For Immediate Release
FFI – Contact Allan Schott at allan@hanaweb.org
Mark McKelvie Crowned The Pen vs. The Chip
Champion
(October 28, 2012) – After sixty-three race
cards consisting of eight hundred and eight races handicapped, Pen Handicapper Mark
McKelvie was crowned champion of HANA Harness’ The Pen vs. The Chip
Handicapping Challenge sponsored by the Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands,
Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack on
Breeders Crown Night.
Not that it
was an easy victory. McKelvie, who was
cruising on the lead for most of the contest, was under pressure from Chip
Handicapper Earl the Pearl in the final leg as Earl had surged from sixth place
to start the evening in second place, just $37.90 behind McKelvie. When Earl scored in the seventh race with
Rockin Amadeus who paid $37.00 to win, it seemed like an upset was in the
making but it was not to be as Mark finished in front, a mere 0.012 ahead in
the ROI with a difference of $19.90 separating the top two. Pen Handicapper Bobby Z finished third for
the competition.
In
tonight’s final leg, Pandy finished on top with a Win ROI of 2.554, grossing
$61.30 with five winners selected on the twelve race program. Finishing second was Trackmaster’s Chatsworth
Consortium with a ROI of 1.688 ($40.50) while Earl the Pearl took the show spot
with a 1.542 rating ($37.00). While
falling short, Earl managed to cash in big Saturday evening as besides having
Rockin Amadeus to win, Earl also had the $304.60 exacta and $586.20 trifecta
nailed cold in the seventh race.
The final standings (sixty-three legs) for the
competition are as follows:
Position
|
Name
|
$
Won
|
ROI
|
ROI Back
|
Legs
|
Prev Pos
|
1st
|
Mark McKelvie (P)
|
$1,453.50
|
0.899
|
63
|
1st
|
|
2nd
|
Earl the Pearl (C)
|
$1,433.60
|
0.887
|
0.012
|
63
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Bobby Z (P)
|
$1,322.90
|
0.862
|
0.037
|
60
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Pandy (C)
|
$1,353.80
|
0.838
|
0.061
|
63
|
5th
|
5th
|
Mr, Trifecta (P)
|
$1,345.50
|
0.833
|
0.066
|
63
|
4th
|
6th
|
Chatsworth Consortium (C)
|
$1,301.00
|
0.805
|
0.094
|
63
|
6th
|
7th
|
Scott Alberg (P)
|
$1,273.10
|
0.788
|
0.111
|
63
|
7th
|
8th
|
Ray's Robot (C)
|
$1,239.40
|
0.767
|
0.132
|
63
|
8th
|
As a result
of Mark’s accomplishment, Horse Rescue United (HRU), McKelvie’s designated
standardbred rescue, will be the recipient of donations of totaling $2,100 from
the four sponsors and the Horseplayers Association of North America. In addition, other donations in Mark’s name
will be made to HRU and local rescues by the associate sponsors.
In Canada, donations will be made to the
Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society or local rescues of the track’s
choice. A total of $4,250 in donations
has been pledged to various standardbred rescues as a result of the
handicapping challenge.
With
respect to the Exacta Key side competition, Earl the Pearl won the evening with
an Exacta ROI of 6.622, grossing $304.60 for the evening. Pandy took the place spot with a ROI of 1.450
($69.60) with Bobby Z taking the final placing with a rating of 1.146 ($55.00). McKelvie was the overall winner for exactas
as well, this time with a much more comfortable lead, finishing with an
impressive 0.989 ROI. The final exacta
standings are:
Position
|
Name
|
$
Won
|
ROI
|
1st
|
Mark McKelvie (P)
|
$3,129.00
|
0.989
|
2nd
|
Bobby Z (P)
|
$2,583.80
|
0.865
|
3rd
|
Earl the Pearl (C)
|
$2,658.60
|
0.843
|
4th
|
Ray's Robot (C)
|
$2,514.20
|
0.802
|
5th
|
Pandy (C)
|
$2,520.70
|
0.798
|
6th
|
Chatsworth Consortium (C)
|
$2,437.40
|
0.783
|
7th
|
Scott Alberg (P)
|
$2,280.60
|
0.730
|
8th
|
Mr. Trifecta (P)
|
$2,186.80
|
0.693
|
On Friday night, the final leg of The
Pen vs. The Chip Challenge at Vernon Downs was contested and as a result, Earl
the Pearl was the handicapper who finished the best overall at Vernon
Downs. As a result of Earl’s
accomplishments, Vernon Downs is making a donation to the Standardbred Rescue
Foundation in Earl’s name.
HANA Harness would like to once again
thank our four major sponsors, the Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands, Tioga
Downs, Vernon Downs and our associate sponsors, Grand River Raceway, Harrington
Raceway, Horseplayers Association of North America, The Gold Cup and Saucer
(Red Shores Charlottetown Driving Park), Illinois Harness Horsemen’s
Association, Indiana Downs, Little Brown Jug (Delaware County Fair), and Woodbine Entertainment Group for their
generosity in agreeing to make donations to the standardbred rescue cause.
For the further information about The
Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge, including additional final statistics,
please visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment