Through a shortened summer stakes season, which will gain steam with the Hambletonian this Saturday (Aug. 8), Al Libfeld holds a slim lead in the 2020 TROT Fantasy Stable Contest with less than $100,000 separating the top 10 while Gino Chiaravalle leads in the 2020 COSA Fantasy Stable.

In the 2020 COSA Fantasy Stable Contest, which focuses on select Ontario-sired two- and three-year-olds, Gino Chiaravalle of Binbrook, Ont. holds an slim lead over Dan Davis of Peterborough, Ont. heading into Monday's cards of harness racing.

Chiaravalle’s Uptown Stable has banked $873,545 through the year so far, bolstered by horses including Tattoo Artist ($106,000), HP Royal Theo ($106,000) and Bet On Becky ($97,633).

Davis’ Team Davis Stable shares similar horses to Uptown Racing, including Beach Blanket Book ($51,276), Karma Seelster ($28,560) and Up And Ready ($45,605) along with the aforementioned leaders for Chiaravalle. Davis has managed a stable with all but one horse earning purse money this racing season—better than Chiaravalle’s four horses with no earnings—but still sits behind only about $6,000.

The COSA Fantasy Stable Contest, which has prizes for the top 20 finishers, and carries a Grand Prize worth approximately $4,000, runs from June 26, 2020 through the end of the OSS Super Finals on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Brought to you by the Central Ontario Standardbred Association, and administered by TROT Magazine and Standardbred Canada, the fantasy pool is based on the total earnings of a selected group of Ontario sired two and three-year-olds, ten percent (10%) of the OSS earnings from four groups of sires, and five percent (5%) of OSS earnings from four groups of trainers and drivers.

Click the Fantasy tab near the top right hand side of the Standardbred Canada homepage to follow along with the contest all year long. Contest totals are updated daily at 11:00 a.m.

The top 10 stables as of Aug. 3, 2020 are featured below. To see the full list of results, click the following link: 2020 COSA Fantasy Stable Standings.

Libfeld of Pickering, Ont. leads with a Fantasy Stable earning $1,658,157, accrued from such competitors as Tall Dark Stranger ($343,569), Gimpanzee ($376,200), Manchego ($207,725) and Hypnotic AM ($167,219). Libfeld will receive TROT Magazine swag as a reward of his current leadership. Prizes will be given to every leader at the start of each month.

Mark Stang of Edmonton, Alta. sits second on the leaderboard just $1,000 behind Libfeld. Remarkably, the two have only a three-horse overlap with Tall Dark Stranger, Gimpanzee and Hypnotic AM. Stang’s selections of Dancin Lou ($243,411) along with American History ($32,531), JK First Lady ($30,805) and Summa Cum Laude ($41,116) earning large amounts helped carry him into contention for the top spot.

The TROT Fantasy Stable Contest is based on total earnings of selected horses and five percent of the earnings of selected trainers and drivers between June 19 and Dec. 31, 2020.

For the purposes of the fantasy bankroll, the winners (horses only) of the 2020 Breeders Crown Finals will each receive a $200,000 contest bankroll bonus. Also, in the two-year-old categories, contestants were allowed to select two horses.

At the end of the year, the winner of the contest will receive entry into and travel to the 2021 World Harness Handicapping Championship, a prize valued at (approx) $1,300.

Click the Fantasy tab near the top right hand side of the Standardbred Canada homepage to follow along with the contest all year long. Contest totals are updated daily at 11:00 a.m. (EDT).

The top 10 stables as of August 3, 2020 are featured below. To see the full list of results, click the following link: 2020 TROT Magazine Fantasy Stable Standings.