November 3, 2015 – 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 had a relatively quiet week after all the excitement on Breeders Crown night.
There were eight races on Friday evening at Hoosier Park and two on Saturday at Vernon Downs. Just as one of our contest sponsors, Vernon Downs, turned back the clock on Saturday evening, we will take a look at Saturday’s results before moving back to Friday.
With only two races you would think there might not be a lot of points to be made but it could have been a huge night. Could have when the favored Takter entry failed to hit the board in one of the Kindergarten divisions it was won by Wildflower and Ake Svenstedt at $185! Unfortunately none of our handicappers were able to land the biggest win price of the HANA contest this season. Two of our handicappers did not pick a winner but topped the night chart. Both had Sweet Ashley T and received 52 points for the show price! Those two very smart souls were Garnet Barnsdale and Jay Hochstetler. Garnet won the evening’s tie breaker with Mavens Way to show. In the other Kindergarten event six handicappers finished tied for third winning with Dog Gone Lucky for 10 HANA contest points. They were Ray Cotolo, Mark Dezii, Sally Hinckley, Rusty Nash, Earl Paulson and Anne Stepien.
Friday evening saw quite a bit more action and one clear winner. Accepting the accolades of all involved was Derrick Giwner who selected six of eight winners. That was two more winners than his closest competitor. For his excellence Derrick earned 374 HANA contest points. Three other players were able to select a different set of four winners each. Jonijosi Verlingieri (203) out pointed both Bryan Owen (166) and Jay Hochstetler (161). Ms. Verlingieri’s key was Foiled Again who had the best return win price among the quad winners.
There were no major moves in the standings given the difficult and short prices on Friday evening at Hoosier Park. The top five remain the same as last week, Sally Hinckley, Mark McKelvie, Anne Stepien, Dennis O’Hara and Gordon Waterstone. Sally was able to pad her lead over Mark to 308 points. However the field continued to tighten up behind Mark. There are now ten handicappers separated by less than 1,000 points.
| Standings as of October 31, 2015 - Leg 56 | ||||||
| Pos | Handicapper | Total Points Prior Week | Points Earned This Week | Overall Total Points | Position Last Week | Points Back |
| 1st | Sally Hinckley | 4,374.60 | 42.60 | 4,417.20 | 1st | - |
| 2nd | Mark McKelvie | 4,108.50 | 0.00 | 4,108.50 | 2nd | 308.70 |
| 3rd | Anne Stepien | 4,008.60 | 62.70 | 4,071.30 | 3rd | 345.90 |
| 4th | Dennis O'Hara | 3,967.80 | 61.80 | 4,029.60 | 7th | 387.60 |
| 5th | Gordon Waterstone | 3,873.40 | 30.00 | 3,903.40 | 4th | 513.80 |
| 6th | Rusty Nash | 3,518.70 | 46.60 | 3,565.30 | 5th | 851.90 |
| 7th | Bob Zanakis | 3,466.60 | 38.90 | 3,505.50 | 6th | 911.70 |
| 8th | Josi Verlingieri | 3,271.40 | 203.20 | 3,474.60 | 9th | 942.60 |
| 9th | Derick Giwner | 3,079.80 | 374.30 | 3,454.10 | 11th | 963.10 |
| 10th | Bryan Owen | 3,279.30 | 166.30 | 3,445.60 | 8th | 971.60 |
| 11th | Earl Paulson | 3,245.10 | 54.70 | 3,299.80 | 10th | 1,117.40 |
| 12th | Ray Garnett | 2,909.20 | 107.30 | 3,016.50 | 12th | 1,400.70 |
| 13th | Jay Hochstetler | 2,763.50 | 213.60 | 2,977.10 | 13th | 1,440.10 |
| 14th | Garnet Barnsdale | 2,557.90 | 129.40 | 2,687.30 | 15th | 1,729.90 |
| 15th | Michael Carter | 2,676.90 | 0.00 | 2,676.90 | 14th | 1,740.30 |
| 16th | Mark Dezii | 2,462.50 | 75.60 | 2,538.10 | 16th | 1,879.10 |
| 17th | Ray Cotolo | 1,977.80 | 55.90 | 2,033.70 | 17th | 2,383.50 |
| 18th | Brandon Valvo | 1,783.80 | 50.60 | 1,834.40 | 18th | 2,582.80 |
| 19th | Mark Deutsch | 1,174.40 | 22.70 | 1,197.10 | 19th | 3,220.10 |
We have a very busy two days on tap this week. We kick things off with six races Thursday evening at Dover with the Matron for 2 year olds. Saturday we shift north and west to Balmoral Park for the American National where we will have at least eight more puzzles to try and solve.
