October 5, 2015 – The first
of two annual stakes weeks at The Red Mile are now in the books for 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. Week one
consisted of twenty one total divisions of the Bluegrass! Add in two features from Dayton and we had a
very busy week for the HANA handicappers.
Day one was Wednesday night
and it was a short night of work with only two races on the card. Three of our handicappers were a perfect two
for two. Sally Hinckley, Bob Zanakis and
Derick Giwner correctly selected Broadway Donna and Celebrity Eventsy and maxed
out with a nightly total of 32 HANA points.
The following evening had
four heats on tap. No one was perfect as
Taco Tuesday upset everyone in the fifth race.
Rusty Nash was able to select the other three winners. Milligan’s School won at $4.40, Lagerfield
won at $4.60 and finally Dupree upset Bar Hopping at $9.40 for a total of 108
HANA points. Toss in a second place
finish to Taco Tuesday with Hollywood Highway and Rusty ended the evening with
112 HANA points and the temporary lead in the weekly battle. In second was Jay Hochstetler who selected
Milligan’s School and Dupree to earn 57 HANA points. In third was Bob Zanakis who selected
Lagerfield and Dupree for 51 HANA points.
Friday night was very busy
with six Bluegrass divisions at The Red Mile and the Trotting and Pacing
Derby’s from Dayton. Earning the top
honors on the evening was the only handicapper who was able to select five
winners. That was Dennis O’Hara with 293
HANA points after his multiplier was calculated. The prices were Racing Hill at $10 and
American Passport at $9. Garnet
Barnsdale awoke from his recent slumber to land the place spot with 208 HAHA
points. He did this with just three
winners, but most importantly, he was the only handicapper to land Il Songo
Dream at Dayton for a huge $31! Garnet’s
closest American competitor, the voice of Buffalo Raceway, Michael Carter, took
home the show honors for the evening with 185 HANA points. His was the more conventional path with four
winners. Earning honorable mentions, all
with four winners, were three of our perennial top players, Sally Hinckley,
Anne Stepien and Gordon Waterstone.
The final night of week one
of the The Red Mile’s annual two week Grand Circuit celebration was Saturday
evening with nine HANA events. With
seven favorites winning it proved to be a very tight night of work right down
to the very last race. Four handicappers
stood out on the evening by selecting six winners. There was a tie for first place between Sally
Hinckley and the surging Dennis O’Hara with 302 points. The tandem submitted the exact same set of
selections with six winners and two places.
In third was your humble scribe with six winners, two seconds and a
third for 297 HANA points. The
difference was Divine Caroline paid a few dimes more across the board than
Split The House. Not to be outdone was
Mark McKelvie with 293 points. The differential here was found in the place and
show prices.
For the week, Dennis O’Hara
continued his brush toward the top with 628 points on the week. He was followed by (you know who!) Sally Hinckley
with 542 points. Rusty Nash was third
with 464 points. He was followed by Mark
McKelvie and Gordon Waterstone with 446 and 400 points respectively.
With the first week of The
Red Mile Grand Circuit tour in the books the top three handicappers continue to
be Sally Hinckley, Mark McKelvie and Anne Stepien. Dennis O’Hara steps up into the 4th
position and Gordon Waterstone returns to the top five earning the final purse
check. Sally was able to extend her lead
over everyone in the field with the exception of Dennis. Well done!
|
Standings as of October 3, 2015 - Leg 47
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Total Points
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Points Earned
|
Overall
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Position
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|
Pos
|
Handicapper
|
Prior Week
|
This Week
|
Total Points
|
Last Week
|
Points Back
|
|
1st
|
Sally Hinckley
|
3,158.40
|
542.00
|
3,700.40
|
1st
|
|
|
2nd
|
Mark McKelvie
|
2,927.60
|
446.40
|
3,374.00
|
2nd
|
326.4
|
|
3rd
|
Anne Stepien
|
2,785.20
|
300.60
|
3,085.80
|
3rd
|
614.6
|
|
4th
|
Dennis O'Hara
|
2,264.20
|
628.70
|
2,892.90
|
7th
|
807.5
|
|
5th
|
Gordon Waterstone
|
2,393.00
|
400.40
|
2,793.40
|
6th
|
907.0
|
|
6th
|
Bob Zanakis
|
2,468.90
|
283.50
|
2,752.40
|
4th
|
948.0
|
|
7th
|
Earl Paulson
|
2,413.50
|
334.10
|
2,747.60
|
5th
|
952.8
|
|
8th
|
Rusty Nash
|
2,065.10
|
464.00
|
2,529.10
|
10th
|
1,171.3
|
|
9th
|
Bryan Owen
|
2,083.40
|
330.00
|
2,413.40
|
9th
|
1,287.0
|
|
10th
|
Josi Verlingieri
|
2,090.10
|
152.60
|
2,242.70
|
8th
|
1,457.7
|
|
11th
|
Michael Carter
|
1,896.60
|
326.50
|
2,223.10
|
11th
|
1,477.3
|
|
12th
|
Derick Giwner
|
1,823.10
|
275.60
|
2,098.70
|
12th
|
1,601.7
|
|
13th
|
Ray Garnett
|
1,778.50
|
203.10
|
1,981.60
|
13th
|
1,718.8
|
|
14th
|
Garnet Barnsdale
|
1,709.10
|
263.60
|
1,972.70
|
15th
|
1,727.7
|
|
15th
|
Jay Hochstetler
|
1,604.70
|
320.20
|
1,924.90
|
16th
|
1,775.5
|
|
16th
|
Mark Dezii
|
1,774.80
|
113.40
|
1,888.20
|
14th
|
1,812.2
|
|
17th
|
Ray Cotolo
|
1,342.20
|
164.40
|
1,506.60
|
17th
|
2,193.8
|
|
18th
|
Brandon Valvo
|
1,299.20
|
80.20
|
1,379.40
|
18th
|
2,321.0
|
|
19th
|
Mark Deutsch
|
910.70
|
113.10
|
1,023.80
|
19th
|
2,676.6
|
Next week we again return to
The Red Mile for the completion of their Grand Circuit celebration. We will have divisions of the International
Stallion, the Tattersalls, the Glen Garnsey Memorial. Then finals of the Kentucky Futurity, the
Kentucky Filly Futurity, and the Allerage Farm TVG early closers for three year
olds of both sexes and gaits. To those
four full days of racing we will also be visiting Yonkers Raceway where the
International Trot has been resurrected after a very long hiatus.
