September 21, 2015 – Mark
McKelvie picked up some ground on Sally Hinckley this week in 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.
The week opened at The
Meadows where the Nadia Lobell was won by Safe From Terror. Mark Deutsch was able to select the winner
and he took the daily honors with 22.8 points.
We needed the decimal point because Bryan Owen just missed with longshot
The Show Returns. The place and show
prices returned 22.6 points. One fifth
of a point separated the early weekly leaders.
Divine Caroline finished third and that caused a four way dead heat for
the show spot between Sally Hinckley, Anne Stepien, Derick Giwner and Ray
Cotolo.
Saturday evening the HANA
Grand Circuit Handicapping team visited Mohawk for another big night of racing. On this evening we witnessed perfection! There is a good reason that Mark McKelvie has
been positioned near the top of the standing for so long. He correctly selected all five winners! Mark scored with Southwind Frank, Caprice
Hill, Bee A Magician, Mission Brief and Pinkman. The 5X multiplier earned Mark all 196 points that
were available.
Three other handicappers had
four winners each. They each had a
different combination of winners and earned different scores. The place honors went to Buffalo’s own
Michael “Horsy Boy” Carter with 122 points.
Bee A Magician was the key to his second place finish. Josi Verlingieri took the show spot with 114
points and Earl Paulson was fourth with 109 points.
The final accent on this
racing week was the Bobby Quillen Memorial at Harrington Raceway where Foiled
Again was the featured headliner. Mach
It So edged by him at the top of the lane and while the old boy fought back
with everything he had Mach It So held on for the short neck win. Mach It So, off at 8-1, returned 25 HANA
contest points for a quartet of very sharp handicappers. Successfully beating the chalk were Ray
Garnett, Jay Hochstetler, Earl Paulson and Anne Stepien. The rest of the HANA handicappers were
grateful that there was no bonus multiplier available with the $18 winner!
Mark McKelvie easily took
the weekly honors with a total of 198 points.
Earl Paulson was second best with 135 and Michael Carter was third with
124. Rounding out the super and the
penta were Josi Verlingieri and Bryan Owen.
There was one change to the
overall contest pentafecta. With Mach It
So winning the Quillen, Earl Paulson just edged out Gordon Waterstone for the
fifth spot by a mere 8.5 points. Sally
Hinckley continues to lead with Mark McKelvie slowly closing the gap. Ann Stepien remains in third and Bob Zanakis
maintained his fourth place position.
Things are sure to change next week with more than a dozen races lined
up.
|
Standings as of September 21, 2015 - Leg 41
|
||||||
|
Total Points
|
Points Earned
|
Overall
|
Position
|
|||
|
Pos
|
Handicapper
|
Prior Week
|
This Week
|
Total Points
|
Last Week
|
Points Back
|
|
1st
|
Sally Hinckley
|
2,982.80
|
36.30
|
3,019.10
|
1st
|
|
|
2nd
|
Mark McKelvie
|
2,598.10
|
198.10
|
2,796.20
|
2nd
|
222.9
|
|
3rd
|
Anne Stepien
|
2,440.90
|
88.20
|
2,529.10
|
3rd
|
490.0
|
|
4th
|
Bob Zanakis
|
2,354.30
|
63.80
|
2,418.10
|
4th
|
601.0
|
|
5th
|
Earl Paulson
|
2,158.70
|
135.00
|
2,293.70
|
6th
|
725.4
|
|
6th
|
Gordon Waterstone
|
2,218.40
|
66.80
|
2,285.20
|
5th
|
733.9
|
|
7th
|
Dennis O'Hara
|
2,068.30
|
61.70
|
2,130.00
|
7th
|
889.1
|
|
8th
|
Bryan Owen
|
1,929.40
|
89.10
|
2,018.50
|
9th
|
1,000.6
|
|
9th
|
Rusty Nash
|
1,938.60
|
58.80
|
1,997.40
|
8th
|
1,021.7
|
|
10th
|
Josi Verlingieri
|
1,860.90
|
114.60
|
1,975.50
|
10th
|
1,043.6
|
|
11th
|
Michael Carter
|
1,693.20
|
124.90
|
1,818.10
|
11th
|
1,201.0
|
|
12th
|
Ray Garnett
|
1,644.90
|
33.40
|
1,678.30
|
13th
|
1,340.8
|
|
13th
|
Derick Giwner
|
1,604.00
|
67.00
|
1,671.00
|
14th
|
1,348.1
|
|
14th
|
Mark Dezii
|
1,597.60
|
67.80
|
1,665.40
|
15th
|
1,353.7
|
|
15th
|
Garnet Barnsdale
|
1,651.60
|
5.70
|
1,657.30
|
12th
|
1,361.8
|
|
16th
|
Jay Hochstetler
|
1,517.00
|
25.40
|
1,542.40
|
16th
|
1,476.7
|
|
17th
|
Brandon Valvo
|
1,234.80
|
26.40
|
1,261.20
|
17th
|
1,757.9
|
|
18th
|
Ray Cotolo
|
1,124.00
|
83.50
|
1,207.50
|
18th
|
1,811.6
|
|
19th
|
Mark Deutsch
|
751.80
|
67.40
|
819.20
|
19th
|
2,199.9
|
Jug week is upon us and we
will have plenty of HANA Grand Circuit Handicapping action starting on
Wednesday from Delaware Ohio. The week
kicks off with the Jugette, Buckette, Little Brown Jug, Old Oaken Bucket and
the Miss Versatility. Saturday features
the Milton from Mohawk and a nice set of stakes from Hoosier Park.
For contest selections and further information, visit the contest website at http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.
