Long before Jamie Martin became one of the top racetrack executives in the game, he was just another wide-eyed harness racing fan from Ontario who became enchanted with Ohio’s Little Brown Jug.
Martin, who grew up hanging around Ontario racetracks with his family, was 23 when he made his first pilgrimage to the famed Delaware Country Fairgrounds to see the Jug. The year was 1983 and Martin said the horse that won the Jug that year changed his life.
On Sept. 22, 1983, Ralph Hanover dominated the second and deciding heat to win the 38
th Jug by four lengths in front of more than 46,000 fans. The victory also made the Ontario-connected star driven by Ron Waples and trained by Stew Firlotte the seventh pacing Triple Crown winner in harness racing history.
“It was the first time I went to the Jug and it was a pretty neat experience,” said Martin, the executive vice-president of racing for Toronto’s Woodbine Entertainment Group.
Martin said that day and that horse has stuck with him in the 33 years since.
It was Ralph Hanover’s 17
th victory in 21 starts. The son of Meadow Skipper out of Ravina Hanover ended the year with 20 wins in 25 starts and earnings of more than $1.7 million for owners Grants Direct Stable of Mississauga, ON, Pointsetta Stables Inc. of London, ON, Waples stables, Inc. of Guelph, ON and Philip Baugh of Nicholasville, KY.
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