Wagering on the first of two Little Brown Jug future wagering pools will start at noon today and continue through 11:00 p.m. Sunday at racetracks and internet sites throughout North America and Europe.
Courtly Choice has been installed at the 4-1 morning line favorite. The bay son of Art Major has won nine starts this season and has banked more than $700,000 lifetime. Courtly Choice is owned by Huff Racing Stable, Mac & Heim Stables, Daniel Plouffe and Touch Stone Farms.
Courtly Choice was not Jug eligible, but thanks to his win in the $701,830 Meadowlands Pace he is now eligible with a $45,000 supplemental payment.
The 9-2 second choice is the Ohio bred Lather Up. The I’m Gorgeous colt has won $601,465 for Gary and Barbara Iles. Lather Up won the $760,000 North America Cup Final. His only two seasonal defeats came as a result of breaks in stride in the $500,000 Max Hempt Memorial Final and the $400,000 Carl Milstein Memorial. He will next start in the $275,000 Ohio Sire Stakes Final Saturday night at Scioto Downs.
Rounding out the top three is Stay Hungry, who has a chance to be the 11th horse in history to win the Triple Crown should he win the Little Brown Jug. The Somebeachsomewhere colt won the $281,000 Cane Pace and the $500,000 Messenger Stake. Stay Hungry has earned $1.1 million for Bradley Grant and the Estate of Irwin Samelman.
A team of harness racing analysts and handicappers have selected a group of 14 colts and geldings. The horses in each of the pools are listed in alphabetical order. The mutuel field consists of the remaining horses eligible to the 73rd edition of the pacing classic.
The minimum future wager is $1.00 and all future wagers are win wagering only. The winner of each pool will be determined by the official first place finisher in the 2018 Little Brown Jug presented by the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association to be raced Thursday afternoon, Sept. 20.
The record payout for the LBJ Future Wager is P Forty Seven (2005 – Pool 1) at $377.80.
The second future pool will be from Sunday, Sept. 16 through Wednesday, Sept. 19.
Past performance lines for the Little Brown Jug Future Wagering event will be available free of charge on the Little Brown Jug website, www.littlebrownjug.com.
