Rose king of Hambo Day in Challenge

(August 7, 2016) – With eleven contest races on the Hambletonian Day card in 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, the HANA Harness Handicappers made their best picks with hopes of making a bold move forward.

When the dust settled, DRF Harness' Matt Rose came out on top with 147.4 points for the week on a card where favorites were prominent, moving from 10th to 8th place and besting Sally Hinckley's 113.2 weekly total. Nosing out others for third was Gordon Waterstone with 96.4 points.

Seven handicappers, Hinckley, Jay Hochstetler, Rust Nash, Dennis O'Hara, Rose, Anne Stepien, and Waterstone all had five winners for the day but Rose muscled past them thanks to the selection of What The Hill ($18.60) in the Peter Haughton Memorial. Other winners which Rose tabbed were Hannelore Hanover ($2.20), Ariana G ($3.20), Resolve ($4.40), and Bar Hopping ($3.00). In addition to the five winners, four of his other selections managed to finish second; striking out in only two of the eleven races.

As for the overall contest, Hochstetler remains comfortably in front with a total of 1,726.93 points, leading the rest of the field by over 550 points. Despite this lead, other handicappers, while acknowledging the first half prize is apparently Hochstetler's, are not conceding the contest to Hochstetler.

This week the handicappers have the entire weekend to contest starting on Friday evening with the Dan Patch Invitational at Hoosier Park and the Tompkins-Geers for 2yo pacers at Tioga Downs.  Saturday’s stakes are the Carl Milstein Memorial at Northfield Park and the Moni Maker at The Meadows.  Sunday will have the contest return to Tioga Downs for the fourth leg of the Ms. Versatility for distaff trotters.

 

Standings as of August 6, 2016 – Leg #36
Pos	Handicapper	Total Points Prior Week	Points Earned This Week	Overall Total Points	Position Last Week	Points Back
1st	Jay Hochstetler	1,636.53	90.40	1,726.93	1st	–
2nd	Adam Friedland	1,096.80	77.10	1,173.90	2nd	553.03
3rd	Rusty Nash	1,053.45	93.20	1,146.65	4th	580.28
4th	Russ Adams	1,061.60	67.30	1,128.90	3rd	598.03
5th	Sally Hinckley	951.43	113.20	1,064.63	6th	662.30
6th	Michael Carter	988.40	60.70	1,049.10	5th	677.83
7th	Gordon Waterstone	938.53	96.40	1,034.93	8th	692.00
8th	Matt Rose	882.25	147.40	1,029.65	10th	697.28
9th	Dennis O'Hara	942.55	86.60	1,029.15	7th	697.78
10th	Mark Deutsch	897.00	30.00	927.00	9th	799.93
11th	Anne Stepien	780.80	95.80	876.60	13th	850.33
12th	Bryan Owen	815.85	59.38	875.23	11th	851.70
13th	Joe Bengston	787.28	59.38	846.65	12th	880.28
14th	Ray Cotolo	673.78	80.85	754.63	15th	972.30
15th	Ray Garnett	648.28	49.00	697.28	14th	1,029.65

Racing fans may continue getting the handicappers’ selections and other contest-related information from HANA Harness’ contest website  http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.

Allan Schott

Check out the HANA Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge