Delaware, Ohio--Gallo Blue Chip, fresh from a world record 1:50 performance in last week's Jug Preview, drew the rail for his elimination division of the $547,972 Little Brown Jug.

Twenty-one three-year-old colts and geldings will race in three $65,757 eliminations in Thursday's Jug at the Delaware, Ohio County Fair. The top three finishers in each elimination will return for the $295,904 second heat. Should a horse other than one of the three elimination winners capture the second heat all four heat winners will return for the final...winner take all.

Astreos, the fastest horse in the 2000 Jug with a 1:49.3 record, is the 7-5 choice in the first elimination; Gallo Blue Chip is the 4-5 early morning pick in the second elimination; and High On Emotion is the early favorite for the third elimination at odds of 2-1.

Mark Ford, who trains Gallo Blue Chip for Martin Scharf of Lawrence, NY, says of his gelding "He's been very good for a long, long time...I hope he stays sharp for one more week. It is always a concern racing heats, but my horse is big and strong and the weather is cool."

Gallo Blue Chip was unbeaten as a two-year-old, winning all eight of his New York Sires Stakes starts. "We bought him for $100,000 last August. I thought he would be good in New York state...I never dreamed he would develop into such a top stakes colt."

Gallo Blue Chip, whose sire Magical Mike won the 1994 Jug, has won 11 of 17 starts and earned $1,615,802 this season. He won last Saturday's $102,000 Jug Preview Division in a world record 1:50 at Scioto Downs. He's also taken the division's two million dollar events, the North America Cup at Woodbine in Canada and The Meadowlands Pace.

French Canadian Daniel Dube, who is Gallo Blue Chip's regular driver, was asked what makes the Jug favorite stand out, "He's very strong...and he never stops...he always wants to keep going."

The fastest colt in the 55th Jug Classic is the Brett Pelling-trained Astreos. The son of Artsplace, who was second to Powerful Toy in the $331,000 Cane Pace, has a win record in 1:49.3 and winnings of $919,196.

Pelling says Astreos has been improving in recent starts. "He's very handy on a half-mile track and he's getting a lot stronger as the season goes on." Astreos defeated Cane winner Powerful Toy in a qualifier on September 15 at Garden State Park in his final Jug prep.

The third elimination is perhaps the most wide-open with such top colts as High On Emotion (2-1), I Scoot Hanover (5-2), Powerful Toy (6-1) and the Ohio bred sophomore KF Pro Sam (10-1),

Powerful Toy's driver Luc Ouellette and owner Jonathan Newman were surpised their colt was not the favorite in the third elimination. Said Ouellette, "He really likes to race on the front end...he's so game." Powerful Toy led most of the way to finish second to Astreos in his Cane elimination and then set all of the pace in beating Astreos in the Final.

Owner Newman thinks Powerful Toy will go off the favorite in the third elimination and he also thinks Falcon Seelster's 1:51 Delaware track record will be broken by Powerful Toy, Gallo Blue Chip or Astreos. The Jug record is 1:51.1 set by Western Dreamer in 1997.

"He's a fresh horse," said Newman. "He is super on a half-mile track. He takes the turns like they aren't even there. I just love this horse. He saw Astreos and just took off in the Cane."

Ron Pierce, who has back-to-back Jug wins with Shady Character and Blissfull Hall, likes I Scoot Hanover's chances in the Jug. "This little horse just keeps getting sharper each week." Pierce isn't too concerned with his No. 7 post position, "Blissfull Hall had the 7 post last year (in his Jug elimination)."

KF Pro Sam, a homebred gelding owned by Henry Kauffman and trained by Scott Mogan, carries the hopes of the Buckeye State. KF Pro Sam has nine wins this season including last week's 100,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Championship. "If I didn't think he belonged in the Jug, I wouldn't have entered him," said Kauffman, from Baltimore, Ohio. "He's earned his place at Delaware."