Rusty Nash will remember this past week, as he leapfrogged from 11th to fifth place in HANA Harness’ Grand Circuit Shoot-Out Handicapping Contest.
His streak up the leaderboard came thanks to his hit in the Canadian Trotting Classic which netted him $2,912 for the night. At the end of the weekend’s action, which included the Quillen Memorial at Harrington Raceway, Nash netted a profit of $2,816 for the week and took weekly honours. The only other handicapper that showed a positive result for the weekend was Mark McKelvie, who netted $237.50 for the period.
Despite having a poor showing for the weekend, Bob Zanakis maintains a comfortable overall lead in the contest with a net profit of $3,738.85, which was $1,163.85 ahead of second-place handicapper Brandon Valvo. Close behind Valvo – with a difference of less than $200 – is Mark McKelvie.
The big hit of the weekend was the aforementioned score by Nash, where a $40 trifecta partial wheel (out of a total of $230 wagered on the trifecta) paid $3,162. The only other significant hit of the weekend belonged to McKelvie whose $50 win ticket on the Peaceful Way paid $487.50.
The current standings after the completion of the weekend’s activity are:
This week, the action comes fast and furious with the American-Nationals for two-year-old trotters at Balmoral Park, and at Delaware, the Buckette, Old Oaken Bucket, and the eliminations of the Jugette and Little Brown Jug on Wednesday and Thursday.
The week’s action concludes with a quartet of stakes at Hoosier Park, plus the Milton at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday evening.
(With files from HANA)