Hochstetler on Top in 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Contest

(March 27, 2016) – Week two is in the books of the 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, The Hambletonian Society, Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, The Raceway at Western Fair District, Red Shores Charlottetown Driving Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs and Jay Hochstetler continues to be in front, expanding his lead slightly.  While Hochstetler remains ahead of the field, the top handicapper for week two was Russ Adams, whose 76.7 points for the weekend narrowly beat out the overall leader by 1.4 points, allowing him to move from 13^th to 8^th position.  Another big mover, Dennis O’Hara moved from 10^th to 5^th thanks to his 59.1 point performance.

With a trio of races on Friday night, three handicappers managed to get two thirds of the puzzle solved.  Of the three handicappers, Anne Stepien came out on top with 33.5 points followed by Matt Rose (31.3) and Joe Bengston (28.5).

While no one ran the table on Saturday’s quintet of races, Hochstetler managed to pull down four winners earning 61.6 points, missing only the seventh race longshot Melmerby Beach.  Despite Hochstetler’s handicapping acumen, the winner for the evening was Russ Adams, who despite having only one winner (the aforementioned Melmerby Beach; $27) earned 65.8 points as he had three second place finishes.  Other handicappers of note were Bryan Owen (44.9) and Dennis O’Hara (39.6) as both managed hat tricks for the evening.

The current standings are as follows:

Standings as of March 26, 2016 - Leg #4
Pos	Handicapper	Total Points Prior Week	Points Earned This Week	Overall Total Points	Position Last Week	Points Back
1st	Jay Hochstetler	164.90	75.30	240.20	1st	-
2nd	Matt Rose	78.70	67.00	145.70	2nd	94.50
3rd	Bryan Owen	71.60	52.30	123.90	4th	116.30
4th	Adam Friedland	75.40	44.88	120.28	3rd	119.93
5th	Dennis O'Hara	54.20	59.10	113.30	10th	126.90
6th	Anne Stepien	54.23	50.60	104.83	9th	135.38
7th	Rusty Nash	56.65	41.83	98.48	7th	141.73
8th	Russ Adams	21.60	76.70	98.30	13th	141.90
9th	Mark Deutsch	54.53	43.63	98.15	8th	142.05
10th	Gordon Waterstone	58.55	35.70	94.25	5th	145.95
11th	Ray Garnett	57.20	22.60	79.80	6th	160.40
12th	Sally Hinckley	44.80	30.40	75.20	11th	165.00
13th	Joe Bengston	17.70	43.70	61.40	14th	178.80
14th	Michael Carter	15.30	34.28	49.58	15th	190.63
15th	Ray Cotolo	26.80	16.50	43.30	12th	196.90

The 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge continues with the third round of the Matchmaker and Levy Memorial series at Yonkers Raceway on Friday (4/1) and Saturday (4/2).  For further information regarding the contest, you may visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.

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Hochstetler Draws First Blood in 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Contest

(March 20, 2016) - Jay Hochstetler kicked off the start of the 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge sponsored by DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, The Hambletonian Society, Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, The Raceway at Western Fair District, Red Shores Charlottetown Driving Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs aided by his selection of Mach It Par ($81.00) in Friday night’s Blue Chip Matchmaker Series opener.  After the first two evenings, Hochstetler has a total of 164.90 points, 86.20 points over his nearest rival.

With the addition of another Silver Sponsor, Dr. Adam Friedland, the total prize fund for the HANA Harness-sponsored event to be donated to the lucky standardbred rescues stands at an all-time record of $6,000.

A couple of handicappers are late additions to the contest, Joe Bengston and Adam Friedland will be representing Therapeutic Riding and Off-Track Rehabilitation (TROTR) and Helping Hearts Equine Rescue respectively.  A full list of the rescues and their handicappers may be found here.

On Friday evening, while Sally Hinckley and Dennis O’Hara earned points in all three divisions of the Matchmaker earning 26.60 points, their results were overshadowed by Hochstetler who 111.40 points, of which 107.80 points came from Mach It Par. 

Saturday evening there was a quintet of handicappers (Friedland – 48.80 points; Hochstetler – 53.50; Bryan Owen – 54.20; Matt Rose – 58.30; Gordon Waterstone – 46.95) who scored three winners in the George Morton Memorial Series opener.  While trailing in the number of winners, Mark Deutsch with 2 winners, earned points in all six divisions of the Levy totaling 50.93 points allowing him to keep pace with the top scorers for the evening.

After the first two nights, here are the complete standings.

Position	Handicapper	Total Points Prior Week	Points Earned This Week	Overall Total Points	Points Back
1st	Jay Hochstetler	0.00	164.90	164.90	-
2nd	Matt Rose	0.00	78.70	78.70	86.20
3rd	Adam Friedland	0.00	75.40	75.40	89.50
4th	Bryan Owen	0.00	71.60	71.60	93.30
5th	Gordon Waterstone	0.00	58.55	58.55	106.35
6th	Ray Garnett	0.00	57.20	57.20	107.70
7th	Rusty Nash	0.00	56.65	56.65	108.25
8th	Mark Deutsch	0.00	54.53	54.53	110.38
9th	Anne Stepien	0.00	54.23	54.23	110.68
10th	Dennis O'Hara	0.00	54.20	54.20	110.70
11th	Sally Hinckley	0.00	44.80	44.80	120.10
12th	Ray Cotolo	0.00	26.80	26.80	138.10
13th	Russ Adams	0.00	21.60	21.60	143.30
14th	Joe Bengston	0.00	17.70	17.70	147.20
15th	Michael Carter	0.00	15.30	15.30	149.60

The 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge continues with the second round of the Matchmaker and Levy Memorial series at Yonkers Raceway on Friday (3/25) and Saturday (3/26).  For further information regarding the contest, you may visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.