by Murray Brown

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 ishere.

1982 — Merger — This edition of the Jug might be best known for the horse who wasn›t there. Cam Fella was by far the best of this crop. Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible. If he had been, he most certainly would have gone and barring very unlikely circumstances he would have won the race. Heading into the race, the event was viewed as being wide open. It drew 25 entrants necessitating three eliminations. The first elimination and the final were won by the John Campbell-trained, driven and partially-owned Merger. The second elimination was won by McKinzie Almahurst trained and driven by Bill Haughton and the third division was won by Temujin in a world record time of 1.54.3, eclipsing the World Record by Niatross also set at Delaware. Among the also rans that day was No Nukes a horse that was destined to become a generational sire. Interesting that the year’s crop included No Nukes and Cam Fella two stallions greatly responsible for what the breed is today. Merger was Campbell’s first Jug win.

1983 — Ralph Hanover — If one were looking for the perfect horse, one would not have to go much further than Ralph Hanover.

1. Great Bloodlines? Check. He was by leading sire Meadow Skipper out of the solid producing Tar Heel mare Ravina Hanover.

2. Looks? Check. He was a grand looker and perfectly conformed.

3. Manners? Check. Perfect. He could be driven any way and usually finished on top. In addition, he was just wonderful to be around.

4. Racetrack performance? Check. He became the seventh pacing Triple Crown Winner. At 3, he won 20 of 25 starts and earned $1,711,990, more than any other horse had previously won.

5. Breeding potential? Check. He was syndicated by a group of prominent breeders to stand at beautiful Almahurst Farm. Yet, the breeding gods were not with him. He wasn’t the first horse with impeccable credentials to be found lacking in the stud, nor would he be the last.

On to the race. There were 25 entrants split into three eliminations. The first elimination was won by Fortune Teller. The second was won by Crosscurrent. Then the third was won by Ralph Hanover. The final and the race went to Ralph Hanover winning with ease for the training and driving duo of Hall of Famers Stew Firlotte and Ron Waples, winning by seven lengths.

1984 — Colt Fortysix — It was the first drive ever in the Little Brown Jug for Hall of Famer Chris Boring and it was a winning one in wire-to-wire fashion in each of the two heats. There were some, including this observer, who thought that if Dr. John Hayes driving Legal Notice had been able to get loose at any point in the mile in the final heat that the outcome might have been different. I’ve seen thousands upon thousands of races but never before have I seen a race where a horse was so hopelessly boxed in from beginning until the very last few steps. At that point it was just too late. There were two absentees in this Jug who just might have been better than those who competed. Their names were On The Road Again and Holmes Hanover. They finished one-two in the Cane separated by a head that year. A non-factor in the race was the 2-year-old champ Walton Hanover. One tidbit from the race which will never escape my memory was a phone call received from one of Walton Hanover’s owners Grady Cooksey a few days before the event. In all seriousness, he asked me if I could get passes for him and reserve a table for his party in the clubhouse. I told him I thought I could get the passes but that getting the table might prove difficult.

1985 — Nihilator — The 3-year-olds of 1985 might have constituted the greatest group of 3-year-old pacers in a single year that ever raced. The best of them all was the super colt Nihilator. Nihilator arrived in Delaware as the winner of 26 of 28 lifetime starts. He was to leave with two more notches on his winning belt. It wasn’t the walk in the park that some expected it to be though. It was a great horse race where in the final Nihilator was a neck victor over his stablemate Pershing Square with Dignatarian finishing third. Among the other greats in that crop were Falcon Seelster who wasn’t eligible to the Jug, but who performed in world record time winning an overnight in 1.51 on Jug Day. Other notables from that crop were Dragon’s Lair, Chairmanoftheboard, Marauder, Broadway Express and Flight Of Fire.

1986 — Barberry Spur — The race marked the first of two won by Dick Stillings trained and Roy Davis owned winners of the Jug. It was also the second in a row and the last for a colt sired by Niatross. Of all the questions that I›ve confronted in ٦٠ plus years as a student of the bloodlines of the standardbred, the one regarding Niatross as a sire is perhaps the only one to which I don›t have an answer, whether it be right or wrong. The first crop by Niatross was greeted with great expectations both at the yearling sales and privately. There was great anticipation. Niatross was considered by most to be the greatest pacer to ever look through a bridle. They sold well and performed to expectations. From the first crop came the champion Nihilator, Pershing Square, the outstanding filly Semalu d›Amour, Handsome Sum, Niafirst and Flight Of Fire. The second crop featured the Jug winner Barberry Spur, the champion filly Caressable, Smartest Remark and Masquerade. Then the proverbial wheel fell off. Despite his receiving larger and at the very least comparable books Niatross was never to come close to achieving the success sustained in his first two crops. Does anybody have an answer? I don’t. I’ve heard them all but I don’t believe any.

On to the 1986 Little Brown Jug. The race was rain delayed, taking place on the Friday after its scheduled Thursday date. Stillings chose to hand the lines for the race over to his friend Bill O’Donnell. In the first elimination Amity Chef was a decisive winner handled by John Campbell and trained by Blair Burgess. Barberry Spur won the second heat in near gate-to-wire fashion. In the final third heat Barberry Spur repeated what he had accomplished in his elimination becoming a back-to-back Jug winner for driver Bill O’Donnell.

1987 — Jaguar Spur — Trainer Dick Stillings chose to reverse the role from the previous year by driving Roy Davis’ Jaguar Spur to victory instead of entrusting him to a catch driver. In 1986 he had turned the lines over to Bill O’Donnell. There needed to be three elimination heats for this Jug since 24 colts declared. The overwhelming first heat favorite was Run The Table coming into the event on a five-race winning streak. This was not to be that colt’s day since he failed to even make the final in the first and thought to be strongest heat which was won by longshot Jaguar Spur in gate-to-wire fashion over pocket sitting Redskin. In addition to Run The Table that elimination also had North America Cup winner Frugal Gourmet. The second elimination was won by Ohio favorite Z Twenty Eight. The third heat was won by Happy Affair. In the final Jaguar Spur was on top all the way en route to victory and becoming his sire Albatross’ fifth and last Little Brown Jug winner. Two top pacers notable by their absence in the race were Jate Lobell and Laag.