HANA Harness Handicapping Challenge: April 2017

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Rose on Top Heading into By-week of Hambletonian GC Handicapping Contest

(April 23, 2017) – With the Matchmaker and Levy Series in the books, the 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge heads into the first by-week with Matt Rose maintaining a slight lead over Rusty Nash with a score of 251.63 vs. 246.00. Both handicappers have three leg victories each, accounting for six of the twelve legs contested thus far. While Rose leads in total points, Nash reverses the standings with regards to net profit, $51.40 vs. $32.40.

For this past week, a quadruple dead-heat for the Friday (4/21) leg occurred as Russ Adams, Steve Horoky, Megan Maccario, and Dennis O’Hara each successfully picked Da Magician ($4.50) as the winner of Fraser Down’s Kenny Linton Memorial, a bonus race on the calendar. On Saturday (4/22), Michael Carter was the sole leg winner as he tabbed three of the five winners on the contest card; Hidden Land ($9.50) in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Consolation; Clear Vision ($8.40) in the George Morton Levy Memorial Consolation; Yoga Pants ($2.30) in the Penny Bath Memorial (from Fraser Downs, another bonus race).

Standings as of Saturday, April 22, 2017 - Leg #12
Pos	Handicapper	Total Points Earned	Legs Won	Overall Net Profit
1st	Matt Rose	251.63	3	32.40
2nd	Rusty Nash	246.00	3	51.40
3rd	Russ Adams	231.89	2	(8.20)
4th	Gordon Waterstone	163.13	1	(52.30)
5th	Ray Garnett	149.27	1	0.60
6th	Megan Maccario	148.89	1	(49.80)
7th	Steve Horoky	146.38	1	(37.30)
8th	Michael Carter	143.27	1	(54.20)
9th	Bryan Owen	143.14	1	(37.70)
10th	Dennis O’Hara	122.89	1	(56.80)
11th	Jay Hochstetler	106.13	0	(34.70)
12th	Adam Friedland	88.77	0	(25.60)
13th	Ray Cotolo	82.00	0	(0.50)
14th	Sally Hinckley	80.50	0	(85.60)
15th	Anne Stepien	80.00	0	(83.30)
16th	Terry Wilson	65.13	0	(96.20)

Next Up: Six straight weeks of racing at Yonkers Raceway earns the handicappers a well-deserved week off before the Grand Circuit becomes the traveling road show it has always been known for. The contest resumes with a three-day stand (May 6-8) with Saturday action from Freehold Raceway with the kick-off of the Road to the Hambletonian as the finals of the Lady Suffolk (3yo filly trot) and Dexter Cup (3yo open trot) are contested. Contest action continues in the evening at the Meadowlands with the AJ Cutler Memorial (Open trot) and the first leg of the Graduate series (4yo open pace) on the docket. Sunday and Monday has the Miami Valley Distaffs scheduled with Sunday featuring 4yo and older mare trotters; Monday the 4yo and older mare pacers. Following these races, there will be a final by-week after which there is contest action every week until the contest’s conclusion.

The 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge is sponsored by Adam Friedland, DRF Harness, Green Acquisition Corporation, The Hambletonian Society, Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Ontario Harness Horse Association, Red Shores Charlottetown/Summerside, Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs, Wellbourne Farms, and WEG Entertainment. The contest is administered by HANA Harness, the harness racing division of HANA, the Horseplayers Association of North America. Fans may follow the challenge by visiting the contest site at http;//hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Adams, Waterstone take legs of Hambletonian GC Handicapping Contest

(April 16, 2017) – With the final legs of the Matchmaker and Levy pacing series being contested on April 14 and 15, Russ Adams and Gordon Waterstone scored their first victories of the season in the Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge by taking down individual contest cards. With the help of their victories, Adams moved up from fifth to third while Waterstone jumped from ninth to fourth place in the standings.

Despite a lackluster week, Matt Rose remains in front with a total of 242.63 points while Rusty Nash remains in second with 224 points on the ledger. The previously mentioned Adams (196.14 pts) and Waterstone (136.14) round out the top four.

In the overall net-profit competition, Rose’s $54.30 net profit is tops with Nash’s $51.10 good for second. While Ray Garnett fell to fifth place, he stands in third place based on a net profit of $11.10.

Adams was the star of the weekend, scoring a trifecta Saturday night by tabbing all three winners of the Levy tilts (McWicked, $4.30; Bit Of A Legend N, $4.40; Somewhere In LA, $4.10) to earn a net profit of $11.60 for the night. Waterstone topped Friday by picking the second division winner Regil Elektra ($5.50), and having his first split selection Hidden Land finish second to earn a net profit of $6.00 (no show wagering in either of the two divisions).

The standings through the first ten legs are:

Pos	HiddHandicapper	Total Points Earned	Legs Won
1st	Matt Rose	242.63	3
2nd	Rusty Nash	224.00	3
3rd	Russ Adams	196.14	1
4th	Gordon Waterstone	136.13	1
5th	Ray Garnett	135.27	1
6th	Bryan Owen	134.14	1
7th	Steve Horoky	115.63	0
8th	Megan Maccario	113.14	0
9th	Adam Friedland	88.77	0
10th	Dennis O’Hara	87.14	0
11th	Jay Hochstetler	84.13	0
12th	Ray Cotolo	78.00	0
13th	Michael Carter	76.27	0
14th	Sally Hinckley	71.50	0
15th	Anne Stepien	68.00	0
16th	Terry Wilson	56.13	0

Next Up: After the first five weeks at the Old Hiltop, the Challenge does take a detour to British Columbia for two special additions, Fraser Downs’ Kenny Linton Memorial (4/21) and the Penny Bath Memorial (4/22), the only two non-restricted stakes races of the entire year in this Western Canadian Province. In addition to these two tilts, the Matchmaker and Levy Series finals and consolations will be contested at Yonkers Raceway Saturday night. After the Yonkers finals, there will be a week off before the Grand Circuit begins traveling in earnest, starting at Freehold Raceway and the Meadowlands.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Rose, Nash Repeat in Hambletonian GC Handicapping Challenge Legs

(April 9, 2017) – In a quiet week of the Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge, Matt Rose and Rusty Nash each once won a leg of the challenge at Yonkers Raceway this week (4/7 and 8), leaving the top of the standings virtually unchanged. Rose remains in front with 228.63 points, 18.63 points ahead of Nash’s 210 points. The race for the show spot remains tight with Ray Garnett ahead of Bryan Owen by a mere 1.13 points.

In the overall net-profit competition, Rose’s $60.20 profit is a mere $1.90 ahead of Nash’s $58.30. Ray Garnett sits in the show spot with a net profit of $23.60, $0.60 ahead of Ray Cotolo’s $23.00.

The standings through the first eight legs are;

Pos	Handicapper	Total Points Earned	Legs Won
1st	Matt Rose	228.63	3
2nd	Rusty Nash	210.00	3
3rd	Ray Garnett	121.13	1
4th	Bryan Owen	120.00	1
5th	Russ Adams	119.00	0
6th	Steve Horoky	111.63	0
7th	Megan Maccario	83.00	0
8th	Ray Cotolo	74.00	0
9th	Gordon Waterstone	69.13	0
10th	Dennis O’Hara	68.00	0
11th	Sally Hinckley	67.50	0
12th	Anne Stepien	64.00	0
13th	Adam Friedland	61.63	0
14th	Jay Hochstetler	47.13	0
15th	Terry Wilson	47.13	0
16th	Michael Carter	47.13	0

Next Up: The Challenge continues this week at Yonkers Raceway on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 for the final preliminary legs of the Matchmaker and Levy Memorial Series. The following week, the Challenge takes a detour to Fraser Downs for the Kenny Linton Memorial (4/21) and the Penny Bath Memorial (4/22), the only two non-restricted stakes races for three year old pacers in British Columbia as well as the Matchmaker and Levy Series finales at Yonkers.