A case of the Jug not being half full

On Thursday, harness racing history was made, but not of the good variety.

The 72nd edition of the Little Brown Jug horse race in Delaware, Ohio, was staged drawing just eight starters, the smallest field in decades. For years, it was accepted that there would be at least 24 starters but this week’s result speaks to the problems with the race and the industry at large.

There was a time, and not that long ago, that it was on the bucket list of every trainer worth his salt. Here in Canada that was particularly poignant because to have trained a Little Brown Jug winner was an exclamation mark on one’s resume, but that began to change in 2008.

Somebeachsomewhere, arguably the greatest Standardbred in 30 years, was not entered in the race. His Nova Scotia connections, led by trainer Brent MacGrath, cited a number of reasons for their decision and were reviled at the time by many, but they were right on the money. That horse had everything to lose and nothing to gain by entering a race where a bad post position could see an unfair defeat.

The administrators of the race clung to the archaic condition of the winner being required to win two heats which might mean three starts on the same afternoon. The contemporary breed of horse is not made for that requirement and this year was the first year that rule was eliminated, but it still requires an elimination heat and then the final. There remains a gritty reluctance to accept reality.

Then, like Flamboro Downs, the racetrack itself is an issue being a half-mile. It is inherently unfair. Draw an outside post position and it is like a death sentence. More often than not the best horse does not win being handicapped by a bad post. But change would require a capital investment in rebuilding the track, and it will not happen.

Finally, there is the matter of prize money. Thursday’s first heat offered $188,928 while the final was $401,472 for a total of $580,400, which just isn’t enough for the demands that are made.

To its credit, the Woodbine Entertainment Group does it right with the North America Cup at $1 million with eliminations going for $50,000.

Many years ago, former trainer John Hayes, of Beamsville, said: “A horse is like a bar of soap. Every time you use it there is a little less left.”

His point was that there are only so many quality performances in a horse, and it is unreasonable to think that they can be at the top of their game week after week. That thinking is becoming more accepted today and trainers try to pick their spots in an effort to give their horses the best opportunity to do well.

On the subject of prize money, there is little the Jug people can do. This is an agricultural fair organization and there are only so many shekels in the piggy bank. If somehow they were able to get the race booty up to $1 million, that would be a game changer. Money talks, but it’s not realistic to think that would happen.

If the Jug organizers are not alarmed at drawing just eight starters for what was once the most prestigious event in North American harness racing, they have their heads in the sand. But that is the case for so much in harness racing. Change is a dirty word but failing to do so chokes the life out of the game.

There is nothing to celebrate from Thursday’s Little Brown Jug. It should have been a showcase for harness racing but instead it sadly demonstrates once again that fewer and fewer people care.