by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Charles Wingfield will head to Thursday’s $577,000 Little Brown Jug presented by the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association with a bit of a longshot in Manhattan Beach, but the Ohio resident is hoping the colt can follow in his brother’s footsteps at the Delaware County Fairgrounds and carry him to another trip to the winner’s circle.

Manhattan Beach is a full brother to 2014 Little Brown Jug winner Limelight Beach, who entered that year’s event winless in 12 races at age 3 but captured the Jug in straight heats. Wingfield and his brothers Robert and Thomas are among the owners of Manhattan Beach and also were part of the Limelight Beach ownership group.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Wingfield, who lives in Kenton, about 40 miles northwest of the fairgrounds. “To win one, I was beside myself. We’re in the record book. They can’t take that away from us.

Chris Gooden photo

Manhattan Beach will look to follow his full brother Limelight Beach into the Little Brown Jug winner’s circle.

“Just to be in there is great. We’ve got a lot of family and friends coming, all behind Manhattan. I have no idea how many people are coming. The last two years I’ve set up 40 chairs. My two brothers said that’s not enough, so we set a few more up. It’s very, very exciting.”

Brothers — equine in this case, not human — winning the Little Brown Jug is not unprecedented. Noble Adios won the 1956 Jug two years after full brother Adios Harry won the event. And 1953 champion Keystoner was a half-brother to 1951 winner Tar Heel.

Manhattan Beach is one of five Little Brown Jug contenders from the stable of trainer Ron Burke. The colt will start in the second of two first-round heats Thursday and is 6-1 on the morning line. His division includes Tony Alagna-trained multiple-stakes-winner Racing Hill, who is the 3-5 choice in the elimination.

A horse must win two one-mile races on the same day to capture the Little Brown Jug trophy. Eleven horses entered the event for 3-year-old pacers and were divided into two $92,320 first-heat eliminations. Betting Line, who brings an 11-race unbeaten streak to the fairgrounds for trainer Casie Coleman, is the 3-5 morning line favorite in the first.

The top four finishers in each elimination advance to the $276,960 second heat. If one of the two elimination winners is victorious in the second heat, he is the Jug champion. Otherwise, the three heat-winners return for a $115,400 race-off. The last race-off was in 2000, when Astreos won the event.

Manhattan Beach has won four of 16 races this year and earned $260,853 for owners Burke Racing, the partnership of Mark Weaver and Mike Bruscemi, Geoffrey Lyons Mound, and the Wingfields. Matt Kakaley will drive the son of Somebeachsomewhere-Benear from post four in the second elimination.

“I know there are a couple better than him, but it’s a horserace,” Wingfield said. “Casie’s colt looks like the horse to beat. He is just amazing. And Racing Hill looks awful tough.

“We’ll hope for the best, hope things work our way. But no matter what, it will be a lot of fun.”

The other horses from the Burke Stable are Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion Check Six, Big Top Hanover, Fernando Hanover, and Stolen Glimpse.

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Jeff Snyder’s first trip to the Little Brown Jug didn’t go as hoped, but the longtime owner has enjoyed his share of successes at the Delaware County Fairgrounds since then. Snyder’s first Jug was in 1994 with favorite Cam’s Card Shark, who was scratched from the race because of lameness and never raced again.

Cam’s Card Shark, the 1994 Horse of the Year, has sired three Jug champions, though, including Snyder’s first winner of the event, Million Dollar Cam. Snyder also was co-owner of 2009 Jug winner Well Said and the breeder/owner of 2012 champion Michael’s Power.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Lyons Snyder has won five of 14 races this year and earned $212,268.

On Thursday, Snyder will hope a son of Well Said — Lyons Snyder — can give him a record-breaking fourth victory in the Little Brown Jug. Snyder is tied with George Segal and Stanley Dancer for the most wins by an owner with three.

“They’re all pretty special wins,” Snyder said. “We’ve had good luck at the Jug, even when we didn’t win it. Hopefully, that will continue. You never know what can happen when you go to the Jug.”

Lyons Snyder, co-owned by Snyder and Geoffrey Lyons Mound, races in the first of two opening-round heats Thursday. He will start from post three in the same division as Betting Line and Check Six and is 15-1 on the morning line. Sylvain Filion will drive.

The colt, making his third start for trainer Jimmy Takter, has won five of 14 races this year and earned $212,268. His victories include a division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes, where he defeated Control The Moment, and he heads to the Jug off a second-place finish to Betting Line in the Simcoe Stakes.

“We think a lot of him,” Snyder said. “He had some issues earlier, but he came out of his last race very sound. He just got beat on the wire to Betting Line. We’re hoping that he’ll do well.

“Win or lose, we go out there to have a good time. That’s the main thing. We’ve had lots of fun out there.”

Segal also has the opportunity to win his fourth Little Brown Jug. His Brittany Farms is co-owner of Dr J Hanover and the breeder/owner of Western Fame.

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Trainer Casie Coleman never stops learning; at least when it comes to the nuances of racing at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

“We’ve done well there, but you learn more every time you go there,” said Coleman, who has won both the Little Brown Jug and the Jugette twice. “There are definitely different things with how you’ve got to shoe them and how you’ve got to rig them.

“I’m only at that track a couple of days a year, but we’re getting more used to it and getting them rigged right and shod right when they go there. I’ve been learning as I go. Hopefully I’ll have everything down here soon.”

Curtis Salonick photo

Betting Line will look to extend his winning streak to 12 in the first heat of the Little Brown Jug.

Coleman trains this year’s Little Brown Jug favorite Betting Line, who puts his 11-race win streak on the line Thursday. Betting Line, with three-time Jug winner David Miller in the sulky, is the 3-5 morning line favorite in the first of two opening heats.

Betting Line has won 11 consecutive races since beginning his season with a second-place finish against older horses. His victories include the North America Cup, Battle of the Brandywine, and Carl Milstein Memorial Invitational. He heads to the Jug off a win in the Simcoe Stakes on Sept. 10 at Mohawk Racetrack, where he rallied from an 8-1/4 length deficit on the final turn to beat Lyons Snyder by a half-length in 1:49.1.

His win in the Milstein was at Northfield Park, which is a half-mile track, such as the oval at the fairgrounds. Betting Line overcame a brief break of stride on the final turn to win by four lengths.

“Obviously everyone knows he had a little issue at Northfield when he made the little skip around the last turn,” Coleman said. “We know that was an issue, but we’re working on changing his rigging just a little bit to help him get over the half better. Delaware is the best half-mile track I’ve ever been on. I’m hoping he will be fine.”

Coleman, who got married last week, won the Jug with Michael’s Power in 2012 and Vegas Vacation in 2013, and would join four other trainers with three triumphs if Betting Line is victorious. Billy Haughton holds the record for training wins with six. Stanley Dancer, with four Jugs, is the only other trainer with more than three.

“The triple would be pretty awesome,” Coleman said. “I thought we had a shot at it with McWicked (in 2014) and it just didn’t quite work out. He just wasn’t quite himself. Now hopefully this guy has a good chance. Betting Line looks pretty good coming into it.”

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Spider Man Hanover will return to the site of his most memorable 2015 performance, the Delaware County Fairgrounds, when he races in Thursday’s Little Brown Jug. Last year, Spider Man Hanover won a division of the Standardbred Stakes at the fairgrounds in a then-world-record 1:51.4 for 2-year-old male pacers on a half-mile track.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Spider Man Hanover won a division of the Standardbred Stakes last year in a then-world-record 1:51.4 for 2-year-old male pacers on a half-mile track.

The colt was in the fairgrounds-based stable of trainer Brian Brown last year and into 2016 before heading to Ron Burke in August. He was purchased Sept. 14 by trainer Nick Surick and Howard Schneidler’s KDM Stables Corp. with an eye toward competing in the Jug.

“I’m glad to be in it,” Surick said. “I like to have fun and I try to support these races, especially a race like this. You’re going to get 40,000 to 50,000 people here that truly love harness racing. It’s a fun week. Hopefully we can do a little good. Out of all the horses in the Jug, I’ve got a horse that knows how to get around this track. Hopefully he’ll be OK.

“It’s a tough spot. We’re going against really good horses. We’re definitely coming in as a longshot, but that’s what makes horseracing and that’s why they race these horses. Anything can happen in a horserace.”

Spider Man Hanover and driver Andy Miller will start from post five in the second of the two opening heats and are 20-1 on the morning line. Spider Man Hanover, a son of Western Ideal, has won one of 10 races this year after earning $221,355 last season.

Surick said Spider Man Hanover has battled issues with tying up this year. The colt prepped for the Little Brown Jug by qualifying in 1:52 at half-mile Freehold Raceway on Sept. 15.

“He just got tired a little late, but that was a lot more than we thought he’d go anyway,” Surick said. “We were happy with that. Hopefully we can make him a little better. We got here Sunday and he trained really good Monday morning. I was pleased with him.

“We’re not going in with high expectations. We just want to have some fun. But hopefully he can do a little more than that. Andy could have stayed home, but he’s coming here just to drive that one horse, so I think he’s got a little confidence in the horse too.”

For all of the latest news, photos and videos for the 71st edition of the Little Brown Jug, visit the Harness Racing FanZone’s mini-site by clicking here.

Below are the fields for the Little Brown Jug first-heat eliminations. The eliminations are races 13 and 14. The second heat is race 18.

First elimination-Purse $92,320
HN-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line
1. Dr J Hanover-Scott Zeron-Tony Alagna-6/1
2. Stolen Glimpse-Matt Kakaley-Ron Burke-15/1
3. Lyons Snyder-Sylvain Filion-Jimmy Takter-15/1
4. Check Six-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke-2/1
5. Betting Line-David Miller-Casie Coleman-3/5
6. Fernando Hanover-Tim Tetrick-Ron Burke-12-1

Second elimination-Purse $92,320
HN-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line
1. Western Fame-Mark MacDonald-Jimmy Takter-4/1
2. Racing Hill-Brett Miller-Tony Alagna-3/5
3. Big Top Hanover-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke-15/1
4. Manhattan Beach-Matt Kakaley-Ron Burke-6/1
5. Spider Man Hanover-Andy Miller-Nick Surick-20/1