from HANA Harness

The Horseplayers Association of North America’s harness racing division, in association with the Hambletonian Society, Chicago Harness (Balmoral and Maywood Parks), Meadowlands Racetrack, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs, are pleased to announce the handicappers and their respective charities for the 2013 Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge which kicks off on Friday (April 26) at Northfield Park for the Courageous Lady.

In alphabetical order, here are the handicappers who are competing for their charities, hoping to share in more than $3,000 in donations:

Garnet Barnsdale (Central Virginia Horse Rescue) is the writer of Driveon blog at HorseRacingNation.com and hosts a harness racing radio show, North American Update on Blogtalkradio.com. He is also a contributing writer to the Down the Stretch newspaper.

John Bowman (Helping Hearts Equine Rescue) is a frequent guest handicapper at Tioga Downs.

Sally Hinckley (Rockin T Equine Rescue) is a long-time columnist on harness racing in Maine. In addition, she sets the morning line at Scarborough Downs and fairs with her selections show on telecasts. Hinckley is a board member and secretary of the state’s Maine Harness Racing Promotion Board.

Mark McKelvie (Racer Placers) has long been around Mohawk/Woodbine Racetracks and was the winner of HANA’s 2012 The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge who is looking to prove his win was not a fluke.

Rusty Nash (Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals) has written for TrackMaster for 18 years in addition to his writing a column called The C-Note for the USTA one year.

Earl Paulson (Heading For Home) is a former handicapper for Sports Eye and was the second place finisher to Mark McKelvie in last year’s The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge. In addition, Paulson is the moderator of MerryGoRoundRacing, a Yahoo group for people who enjoy harness racing.

Richard Scott (Changing Fates Equine Rescue) is a former horse owner and trainer. He has competed in many handicapping contests and is looking forward to competing in this contest.

Anne Stepien (Therapeutic Riding and Off-Track Rehabilitation) has been a life-long fan of harness racing and once trained horses for Dr. Robert Johns after which she went on the Grand Circuit working for Gene Riegle. She is looking forward to participating in a handicapping contest which doesn’t require you to handicap the entire card’ For several years, Anne handicapped for Bobby Z’s Picks at the Races.

Gordon Waterstone (Horse Lovers United) is the associate editor of The Horseman And Fair World whose race picks over the years have appeared in several newspapers and tip sheets. He has competed and contended in several National Harness Handicapping Championships at the Meadowlands and is looking forward to a new challenge in this contest.

Fans may follow the competition at HANA Harness’ contest site with the handicapper’s selections being posted no later than the morning of each competition date. In addition to the named sponsors, HANA Harness would like to acknowledge Red Shores Charlottetown as a silver sponsor. Additional sponsorships are welcome.