The event is named after Little Brown Jug, a pacer, who won nine consecutive races and became a USTA Hall of Fame Immortal in 1975.
Then came the birth of the Little Brown Jug, named through a newspaper contest won by Major Lanning Parsons, with its previews in 1944 and 1945.
The initial Jug in 1946, with a purse of $35,358, was won by Ensign Hanover with Delaware's Wayne "Curly" Smart driving.
Smart, a successful trainer-driver on the Grand Circuit, was later to become an integral part of the Jug's operation as the track superintendent.
Over the years the track monopolized the half-mile record section with world standard performances, mainly through Smart's skill in maintaining the fastest racing strip of its size in the country.