It has been announced that the second-youngest person to ever qualify for the World Harness Handicapping Championship will be taking his best shot at the competition next month.
When Brett Risi started tagging along with his dad and older brother to the horse races at Vernon Downs at age 12, he never thought it would lead to the opportunity of a lifetime.
After winning a qualifying tournament at Vernon Downs last month, Risi, now 21, will compete against 100 of North America’s best horseplayers for a $50,000 prize pool in the World Harness Handicapping Championship (WHHC) in April at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ.
“I am honoured to have a chance to play against the best handicappers in the country,” said Risi, who will be the second youngest person ever to compete in the WHHC final. “It makes me feel good about myself and I hope more kids my age will come to be as interested in the game as I am.”
Now in its tenth year, the WHHC is harness racing’s premier handicapping tournament and allows players from across the U.S. and Canada the chance to qualify through both live and online events, in addition to buying a seat for $800. In the WHHC final, each player begins with a $300 bankroll and contestants are required to wager at least $30 on ten designated contest races. The player who amasses the largest bankroll is declared the winner.
Risi, a Herkimer, NY resident, is a college student and works part time. He is a self-described regular at Vernon Downs and says he has won a few other smaller tournaments, but none that would provide a first-place prize of $20,000.
“As I got older, I learned how to bet and really expanded my knowledge of strategic wagering,” explained Risi. “By the time I was 19, I knew I had figured out just about everything I could on how to bet.”
Risi says he already spends a lot of time handicapping the races and will devote even more time to his craft if he wins next month.
Three other horseplayers from Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs also won qualifying tournaments recently at the two upstate New York racinos and will compete at the WHHC final: Phil Melancon from Clay, NY; Mark ‘Duke’ Smolinsky of Endicott, NY; and Kim Wahila of Vestal, NY.
For more information on the World Harness Handicapping Championship, click here.
(With files from Tioga/Vernon)