(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 13th to 8th
position. Another big mover, Dennis O’Hara
moved from 10th to 5th 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.
#30#
