The 54th edition of the $418,919 Jugette, featuring top three-year-old pacing fillies, takes centre stage on Wednesday's 22-race card at the Delaware County Fair, with all races available for live streaming.
The $351,351 Jugette final will be the highlight of the afternoon, scheduled as Race 22. It will showcase the top four finishers from two $33,784 elimination heats held earlier in the day (Races 18 and 19).
Dandys Mercy, a $15,000 supplemental entry, is the 5-2 morning line favourite in the first elimination. Trained by John Butenschoen, she will start from post three with driver Scott Zeron aiming for a second Jugette win. Another supplement, Soft Shot, will start from the inside post in the same heat, driven by David Miller and trained by Jessica Roegner.
In the second elimination, My Girl EJ, a millionaire filly and the 7-5 favourite, will leave from the inside post for driver Dexter Dunn. Trained by Ron Burke, a four-time Jugette champion, she will be joined by stablemates Lou Lou (Yannick Gingras) and 2023 O’Brien Award winner Pass Line (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) in this competitive heat.
Canadian-trained hopefuls include A Few Choice Words (Jim Mahron Jr.), starting from post two in the first elimination, trained by Blake MacIntosh, and Odds On Platinum (Todd McCarthy), drawn in post six for Ian Moore in the second elimination.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will livestream all 22 races, starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.