Lou edged Darlins Angel for the runner-up spot.
Bumping her earnings over the $1.6 million mark, Loua Dipa is trained by Ron Burke for Pennsylvania-based breeders and owners Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown and Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg. The win was her 14th lifetime in 22 starts, and her first victory since undergoing throat surgery this summer.
"She had surgery and she just had her first start in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Final, and she raced good, being off about 40 days," said Wrenn about her third-place finish on Sept. 6. "But I was happy with her in the [Jugette] elimination, and now we have post one and got some options to work with one more time."
As the 4-5 favourite, Loua Dipa returned $3.60 to win.
Here is the field for the final of the 56th edition of the Jugette.
$338,028 Jugette Final
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer
1. Loua Dipa - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke
2. Im A Lou Lou - Tim Tetrick - Ron Burke
3. Darlins Angel - Lauren Tritton - Juan Cano
4. Sandyboots Yankee - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
5. Perfect Thought - Scott Zeron - Jason McGinnis
6. Vanna By The River - Aaron Merriman - Cory Stratton
7. Ideal Beauty Queen - Dexter Dunn - Jake Huff
8. Kilauea Hanover - Mike Wilder - Norm Parker
Watch The 2026 Jugette
The 56th edition of the $373,239 Jugette for three-year-old pacing fillies headlines Wednesday's 21-race card at the Delaware County Fair with live streaming of all the action available.
A field of eight three-year-old pacing fillies will first compete in the first $35,211 heat in the 18th race, then return to contest the $338,028 Jugette final in the 21st race. All eight starters in the first heat will be eligible to race in the final, with posts to be determined by the order of finish in the first heat.
Ron Burke, the Jugette's winningest trainer with five victories, will have three fillies in this year's event including 3-1 morning line favourite Loua Dipa, who will start from post three with regular reinsman Ronnie Wrenn Jr. Owned by Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi, the homebred daughter of Sweet Lou-Looksgoodinaromper has 13 career wins in 21 starts and has earned nearly $1.6 million. This year's Grade 1 Fan Hanover and Grade 3 Jerry Silverman Memorial winner missed a portion of the summer due to throat surgery. Most recently, she qualified on Sept. 15 at The Meadows in 1:51.2.
The complete field is listed below.
$35,211 Jugette Elimination Heat
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Morning Line Odds
1. Darlins Angel - Lauren Tritton - Juan Cano - 4-1
2. Sandyboots Yankee - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke - 5-1
3. Loua Dipa - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke - 3-1
4. Kilauea Hanover - Mike Wilder - Norm Parker - 25-1
5. Im A Lou Lou - Tim Tetrick - Ron Burke - 5-1
6. Perfect Thought - Scott Zeron - Jason McGinnis - 7-1
7. Ideal Beauty Queen - Dexter Dunn - Jake Huff - 7-1
8. Vanna By The River* - Aaron Merriman - Cory Stratton - 6-1
*$15,000 USD supplemental entry.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will present a live stream of Wednesday’s 21-race card, which will be available below. Post time for the first race is 11 a.m.
Click here for free program pages.
(Standardbred Canada)