Sunday, March 27, 2016

Hochstetler on Top in 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Contest


(March 27, 2016) – Week two is in the books 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 and Jay Hochstetler continues to be in front, expanding his lead slightly.  While Hochstetler remains ahead of the field, the top handicapper for week two was Russ Adams, whose 76.7 points for the weekend narrowly beat out the overall leader by 1.4 points, allowing him to move from 13th to 8th position.  Another big mover, Dennis O’Hara moved from 10th to 5th thanks to his 59.1 point performance.

With a trio of races on Friday night, three handicappers managed to get two thirds of the puzzle solved.  Of the three handicappers, Anne Stepien came out on top with 33.5 points followed by Matt Rose (31.3) and Joe Bengston (28.5).

While no one ran the table on Saturday’s quintet of races, Hochstetler managed to pull down four winners earning 61.6 points, missing only the seventh race longshot Melmerby Beach.  Despite Hochstetler’s handicapping acumen, the winner for the evening was Russ Adams, who despite having only one winner (the aforementioned Melmerby Beach; $27) earned 65.8 points as he had three second place finishes.  Other handicappers of note were Bryan Owen (44.9) and Dennis O’Hara (39.6) as both managed hat tricks for the evening.

The current standings are as follows:

Standings as of March 26, 2016 - Leg #4
Pos
Handicapper
Total Points
Prior Week
Points Earned
This Week
Overall
Total Points
Position
Last
Week
Points
Back
1st
Jay Hochstetler
164.90
75.30
240.20
1st
            -  
2nd
Matt Rose
78.70
67.00
145.70
2nd
       94.50
3rd
Bryan Owen
71.60
52.30
123.90
4th
      116.30
4th
Adam Friedland
75.40
44.88
120.28
3rd
      119.93
5th
Dennis O'Hara
54.20
59.10
113.30
10th
      126.90
6th
Anne Stepien
54.23
50.60
104.83
9th
      135.38
7th
Rusty Nash
56.65
41.83
98.48
7th
      141.73
8th
Russ Adams
21.60
76.70
98.30
13th
      141.90
9th
Mark Deutsch
54.53
43.63
98.15
8th
      142.05
10th
Gordon Waterstone
58.55
35.70
94.25
5th
      145.95
11th
Ray Garnett
57.20
22.60
79.80
6th
      160.40
12th
Sally Hinckley
44.80
30.40
75.20
11th
      165.00
13th
Joe Bengston
17.70
43.70
61.40
14th
      178.80
14th
Michael Carter
15.30
34.28
49.58
15th
      190.63
15th
Ray Cotolo
26.80
16.50
43.30
12th
      196.90

The 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge continues with the third round of the Matchmaker and Levy Memorial series at Yonkers Raceway on Friday (4/1) and Saturday (4/2).  For further information regarding the contest, you may visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.


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