by Jay Wolf, publicity director, the Little Brown Jug

Delaware, OH — The Little Brown Jug Society met on Wednesday (Sept. 23) for their annual meeting and announced the addition of Jay Mossbarger, Dr. Paul F. Spears and Ian Fleming to its 25 member board.

Mossbarger co-owns and operates Midland Acres, the state of Ohio’s largest Standardbred breeding operation based in Bloomingburg.

Spears, a gastroenterologist, is a vice president of Hanover Shoe Farms, the sport’s leading breeder, and serves as the president and CEO of the Standardbred Horse Sales Company.

Fleming is the race secretary at eight of Ontario’s tracks, has been instrumental in several initiatives with the Ontario Sires Stakes program and served as a director of Standardbred Canada.

The trio fills the vacancies created by the resignation of Jim Simpson and the passing of Dr. Don Mossbarger and Roy D. Davis.

The Jug Society also formed a committee to study the possibility of allowing supplemental payments for future Jugette races and changes to future Little Brown Jug conditions.

The board also re-elected their officers with Tom Wright as president-treasurer; Phil Terry as vice-president; and William Lowe as secretary.

Jim Buchy enshrined into the LBJ Wall of Fame

Ohio State Representative Jim Buchy was enshrined as the 31st Little Brown Jug Wall of Fame honoree by the Delaware County Fair in a ceremony Tuesday evening.

Brad Conrad photo

Ohio Representative Jim Buchy with his honoree jacket and wall plaque.

Buchy, a former horse owner and a longtime friend of harness racing at the track and in state government, served in the Ohio House from 1983 until he was term-limited in 2000.

He was re-appointed to the Ohio House in 2011 to represent the 84th District, which encompasses Mercer County, as well as portions of Auglaize, Darke and Shelby counties. Following his first stint in the House, Buchy served as Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Buchy, a native of Greenville, Ohio, has supported the sport on several occasions, including full card simulcasting legislation, and was a tireless supporter of the efforts to bring the video lottery terminals to Ohio’s racetracks. A portion of the VLT and casino proceeds are used to increase purses, improve facilities and promote racing at the Ohio county fairs and commercial tracks.

LBJ to host drivers autograph session

The drivers of the Little Brown Jug have been invited to participate in a special autograph session for the fans.

The session will be between 10–10:45 a.m. on Thursday outside of the Jug Barn on the backstretch.

USTA Speakers Series

George Teague Jr. and Montrell Teague, the owner and driver, respectively, of Little Brown Jug favorite Wiggle It Jiggleit, will headline a star-studded panel of drivers, trainers, owners and personalities for the U.S. Trotting Association Speaker Series, to be held Thursday at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

The father-son duo will appear in the USTA/Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association tent — located on the Delaware backstretch between the Jugette barn and Log Cabin — on Thursday from 9:20 a.m.–10 a.m. There they will answer questions from fans in attendance, as well as from fans watching from home on a live stream of the series on www.ustrotting.com.

Also appearing on Thursday (8:40 a.m.–9:10 a.m.) are drivers David Miller and Corey Callahan. Miller, a local favorite and member of the Living Hall of Fame, is scheduled to drive Jug starters Lost For Words — the morning line favorite in the first elimination heat — and Blood Brother. Callahan, who is seeking his first Jug driver’s ring, will drive Adios winner Dude’s The Man in the first elimination heat and Arque Hanover in the second elimination heat.

The Thursday lineup will kick off at 8 a.m. with Communicators Hall of Famers Roger Huston, the voice of the Little Brown Jug, and Delaware simulcast show co-host Sam McKee. They will be joined by simulcast show co-host Dave Bianconi to handicap the Thursday card.