It’s been 40 years since Jerry Silva made a trip to the Little Brown Jug. He plans to return to the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio in two weeks, and the journey might include a trip to the winner’s circle
.
Silva is among the owners of One More Laugh, who on Monday won the first jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown – the $300,000 Cane Pace – with a stakes and track-record performance at Freehold Raceway. The three-year-old gelding is owned also by trainer Ray Schnittker and breeder Mathias Meinzinger.
The Jug, to be contested in heats on September 23, is the second jewel in the Crown. The third jewel is the Messenger Stakes, which is November 6 at Yonkers Raceway.
“The last time I was to the Jug was 1970 with Billy Haughton with a horse named Race Time Boy,” Silva said. “We didn’t do well. I expect to do better this time. I had Art Major out there (in 2002) but I didn’t go out to see the race. This time, I’m going. I hope we draw well. I’ll take another one hole for the Little Brown Jug.”
One More Laugh and driver Tim Tetrick started from the one in the Cane Pace. They fended off a challenge from Delmarvalous in the opening quarter-mile and cruised to a four and a quarter-length victory in 1:50.3.
“It was a great race, a great day,” Silva said. “Tim did everything right. (The opposition) tried everything they could and it wasn’t their day. It was our day.”
One More Laugh has won five of 11 races this year and finished second on four occasions. He has earned $1.07 million in 2010 and $1.69 million during his career.
With the win in the Cane Pace, One More Laugh improved to two-for-two on half-mile racetracks. On June 12, he won the $294,965 Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers Raceway. All three Pacing Triple Crown races are on half-mile ovals.
In his career, which includes 14 wins in 23 starts, One More Laugh has won on every size track: mile, seven-eighths, five-eighths and half mile. Last year, he set the World Record for two-year-olds pacing on a five-eighths mile oval when he won in 1:49.2 at Harrah’s Chester.
“He should be OK (at the Jug),” Schnittker said. “He’s good on any kind of track. He’s just a great horse.”
One More Laugh’s win in the Cane gave Schnittker his first Pacing Triple Crown victory. The trainer won Trotting Triple Crown races (Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity) with Deweycheatumnhowe in 2008.
A dozen trainers have won both the Hambletonian and Little Brown Jug. Nine of them are in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and the remaining three – Jimmy Takter, Steve Elliott and Blair Burgess – accomplished the feat within the last four years.
The last horse to win the Pacing Triple Crown was No Pan Intended in 2003. He was the 10th horse to accomplish the feat since it began in 1956.
One More Laugh is also seeking to become just the second horse in 19 years to win both the Meadowlands Pace and Little Brown Jug. He would join Well Said, who accomplished the feat last season.
“He’s going into the fall as good as you can go, I guess,” Schnittker said.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
Good luck to the connections
Good luck to the connections of one more laugh in there pursuit of the little brown jug. There horse handles a half mile track well and depending on post position they have a heck of a chance. Reading this story how ever it is no surprise that the race game is in trouble. They do nothing to help themselves in the way of positive change.
Our sport triple crown is all contested on half mile tracks with small purses. Half mile track racing is about as boring as it gets and other then the little brown jug nobody cares about the other two legs of the triple crown. What is the matter with the people who promote this sport. The triple crown should be the north american cup, the meadowlands pace and the little brown jug. It should be contested over 3 different size tracks in the sports marquee events. The way it is done now nobody gives a rats behind about the harness racing triple crown, other then the connections of the horse who cares who wins the messenger and the cane pace.