Waterstone weekly best; Hochstetler extends lead

In week six 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, Gordon Waterstone edged out several handicappers to be the top harness racing handicapper for the week. With regards to the overall lead, the story remains the same as Jay Hochstetler continues his mastery, extending his lead to 100.13 points over the second place Matt Rose with 389.75 points for the season thus far.

Levy Memorial night left handicappers with five races to display their handicapping chops and by the end of the night, five of the handicappers managed to score hat tricks which made it a horse race for weekly honors. With 41.10 points, Waterstone edges out the others (with a second and third place finish to go along with his hat trick), moving into fifth place from last week's tenth place. Finishing second for the week was overall leader Hochstetler who earned 37.05 points, followed by a dead-heat for third with Dennis O'Hara and Matt Rose both earning 32 points for the week. Ray Garnett and Dennis O'Hara also had three winners on the card.

Though shut out from selecting any winners, fourteenth place Joe Bengston managed to have a good week thanks to his selection of Bettor Rock On N in the Levy eligible tilt which earned him 20.2 of his 28.2 weekly points by finishing second.

With only Grand Circuit elimination races this week, the handicappers get a week off before the contest kicks into high gear. The contest resumes with races on Saturday, May 7 as the road to the Hambletonian kicks off with the finals of the Dexter Cup and Lady Suffolk at Freehold Raceway, followed by the first Sunday (May 8) races of the contest headlined by the Mack Lobell Elitlopp Playoff at the Meadowlands and a duo of Miami Valley Distaffs for females on both gaits.

As we enter the bye week, the current standings are as follows:

 

Standings as of April 16, 2016 – Leg #11
Pos	Handicapper	Total Points Prior Week	Points Earned This Week	Overall Total Points	Position Last Week	Points Back
1st	Jay Hochstetler	352.70	37.05	389.75	1st	–
2nd	Matt Rose	257.63	32.00	289.63	3rd	100.13
3rd	Mark Deutsch	264.65	2.80	267.45	2nd	122.30
4th	Dennis O'Hara	195.13	32.00	227.13	4th	162.63
5th	Gordon Waterstone	174.10	41.10	215.20	10th	174.55
6th	Anne Stepien	185.60	24.90	210.50	7th	179.25
7th	Adam Friedland	185.63	16.90	202.53	6th	187.23
8th	Ray C1otolo	187.98	10.80	198.78	5th	190.98
9th	Ray Garnett	168.93	29.40	198.33	12th	191.43
10th	Russ Adams	182.10	10.50	192.60	8th	197.15
11th	Sally Hinckley	178.48	7.70	186.18	9th	203.58
12th	Bryan Owen	152.20	33.05	185.25	13th	204.50
13th	Rusty Nash	171.68	11.50	183.18	11th	206.58
14th	Joe Bengston	143.70	28.20	171.90	14th	217.85
15th	Michael Carter	129.80	19.30	149.10	15th	240.65

 

For further information regarding the contest, you may visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com. 

Allan Schott

HANA Harness Racing Coordinator

allan@hanaweb.org

Check out the HANA Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge