New Leader in HANA Harness’ Grand Circuit Challenge

 June 21, 2015 – After the three latest legs of the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs, another handicapper stakes his claim to the top slot as Bob Zanakis trades places with Ray Garnett, taking the lead with 610.9 points to Garnett’s 588.2.

Leg 14 was pretty uneventful as the only race in the contest was the Battle of Lake Erie with two handicappers maximizing the opportunity provided by the veteran Foiled Again winning resulting in Earl Paulson and Gordon Waterstone earning 24.2 points for the leg.

In leg 15, Mark McKelvie earned top honors, earning 51 points, the result of selecting JL Cruz and Doo Wop Hanover to win their respective legs of the Graduate series for four year olds.  Several others correctly selected the winner of one leg of the Graduate.

Leg 16 contained the stakes races of North America Cup Night and with a number of favorites going down to defeat, those who relied on the favorites to come through were disappointed.  On the other hand, Sally Hinckley (75.8 points for the night) took advantage of the implosion of the top two favorites in the Goodtimes Trot, earning 54.5 points with her selection of The Bank who finished second in the race.  Due to the failure of many of the favorites, the best some handicappers could accomplish was selecting two winners out of the six races, with Bob Zanakis, Garnet Barnsdale, and Dennis O’Hara earning between 66 - 64.8 points

Standings as of June 20, 2015 - Leg 15
		Total Points	Points Earned	Overall	Position
Pos	Handicapper	Prior Week	This Week	Total Points	Last Week
1st	Bob Zanakis	528.40	82.50	610.90	2nd
2nd	Ray Garnett	539.70	48.50	588.20	1st
3rd	Michael Carter	509.70	74.80	584.50	3rd
4th	Brandon Valvo	453.80	34.10	487.90	4th
5th	Gordon Waterstone	434.80	28.20	463.00	5th
6th	Ann Stepien	409.10	37.30	446.40	6th
7th	Derick Giwner	383.00	51.80	434.80	7th
8th	Josi Verlingieri	365.80	36.00	401.80	9th
9th	Jay Hochstetler	374.50	22.20	396.70	8th
10th	Garnet Barnsdale	302.30	81.30	383.60	13th
11th	Earl Paulson	321.00	45.00	366.00	12th
12th	Bryan Owen	333.30	29.10	362.40	10th
13th	Mark Dezii	329.80	24.90	354.70	11th
14th	Sally Hinckley	242.70	95.20	337.90	15th
15th	Dennis O'Hara	237.30	75.10	312.40	16th
16th	Rusty Nash	257.20	53.00	310.20	14th
17th	Mark McKelvie	170.20	51.00	221.20	17th
18th	Ray Cotolo	152.80	7.80	160.60	18th
19th	Mark Deutsch	152.10	6.10	158.20	19th

This week, only one event is on the contest calendar with the Meadowlands hosting trotters for a leg of the TVG series on Friday evening.  The Fourth of July weekend features seven races giving handicappers a chance of improving their position in the standings.   For further information on the contest, you are invited to visit the contest website at http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.  

Garnett Assumes the Lead in HANA Harness’ Grand Circuit Challenge

 June 11, 2015 - With stakes season now in high gear, Ray Garnett. Previously in 6^th place, assumes the lead in the 2015 HANA Harness Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge presented by the Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs, as the standings have been shaken up with plenty of movement.  Garnett, with 539.7 points (268.2 for the week) finds himself in front by a slim 11.3 point lead over Bob Zanakis whose  528.4 (292.8 for the week) points leapfrogged him from 8^th to 2^nd place.  Previous leader Michael Carter finds himself in 3^rd place with 509.7 points, just 30 points from the top spot.  Other handicappers who distinguished themselves during this past reporting period are Jay Hochstelter (214.2 pts for week) and Brandon Valvo (212.4 pts for week).

In the 11^th leg of the competition, Mark Dezii and Brandon Valvo were both 2 for 2, including the winner of the Lismore at Yonkers Raceway, Purrfect Bags $24.20, which resulted in each of them earning 70.2 points for the evening. 

Mark Dezii along with Josi Verlingieri and Gordon Waterstone went 3 for 3 in the 12^th leg at The Meadows in the 3 divisions of the Currier & Ives stake for 3yo filly trotters which earned each handicapper 71.4 points.

In leg 13, a total of 8 races were contested at the Meadowlands, The Meadows, Mohawk Raceway, and Scioto Downs and Ray Garnett and Bob Zanakis took advantage of the situation by exploding with 5 winners on the card earning 257.6 points taking down 3 of the 4 Graduate legs at the Meadowlands, the Currier & Ives for 3yo open trotters, and the Charles Hill Memorial Trot at Scioto Downs.  Jay Hochstetler earned 205.4 points with 4 winners for the evening.  The other 4 race winner for the evening was Brandon Valvo who scored 181.8 points.

Standings as of Saturday, June 6, 2015 - Leg 13
		Total Points	Points Earned	Overall	Position
Pos	Handicapper	Prior Week	This Week	Total Points	Last Week
1st	Ray Garnett	271.50	268.20	539.70	5th
2nd	Bob Zanakis	235.60	292.80	528.40	9th
3rd	Michael Carter	379.80	129.90	509.70	1st
4th	Brandon Valvo	241.40	212.40	453.80	8th
5th	Gordon Waterstone	268.50	142.10	410.60	6th
6th	Ann Stepien	291.00	118.10	409.10	2nd
7th	Jay Hochstetler	160.30	214.20	374.50	13th
8th	Derick Giwner	256.20	114.60	370.80	7th
9th	Josi Verlingieri	272.00	93.80	365.80	4th
10th	Mark Dezii	235.50	94.30	329.80	10th
11th	Bryan Owen	275.10	46.60	321.70	3rd
12th	Garnet Barnsdale	160.50	141.80	302.30	12th
13th	Earl Paulson	148.30	148.50	296.80	15th
14th	Rusty Nash	138.80	106.20	245.00	16th
15th	Sally Hinckley	188.30	54.40	242.70	11th
16th	Dennis O'Hara	157.20	80.10	237.30	14th
17th	Mark McKelvie	98.00	72.20	170.20	17th
18th	Mark Deutsch	92.20	59.90	152.10	18th
19th	Ray Cotolo	88.40	52.80	141.20	19th

This week, the Battle of Lake Erie at Northfield Park is the only race on the contest calendar.  The following week is another big week for the handicapping challenge as the third leg of the Graduate series for 4yo trotters and pacers is on tap at the Meadowlands (6/19) while Saturday night (6/20) has the North America Cup, Roses Are Red, Fan Hanover, Goodtimes, and Armbro Flight being contested at Mohawk while a leg of the TVG series for trotters takes place at the Meadowlands.

For details on the specific races and other information regarding the contest, visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.