Sunday, June 21, 2015

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.