As with several Breeders Crown champions this past weekend, Garnet Barnsdale opened up a commanding lead in Leg 50 and 51 of HANA Harness’ Grand Circuit Shoot-Out Handicapping Contest thanks to his weekly net profit of $2,446.10.
Thanks to his tally this week, Barnsdale’s overall net profit is $5,007.40, giving him a lead of $3,231.40 over second-place Mark McKelvie. With three legs (four races) remaining in this year’s contest, it would seemingly take a monster hit by one of Barnsdale’s opponents and a collapse on his part for someone to take the lead away from him.
While first place appears safe, there is a real battle for second and third place, as the finishers in those positions will also have donations made to their rescues of choice. Second-place McKelvie has an overall net profit of $1,776, roughly $1,430 ahead of third-place Bob Zanakis’ $346.95. While not in a cashing position, Brian McEvoy is sitting in fourth place within stalking distance, as he is less than $240 behind Zanakis,
On Friday night, Derick Giwner came out $883.20 to the plus side thanks to his plays in the Breeders Crown three-year-old filly pace as a $72 win ticket earned him a $756 payout. In addition to the win wager, Giwner had a $1 trifecta partial wheel ticket (total of $42) which paid $505.20. In the same race, Barnsdale earned $806.40 thanks to his $1010.40 payoff on a $2 trifecta key ($168).
Saturday evening was all Barnsdale with a daily profit of $1,659.70, followed by Dennis O’Hara’s $605 and Rusty Nash’s $440. Barnsdale’s profit came primarily thanks to a $1 trifecta wheel ($72) in the Breeders Crown Open Mare Pace which returned $1,998. O’Hara managed to hit a $132 trifecta partial wheel ($390) in the two-year-old filly trot which paid $975 while in the Open Mare Pace, Nash’s $200 place wager (part of a win, place combo; $400) returned a $840 dividend.
The current standings with three legs remaining in the competition are:
The Handicapping Shoot-Out makes its final stop at the Meadowlands for the finals of the TVG Series on Saturday evening (November 29). The contest wraps up with stops at Dover Downs (December 7) for the Progress Pace and concludes at Northfield Park (December 12) for the Cleveland Classic.
(HANA)