With the Red Mile meet in the books, the Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge moved on to Hoosier Park for the start of a three-week residency, which will culminate with the 2017 Breeders Crown.
Week 1 had two nights of Circle City and Madison County stakes contested, and once the races concluded, Anne Stepien was the winner, while Rusty Nash returned to the perch as the overall leader for the contest, which has roughly six weeks remaining on the schedule.
Stepien was the top handicapper for the week with 72 points vs. the 57 points for Dennis O’Hara in what could be called a tale of two nights. On Thursday night, O’Hara was victorious without having a single winner, thanks to his selection of Danceinthepines in the Circle City for three-year-old trotting fillies; the longshot paid $14.80 and $6.40 for coming in second. The longshot provided him the winning margin despite four handicappers each having two winning picks. Saturday evening was a new day, and Stepien tabbed four winners for the night, including the Courageous Lady Stakes added on from Northfield Park, where her selection of Rosemary Rose ($20.60) made her one of two handicappers to have a positive ROI for the day.
In what seems to be a pattern late in the contest, Nash and Maccario once again swapped spots, with Nash having come out on top with a margin of 4.3 points. While the two handicappers have been locked in battle for the top spot, Stepien and Gordon Waterstone are lurking behind the duo, less than 22 points behind the leader and are clearly contenders to watch.
Next Up: Week 2 at Hoosier Park will feature a weekend of Breeders Crown eliminations, with the distaff tilts to be contested on Friday and open elims contested Saturday.
The third and concluding week of the Hoosier Park residency will begin with the final preliminary leg of the Kindergarten Classic that will be raced at Vernon Downs, while the weekend features the Breeders Crown finals and Pegasus stakes.
(With files from HANA)