This year's Pepsi North America Cup night at Woodbine Mohawk Park was jam-packed with stakes action, country music, prize giveaways and fun for fans to enjoy! The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club offered an online handicapping contest on N.A. Cup night as well as an on-track Pick The Winner contest.
Congratulations to Stephen Giddings of Stratford, Prince Edward Island, for winning the North America Cup Online Handicapping Contest with a perfect 20/20 score! He was the only Fan Club member from over 400 entrants to answer all of the questions correctly.
Giddings has been a fan of harness racing since he worked in the pari-mutuels at Summerside Raceway and at Charlottetown Driving Park. He is now a telecommunications technician and enjoys watching the races at Woodbine Mohawk Park from the comfort of his home.
Stephen will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Canadian Harness Racetrack of his choice along with a Fan Club prize package.
Below are the contest answers and Stephen’s selections:
1. Select the post position that will return the highest number of wins on the day. (3 points)
Stephen’s Selection: Post 4
Answer: Four of 15 races were won from Post 4: 9, 10, 12 and 13.
Four of 15 races were also won from Post 5: 1, 3, 8 and 14. Entrants who selected post 4 or post 5 were awarded points.
2. Select the leading money-winning driver for the day’s races. (3 points)
Stephen’s Selection: Montrell Teague
Answer: With only one race from the night’s 15-race card, Montrell Teague topped the list with $500,000 in earnings after winning the Pepsi North America Cup.
3. Select the leading money-winning trainer for the day’s races. (3 points)
Stephen’s Selection: Clyde Francis
Answer: Clyde Francis trained Lather Up, winner of the 35th edition of the Pepsi North America Cup, which resulted in $500,000 in purse earnings.
4. Select the horse that will reach the quarter pole first in the North America Cup. (3 points)
Stephen’s Selection: Done Well
Answer: Done well reached the quarter pole first, clocking the quarter in :26.3.
5. Will the final time of the 2018 North America Cup be over, under, or on the time of 2017 winner Fear The Dragon (1:48.4) (3 points)?
Stephen’s Selection: Under (faster than 1:48.4)
Answer: Lather Up sprinted home to a 1:48.1 victory, three-fifths of a second faster than the 2017 winner Fear The Dragon.
6. Select the horse that you think will win the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup. (5 points)
Stephen’s Selection: Lather Up
Answer: Undefeated in six starts this season, Lather Up returned $3.20 to win. The colt from the sire Im Gorgeous, out of the In The Pocket Mare, Pocket Comb, has 10 wins to his credit from 13 starts and has amassed $667,100 in career earnings for owners Gary and Barbara Iles.
The Fan Club also hosted a trackside contest where fans had to select the winning horse in the North America Cup. Congratulations to Cassandra Balesdent of Cambridge, Ont., whose entry was drawn from Lather Up’s ballot box and for winning a Fan Club prize package and a $50 gift certificate to Mohawk Park.