Monday, October 5, 2015

Dennis O’Hara Makes A Big Move, Sally Hinckley Extends Lead

 by Rusty Nash for HANA Harness

October 5, 2015 – The first of two annual stakes weeks at The Red Mile are now in the books for the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, Hambletonian Society, Isle of Capri Pompano Park, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs.  Week one consisted of twenty one total divisions of the Bluegrass!  Add in two features from Dayton and we had a very busy week for the HANA handicappers.

Day one was Wednesday night and it was a short night of work with only two races on the card.  Three of our handicappers were a perfect two for two.  Sally Hinckley, Bob Zanakis and Derick Giwner correctly selected Broadway Donna and Celebrity Eventsy and maxed out with a nightly total of 32 HANA points.

The following evening had four heats on tap.  No one was perfect as Taco Tuesday upset everyone in the fifth race.  Rusty Nash was able to select the other three winners.  Milligan’s School won at $4.40, Lagerfield won at $4.60 and finally Dupree upset Bar Hopping at $9.40 for a total of 108 HANA points.  Toss in a second place finish to Taco Tuesday with Hollywood Highway and Rusty ended the evening with 112 HANA points and the temporary lead in the weekly battle.  In second was Jay Hochstetler who selected Milligan’s School and Dupree to earn 57 HANA points.  In third was Bob Zanakis who selected Lagerfield and Dupree for 51 HANA points. 

Friday night was very busy with six Bluegrass divisions at The Red Mile and the Trotting and Pacing Derby’s from Dayton.  Earning the top honors on the evening was the only handicapper who was able to select five winners.  That was Dennis O’Hara with 293 HANA points after his multiplier was calculated.  The prices were Racing Hill at $10 and American Passport at $9.  Garnet Barnsdale awoke from his recent slumber to land the place spot with 208 HAHA points.  He did this with just three winners, but most importantly, he was the only handicapper to land Il Songo Dream at Dayton for a huge $31!  Garnet’s closest American competitor, the voice of Buffalo Raceway, Michael Carter, took home the show honors for the evening with 185 HANA points.  His was the more conventional path with four winners.  Earning honorable mentions, all with four winners, were three of our perennial top players, Sally Hinckley, Anne Stepien and Gordon Waterstone.

The final night of week one of the The Red Mile’s annual two week Grand Circuit celebration was Saturday evening with nine HANA events.  With seven favorites winning it proved to be a very tight night of work right down to the very last race.  Four handicappers stood out on the evening by selecting six winners.  There was a tie for first place between Sally Hinckley and the surging Dennis O’Hara with 302 points.  The tandem submitted the exact same set of selections with six winners and two places.  In third was your humble scribe with six winners, two seconds and a third for 297 HANA points.  The difference was Divine Caroline paid a few dimes more across the board than Split The House.  Not to be outdone was Mark McKelvie with 293 points. The differential here was found in the place and show prices.

For the week, Dennis O’Hara continued his brush toward the top with 628 points on the week.  He was followed by (you know who!) Sally Hinckley with 542 points.  Rusty Nash was third with 464 points.  He was followed by Mark McKelvie and Gordon Waterstone with 446 and 400 points respectively.


With the first week of The Red Mile Grand Circuit tour in the books the top three handicappers continue to be Sally Hinckley, Mark McKelvie and Anne Stepien.  Dennis O’Hara steps up into the 4th position and Gordon Waterstone returns to the top five earning the final purse check.  Sally was able to extend her lead over everyone in the field with the exception of Dennis.  Well done!

Standings as of October 3, 2015 - Leg 47

Total Points
Points Earned
Overall
Position
Pos
Handicapper
Prior Week
This Week
Total Points
Last Week
Points Back
1st
Sally Hinckley
3,158.40
542.00
3,700.40
1st
2nd
Mark McKelvie
2,927.60
446.40
3,374.00
2nd
326.4
3rd
Anne Stepien
2,785.20
300.60
3,085.80
3rd
614.6
4th
Dennis O'Hara
2,264.20
628.70
2,892.90
7th
807.5
5th
Gordon Waterstone
2,393.00
400.40
2,793.40
6th
907.0
6th
Bob Zanakis
2,468.90
283.50
2,752.40
4th
948.0
7th
Earl Paulson
2,413.50
334.10
2,747.60
5th
952.8
8th
Rusty Nash
2,065.10
464.00
2,529.10
10th
1,171.3
9th
Bryan Owen
2,083.40
330.00
2,413.40
9th
1,287.0
10th
Josi Verlingieri
2,090.10
152.60
2,242.70
8th
1,457.7
11th
Michael Carter
1,896.60
326.50
2,223.10
11th
1,477.3
12th
Derick Giwner
1,823.10
275.60
2,098.70
12th
1,601.7
13th
Ray Garnett
1,778.50
203.10
1,981.60
13th
1,718.8
14th
Garnet Barnsdale
1,709.10
263.60
1,972.70
15th
1,727.7
15th
Jay Hochstetler
1,604.70
320.20
1,924.90
16th
1,775.5
16th
Mark Dezii
1,774.80
113.40
1,888.20
14th
1,812.2
17th
Ray Cotolo
1,342.20
164.40
1,506.60
17th
2,193.8
18th
Brandon Valvo
1,299.20
80.20
1,379.40
18th
2,321.0
19th
Mark Deutsch
910.70
113.10
1,023.80
19th
2,676.6



Next week we again return to The Red Mile for the completion of their Grand Circuit celebration.  We will have divisions of the International Stallion, the Tattersalls, the Glen Garnsey Memorial.  Then finals of the Kentucky Futurity, the Kentucky Filly Futurity, and the Allerage Farm TVG early closers for three year olds of both sexes and gaits.  To those four full days of racing we will also be visiting Yonkers Raceway where the International Trot has been resurrected after a very long hiatus.