from HANA Harness

Sunday (August 19) was Earl the Pearl’s birthday and he celebrated it with a victory in leg 31 of HANA Harness’ The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge sponsored by the Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs by having a Win ROI of 1.571 ($44.00) and an Exacta ROI of 1.811 ($101.40).

The winner of this contest leg was determined early on in Harrah’s Philadelphia’s card as Earl was on the plus side of the ledger for the day in both categories after the fourth race, while coasting the rest of the day on to victory.

In the win category, Mark McKelvie was second and Bobby Z took show honors. In the exacta side competition, Trackmaster’s Chatsworth Consortium finished second as the only other handicapper to finish on the plus side with Mark McKelvie taking down show honors.

At the midway point of the handicapping challenge, Pen Handicapper Mark McKelvie remains on top with a 1.015 Win ROI, leading the rest of the handicappers by $100.50 as the other handicappers are beginning to bunch up. Clearly, with 30 more legs of the challenge remaining, this contest is far from settled.

The standings with 31 of 61 legs completed are as follows:

Position-Name-$ Won-ROI
1. Mark McKelvie (P)-$870.70-1.015
2. Chatsworth Consortium (C)-$770.20-0.898
3. Pandy (C)-$747.20-0.871
4. Mr Trifecta (P)-$717.50-0.836
5. Bobby Z (P)-$693.10-0.808
6. Scott Alberg (P)-$690.90-0.805
7. Ray’s Robot (C)-$656.60-0.765
8. Earl the Pearl (C)-$649.20-0.757

This upcoming weekend, The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge visits Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday (August 25) evening for the eliminations of the Canadian Pacing Derby, Metro and She’s A Great Lady stakes. Sunday (August 26) is another doubleheader for the handicappers as they will be plying their handicapping skills at Vernon Downs in the afternoon for the Dr. Harry M. Zweig Memorial open and filly stakes for 3-year-old trotters followed by the Rideau Carleton Raceway card in the evening for the Frank Ryan Memorial Trot.

For handicapping selections, statistics, and additional information regarding The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge, you may visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.