by Tom White, publicity director, the Little Brown Jug

Delaware, OH — Sweet Lou and A Rocknroll Dance, the Dan Patch champion and runner-up, respectively, as the best 2-year-old colt pacers of 2011, will both be making their sophomore stakes debuts on Saturday, May 19.

Sweet Lou will race in a division of the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and A Rocknroll Dance will debut in a leg of the New Jersey Sires Stakes at Meadowlands Racetrack.

Both colts are expected to compete in the $600,000 (est.) Little Brown Jug on Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Delaware, Ohio County Fairgrounds.

Ron Burke, who trains Sweet Lou, said his colt is super at this point.

“He has just come up to The Meadows from Reville Training Center in Florida and was very good in his first workout here. We plan to qualify him here on Friday, April 20. If everything stays the same we’ll be in the Jug for sure.”

A Rocknroll Dance won his qualifier in 1:55.4 this past Saturday at Hoosier Park. Trainer Jim Mullinix said he was very happy with the way he qualified.

“It’s hard to race a horse like him anywhere but the stakes so hopefully we can get a few more qualifiers into him before he has to be ready for the New Jersey Sires Stakes in May.”

Mullinix, a native of Wauseon, Ohio, said he has circled in ink the date of the Little Brown Jug.

“That would probably be the most memorable to me. I would like to emulate trainer Ron Potter’s effort with Big Bad John, who won the 2011 Jug. Being from Ohio, it would be great if we could win the Jug.”