After nine weeks of blowing away the rest of the handicappers, Jay Hochstetler all of a sudden finds himself in a horse race in the 2016 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge, as Russ Adams continued his hot streak in Week 10 by being the top handicapper for the second straight week, earning 146.9 points for this week’s efforts.
What was a triple-digit lead a mere two weeks ago is now a single-digit lead thanks to the surge by Adams, who resides in second place, a mere 9.3 points off the lead after being eleventh and 193.45 points behind two weeks ago. Over the last two weeks, he earned a combined 241.15 points.
Adams can thank his selection of Evenin Of Pleasure ($74.30) to win the Molson Pace, which earned him 99.7 of his 146.9 points for the week. In addition to the Molson score, he selected the winner of a division of the Ms. Versatility Trot as well as the Lismore and the Maxie Lee Memorial the rest of the week which featured four days of contest action.
Second-place honours for the past week went to Adam Friedland, who earned 92.05 points to move from seventh to fourth place, which is attributable to him sweeping the Betsy Ross, Maxie Lee, and Dorothy Mullin Invites, including Venus Delight ($20.40), which earned him 77.85 points of his weekly total. Bryan Owen picked up show honours, as he edged out Rusty Nash 74.05 to 71.43.
Following Sunday afternoon’s racing, the standings are as follows:
The handicappers will get a breather this week, as the only action on the docket is at Mohawk Racetrack, where the Graduate series will continue and the Somebeachsomewhere stakes will be contested.
(With files from HANA)