In the penultimate leg of the 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge on Saturday evening at the Meadowlands Racetrack, 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 left the door open to the possibility of Gordon Waterstone grabbing the brass ring in 79th 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 Pace remaining the sole race to be contested in the contest, five handicappers remain in contention to earn a cheque 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.
Next Up: The final leg of the contest concludes with the Progress Stakes at Dover Downs on Thursday, November 30.
(HANA)