Final Leg to Decide All
(November 26, 2017) – In the penultimate leg of
the 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge on Saturday
evening (11/25) at the Meadowlands, Sally Hinckley came out on top for the week
to move into third place. While still in
the lead overall, Rusty Nash’s fifth place finish leaves the door open to the
possibility of Gordon Waterstone grabbing the brass ring in seventy-ninth and
final leg of the contest.
Hinckley took the weekly title
easily with six winners out of eight races, including What The Hill ($12.80) in
the TVG Final for open trotters who was victorious in a minor upset. In a card comprising of the Final Four stakes
and the TVG Finals, the only race where she didn’t cash in was the Goldsmith
Maid; her selection in the Governor’s Cup finished second. By the time all eight races were contested,
Hinckley had a net profit of $35.30 for the evening. Finishing second with a net profit of $.90
for the evening was Megan Maccario who had four winners for the evening which
was good enough to keep her in the race for third place, the final cashing
position next week. Also with four
winners on Saturday evening card was Jay Hochstetler whose net loss of $5.30
was good enough for the show position.
With only the Hap Hansen Progress
Stake remaining the sole race to be contested in the contest, five handicappers
remain in contention to earn a check for their respective rescues. While the race for first place comes down to
Nash and Waterstone, it is possible for Hinckley to land in second place,
knocking Waterstone down to the show position in a worst-case situation (Nash
can finish no worse than second place). Should
Hinckley have a bad week, Maccario and Anne Stepien remain in the race
mathematically for the show position.
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Standings thru Saturday, November 25, 2017 - Leg #78
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Pos
|
Handicapper
|
Total Points Earned
|
Legs Won
|
Points Back
|
Last Week
|
Streak
|
|
1st
|
Rusty Nash
|
1,484.70
|
7
|
|
1st
|
7
|
|
2nd
|
Gordon Waterstone
|
1,448.00
|
11
|
36.70
|
2nd
|
|
|
3rd
|
Sally Hinckley
|
1,407.48
|
10
|
77.22
|
5th
|
|
|
4th
|
Megan Maccario
|
1,379.90
|
9
|
104.80
|
4th
|
|
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5th
|
Anne Stepien
|
1,366.82
|
9
|
117.88
|
3rd
|
|
|
6th
|
Matt Rose
|
1,337.88
|
10
|
146.82
|
6th
|
|
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7th
|
Dennis O’Hara
|
1,336.85
|
10
|
147.85
|
7th
|
|
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8th
|
Steve Horoky
|
1,270.83
|
5
|
213.87
|
8th
|
|
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9th
|
Russ Adams
|
1,218.54
|
8
|
266.16
|
9th
|
|
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10th
|
Ray Garnett
|
1,102.61
|
6
|
382.09
|
10th
|
|
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11th
|
Jay Hochstetler
|
1,061.50
|
5
|
423.20
|
12th
|
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12th
|
Bryan Owen
|
1,049.90
|
9
|
434.80
|
11th
|
|
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13th
|
Michael Carter
|
898.03
|
3
|
586.67
|
13th
|
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14th
|
Ray Cotolo
|
834.33
|
5
|
650.37
|
14th
|
|
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15th
|
Terry Wilson
|
820.47
|
5
|
664.23
|
15th
|
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16th
|
Rich Mattei
|
644.30
|
2
|
840.40
|
16th
|
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Next Up: The final leg of the contest concludes with the
Progress Stakes at Dover Downs on Thursday, November 30.
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.
