The first stanza of the Grand Circuit at the Red Mile is in the books, and for the week it was the ‘Garnet Barnsdale Show’ in HANA Harness’ Grand Circuit Shoot-Out Handicapping Contest thanks to his plays in the second and third days of the meet.

Barnsdale was hot this week and earned a weekly net profit of $3,254 to bring his overall net profit to $711.30, leapfrogging from 11th place to fifth place. He is now only $1,356.85 behind overall leader Bob Zanakis, whose overall net profit is $2,086.15, just $718.15 ahead of second-place Mark McKelvie. Josi Verlingieri sits in third place with Brandon Valvo and the aforementioned Barnsdale within $250 of her.

Day 1 of the Red Mile meet was a tough challenge for all the handicappers, with Verlingieri being the only handicapper to score a significant profit of $155 thanks to a $150 win ticket on the winner of the fourth division of the Bluegrass stakes for two-year-old filly trotters as Bee The Queen returned a $405 dividend.

Day 2 and 3 of the meet was all Barnsdale. On the second day of the meet, Barnsdale earned a net profit of $1,405 thanks to his wagers in the first division of the Bluegrass stakes for two-year-old filly pacers. A $200 exacta of Better Be Steppin and Hillarys Style returned him $720, while a $50 trifecta, including Rock Her World for third, returned $935. Dennis O’Hara had a daily profit of $175, while Gordon Waterstone earned $100.

On the third day of the meet, Barnsdale increased his net profit by $2,349 in the third division of the Bluegrass Stakes for two-year-old colt pacers. A $40 superfecta partial wheel ($240 total ticket) of Artspeak-Sicily-Traceur Hanover-Blood Brother returned a dividend of $2,252, while a straight $10 trifecta paid $347. Also-rans on Day 3 were Verlingieri, with a $250 net profit, and Rusty Nash, with a $178.50 net thanks to winning exactas in the first division of the Bluegrass for three-year-old colt pacers and the FFA pacers at Scioto Downs in the Jim Ewart Memorial Invitational Pace. Derick Giwner earned $112 for the day.

The final day of the first stanza of the Red Mile meet was a tough day for all and the only winner of note was Rusty Nash, whose $119 net profit was fueled by a $15 trifecta key ($90) in the first division of the Bluegrass for three-year-old colt trotters, which paid $369.

The current standings after the completion of the weekend’s activity are:

This week, the second stanza of the Red Mile meet is the focus of the handicapping challenge, with Thursday racing featuring the International Stallion Stakes (ISS) for two-year-old filly trotters. Friday’s contests include the ISS for two-year-old colt trotters and filly pacers. Saturday’s tilts include the ISS for two-year-old colt pacers and the Garnsey Memorial for three-year-old filly pacers in addition to the Tattersalls for three-year-old open pacers. Closing day in Lexington features a quartet of races, the first heat of the Kentucky Futurity and Kentucky Filly Futurity, plus older horses in the Allerage for three-year-old open trotters and pacers, as well as their corresponding filly and mare stakes.

(With files from HANA)