Following a bye week, Ray Cotolo had a big weekend earning 71.4 points and moving from eighth to fourth place in Week 7 of the 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge.
While Cotolo made a big move, Jay Hochstetler remains in front, lengthening his lead slightly.
Saturday was an ‘afternoon delight’ for Cotolo, as he reined in Dazzling Dollars ($22.60) in the Lady Suffolk at Freehold Raceway, earning 41.6 points for the afternoon. A duo of handicappers, Russ Adams and Mark Deutsch, tabbed 78-1 Curikee who finished third in the distaff stakes event earning 18 points apiece. Joe Bengston scored 16.2 points with his second-place finisher Southwind Hope.
While not the top handicapper on Sunday, Cotolo managed to earn 29.8 points on Sunday, nailing Solar Sister ($12.40) in the Chip Noble Memorial along with second place finisher Charmed Life in the Miami Valley Distaff. The top handicapper on Sunday was Rusty Nash who scored a Place-3 with second place finishes in the two Miami Valley stakes and the Elitlopp Playoff at the Meadowlands earning 30 points. Other handicappers who had good Sundays were Michael Carter (26.9 points), Adam Friedland (29.8), and Ray Garnett (23.6).
Following the weekend’s action, the standings are as follows:
This week, the Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge heads north of the border to Flamboro Downs where the primary race contest will be the Confederation Cup on Sunday, May 15. Since there is only one Grand Circuit race on the card, the handicappers will have the opportunity to wager on additional one or two high-level overnight races on the card.
(HANA Harness)