The Little brown Jug is considered the kentucky Derby for standardbred races horses, better known as pacers.


DELAWARE, Ohio—Ron Pierce had no doubts Well Said was going to win the Little Brown Jug.

The bay colt won the $609,150 race, the second leg of the Triple Crown for pacers, on Thursday at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

Well Said came from behind on the rain-soaked half-mile track, passing If I Can Dream in the homestretch to win by one length.

“I knew my colt could do it all by himself,” Pierce said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s the best three-year-old I’ve ever driven, and I’ve driven some good ones.
 
Well Said covered the mile in 1:51 4-5 and paid $2.40, $2.10, and $2.10.

Pierce, who won the Little Brown Jug for the fourth time, said when the two pacers entered the stretch, “I just decided to get it over with.”

Well Said, trained by Steve Elliott, won for the 11th time 13 races this season. The colt earned $297,265 and increased his total to $1,929,015 this year.

Nineteen 3-year-old pacers entered the Jug and were split into two elimination heats. If I Can Dream won the first elimination while Well Said took the second elimination.

Pierce used similar tactics to win his elimination heat and the final, holding Well Said off the early pace in both heats, and then using the colt’s burst of speed to overtake the leaders in the mile-long heats.

Well Said, who started from the outside eighth post position in the elimination heat, trailed in the first part of the race as Carnivore set the pace. When Vintage Master—winner of the Cane Pace, first leg of the Triple Crown—made his move, Well Said moved behind him. In the stretch, he sprinted past him to win by 3 lengths.

“I was just a passenger,” said Pierce, who added that after the heat he felt Well Said would win the final unless something unpredictable happened.

In the final, If I Can Dream went to the front and waited for the expected challenge from Well Said. It came in the final quarter-mile when Pierce guided his colt into a challenging position on the outside. The pair of pacers raced like a team into the stretch, but Well Said eased past the pacesetter to win by a length.

Straight Shooting finished third, followed by River Shark and Vintage Master.

Tim Tetrick led If I Can Dream three-wide with a quarter-mile remaining to challenge the leaders in the first elimination. He caught them in the final strides and won a photo finish over Straight Shooting and River Shark.

“He was really on his game today because he was three-wide for the final three-eighths of a mile,” Tetrick said. “I give all the credit to the horse. He really kept digging and kept fighting.”