Linda Toscano thought she was having a great day Wednesday when she and driver Scott Zeron combined to capture the $255,000 Jugette for 3-year-old pacing fillies.
She had no idea how much better Thursday would be.
Toscano and Zeron combined forces yet again, this time joining with It’s My Show to beat Seven Colors by a neck and capture the 78th Little Brown Jug, the first to ever offer a purse of $1 million.
It’s My Show won in 1 minute, 49 seconds at odds of 7-1. Ken Hanover was third.
Zeron joined Billy Haughton and David Miller as the only drivers to win the Jug and Jugette in the same year, having done so in 1974 and 2011, respectively.
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The victory was Toscano’s first in the Jug and made her the third trainer in history with such a double, following Haughton, who was also the trainer in 1974, and Ron Burke in 2021. She is also the third woman to win the race, following in the footsteps of Caroline Lyon and three-time winner Casie Coleman.
Toscano choked back tears as she accepted the gleaming Jug trophy, hugged her driver, and kissed her star pacer on the nose.
“This has been a pretty good week,” she said with a grin. “This has been the race that’s eluded me. And it’s the race that I’ve wanted for so long.”
