by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — 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 (Sept. 6) 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 3-year-old gelding is also owned 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.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Jerry Silva (third from right) celebrates One More Laugh’s Cane Pace win. Trainer Ray Schnittker is on the far left.

“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 4-1/4 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 $1.66 million during his career.

With the win in the Cane Pace, One More Laugh improved to 2-for-2 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 2-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.