Thurman Downing named Neville Memorial Award

Thurman Downing, owner of the 1973 Little Brown Jug champ Melvin’s Woe, will be honored as the 2021 Joseph Neville Memorial Award winner by the Little Brown Jug and the Delaware County Fair.

Mr. Downing was a graduated from Case Western Reserve University and served as an Army Ranger during the Korean War. He later became President and CEO of Downing Coal Company.

Mr. Downing was actively involved in breeding and training Standardbreds, owning a pair of breeding farms in Coshocton County and Downwyn Farms in Wellington, Ohio.

His father, Richard, owned Bret Hanover, the 1965 Triple Crown winner and three-time Horse of the Year. Thurman earned his Jug glory in 1973 when his homebred Melvin’s Woe overcame lameness and a field of 17 to take the 28^th edition of the Little Brown Jug.

Mr. Downing was a director of the United States Trotting Association, Harness Racing Hall of Fame, and a member of the Little Brown Jug Society.

Thurman Downing passed away in May 2019 at the age of 87.

by Jay Wolf, for the Little Brown Jug