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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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.
