Week Four 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge Finds Nash Extending Lead

May 19, 2013 – The contestants of the 2013 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by The Hambletonian Society, Chicago Racing, IHHA, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs will welcome the change of scenery this coming weekend, when the handicapping contest visits Hoosier Park and Harrah’s Philadelphia for as a group they have been finding thus far the Meadowlands a tough nut to crack.  Despite the difficulties the handicappers have been finding, leader Rusty Nash has managed to extend his lead in the contest to $153.70 over last year’s champion Mark McKelvie and Dennis O’Hara was a big mover who moved from seventh to third place.

Nash and Dennis O’Hara managed to show a profit this week thanks to the Meadowlands Maturity.  Nash had a $12 Win and Place ticket on the winner Sweet Lou which earned him a net profit of $37.20 for Saturday while O’Hara played a $5 Exacta Box of Sweet Lou and Warrawee Needy, netting a $59.50 profit for Saturday night.  As a result of last night’s action, here are the current standings:

 

		Standings as of May 18, 2013
Pos		Handicapper	Week Gain	Net Profit	Behind	Missed
1st		Rusty Nash	$37.20	$177.00		0
2nd		Mark McKelvie	($60.00)	$23.30	($153.70)	0
3rd		Dennis O'Hara	$59.50	($75.80)	($252.80)	2
4th		Sally Hinckley	($36.10)	($92.50)	($269.50)	0
5th		Earl Paulson	($60.00)	($99.90)	($276.90)	0
6th		Richard Scott	($60.00)	($134.51)	($311.51)	0
7th		Garnet Barnsdale	($60.00)	($168.00)	($345.00)	1
8th		Ray Garnett	($60.00)	($202.40)	($379.40)	0
9th		Ann Stepien	($60.00)	($224.05)	($401.05)	0
10th		Gordon Waterstone	($60.00)	($266.50)	($443.50)	0
		Ten grace days permitted.  After ten days, there is a penalty of $30 per race.

 

Key Hits:  In the Meadowlands Maturity, Rusty Nash had a $12 Win, Place ticket on Sweet Lou which grossed $97.20 while Dennis O’Hara had a $5 Exacta Box consisting of Sweet Lou, Warrawee Needy, and Hurrikane Kingcole which grossed $119.50.

Contest Schedule This Week

Saturday, May 25:  Hoosier Park: $200,000Est. Dan Patch (4yo and up Open)

Sunday, May 26: Harrah’s Philadelphia: $250,000Est. Betsy Ross (3yo & up F&M Pace); $250,000Est Maxie Lee Memorial (3&4yo Open Trot)   

 

 

Week 3 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge Finds New Name on Top of Leader Board

May 12, 2013 – In the early portion of the 2013 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by The Hambletonian Society, Chicago Racing, IHHA, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs the old adage ‘home runs are nice but singles are what makes the game’ seems to be holding true. 

Perhaps this explains why Rusty Nash has taken the early lead in the handicapping challenge, passing 2012 champion Mark McKelvie by laying down a proverbial single.  Nash’s best days come when he makes straight wagers and that was true Saturday night when Nash collected $181.50 via a $15 place wager on Dancin’ Yankee in the first division of the TVG FFA Series for pacers at the Meadowlands which resulted in him earning profits of $121.50 for the past week.  The only other handicapper who managed a positive week was Ann Stepien who scratched out a profit of $4.70 for the week, doomed by a parade of favorites in the three of the four Simpson splits contested Friday night.

Here are the standings of the handicapping challenge through last night’s action.

		2013 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge
Standings as of May 11, 2013
Pos		Handicapper	Net Profit	Behind	Week Gain
1st		Rusty Nash	$139.80		$122.50
2nd		Mark McKelvie	$83.30	$56.50	($59.30)
3rd		Earl Paulson	($39.90)	$179.70	($35.10)
4th		Sally Hinckley	($56.40)	$196.20	($35.80)
5th		Richard Scott	($74.51)	$214.31	($69.80)
6th		Garnet Barnsdale	($108.00)	$247.80	($30.00)
7th		Dennis O'Hara	($135.30)	$275.10	($61.50)Bottom of Form
8th		Ray Garnett	($142.40)	$282.20	($72.10)
9th		Ann Stepien	($164.05)	$303.85	$4.70
10th		Gordon Waterstone	($206.50)	$346.30	($50.00)
		Ten grace days permitted.  After ten days, there is a penalty of $30 per race.

 

Key Hits:  On Friday night, Ann Stepien was the only handicapper on the positive side of the ledger due in a large part to her $10 Exacta Box in the Simpson Memorial 3yo colts and geldings trot (5^th race) which paid her $57.00.  The other key hit for the weekend belongs to contest leader Rusty Nash who managed to collect $181.50 on a $15 place wager on Dancin’ Yankee in the first division of the TVG FFA Series for pacers (6^th race) on Saturday night.

Contest Schedule This Week

Saturday, May 18:  Meadowlands;  $210,000Est A.J. Cutler Memorial Trot (Open) and the $100,000 Meadowlands Maturity (4yo Open Pacers)  

Tough Evening Greets Handicappers in Start of Week 3

Friday night proved to be a challenging night for the handicappers in HANA Harness' 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by The Hambletonian Society, Chicago Harness, IHHA, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs.  With the trotting filly divisions of the Simpson having short fields and overwhelming favorites True Day Dream ($2.80) and Miss Steele ($3.20), handicappers found it hard to eek out a profit on those races.  With the colt and gelding divisions, handicappers were once again dealt an overwhelming favorite (Muscle Mountain $3.00) and then were swamped when Modest Prince ($103.60) came in first in the second division of the Simpson Memorial for trotting colts and geldings, taking out contest participants.

Yet, when the evening was over, one handicapper, Ann Stepien, managed to make a profit for the night netting a profit of $34.70 on a challenging night.  While Ann was the only handicapper to show a profit for the evening, Mark McKelvie remains in front, $118.40 in front of his nearest competitor.

The Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge continues with the opening leg of the TVG FFA series for pacers tonight at the Meadowlands.


Rule Change Introduced in Week 3

The original rules adopted for this contest indicated multi-race wagers (Daily Doubles and Pick X) wagers would not be accepted for purposes of this contest.  However, upon further review, the rules were modified to allow multi-race wagers when all legs are divisions of the same stakes race.. 

Specifically, Rule 12 now reads:  The only wagers which you may use in your handicapping are Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta and Superfecta as long as the wager is available for the particular race in question.  A multi-race wager will be acceptable ONLY in the case when a stakes race is divided and the divisions run in sequence.  Under no circumstances will a multi-race wager be accepted if the sequence includes a non-Grand Circuit event or if a different stakes race is part of the sequence.  The minimum  amount to be wagered for win, place, and show wagers is $2.00.  Exactas minimums are $2 for straight wagers; $1 for wheels and boxes.  Trifecta minimums are $1 for each wager unless a track has a higher or lower minimum.  Superfecta minimums are $1 for straight wagers, with a dime option for multi-wagers (such as boxes, keys, and part wheels), unless a track has a higher minimum.  Please note in Pennsylvania, you must conform to state law where each ticket’s total minimum must be equal to $2.00 (i.e., the total amount bet on a particular wager type must total at least $2).  There is a limit of three wagers per stake race (all divisions count as one race); a wager consisting of a box, key, or wheel are considered one wager.

A complete list of the rules may be found here.

Week 2 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge Standings

May 5, 2013 – Here are the latest standings in the HANA Harness 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by The Hambletonian Society, Chicago Racing, IHHA, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs after a weekend of stakes action at Freehold Raceway (Lady Suffolk, Dexter Cup) and the Meadowlands (Simpson Memorial, Meadowlands Maturity).

		Standings as of May 4, 2013
Pos		Handicapper	Net Profit	Behind	Days Missed
1st		Mark McKelvie	$142.60		0
2nd		Rusty Nash	$17.30	$125.30	0
3rd		Earl Paulson	($4.80)	$147.40	0
4th		Richard Scott	($14.31)	$156.91	0
5th		Sally Hinckley	($20.60)	$163.20	0
6th		Ray Garnett	($70.30)	$212.90	0
7th		Dennis O'Hara	($73.80)	$216.40	2
8th		Garnet Barnsdale	($78.00)	$220.60	0
9th		Gordon Waterstone	($156.50)	$299.10	0
10th		Ann Stepien	($168.75)	$311.35	0
		Ten grace days permitted.  After ten days, there is a penalty of $30 per race.

Key Hits: Mark McKelvie had a profitable day ($280.30) on Saturday collecting in all three races; his most significant hits were the Trifectas in the Simpson Memorial ($110.40) and the Meadowlands Maturity ($96.60 in a box).  Sally Hinckley earned $107.00 (Exacta and Win) on the Dexter Cup at Freehold Saturday afternoon. 

Contest Schedule This Week

Friday, May 10:  Meadowlands $45,000Est John Simpson Memorial (3yo pacing colts and geldings); $45,000Est John Simpson Memorial (3yo trotting colts and geldings)

Saturday, May 11:, $50,000 Meadowlands FFA (pacers).