by Tom White, publicity director, The Little Brown Jug

Delaware, OH — Now is the time of year when horsemen are deciding which stakes races and which race tracks will best suit their horses. The 63rd Little Brown Jug will be raced Thursday, September 18, on a rejuvenated clay surface which should produce some exciting results according to past history.

Noted Grand Circuit Track Consultant Greg Coon is confident that the world’s fastest half-mile track will have the same “bounce” that produced 19 world records in 2006.

Coon and Track Superintendent Tony Williams completely scarified (surface is broken open six inches deep) the Delaware County Fair Track on Saturday, July 26.

“We also did this before the 2006 meeting that produced so many world records,” said Coon, who has been working with Delaware’s clay track since 1991. “One clay surface is as good as the next, but all tracks need to be scarified every couple of years,” Coon explained.

“We started ripping up the surface on Saturday and the track looked like a plowed field on Sunday. Clay tracks have more bounce than stone dust and the clay surface is more resilient and forgiving to a horse’s legs and feet,” Coon explained. “The longer you go without scarifying the track, the more the track loses its bounce.”

Coon rated Delaware one of harness racing’s five premier clay tracks. The others are Springfield, Ill., Du Quoin, Ill., Indianapolis, Ind., and The Red Mile in Lexington, Ky.

“The track that has been scarified most recently is here in Delaware, Ohio,” noted Coon.

Four days after the Delaware surface had been scarified the track was opened to horsemen for training.

Among the 19 world records set during the 2006 Delaware Grand Circuit was Ponder’s all-age world record equaling 1:49 triumph in the Winbak Pace and Cash Hall’s 1:51.1 world record trotting time trial. Little Brown Jug winner Mr Feelgood also paced the fastest mile ever by a 3-year-old on a half-mile track in 1:50 in his elimination heat.