from the Meadowlands Media Relations Department

East Rutherford, NJ — Stanley Koper of Chicago Ridge, Ill., captured the $16,600 grand prize in the 2016 World Harness Handicapping Championship on Saturday (April 30) at Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment. Koper won entry through the USTA’s free, online WHHC qualifier hosted by BetAmerica.com on April 1 that provided 10 winners with a berth into the final.

Koper, who was a driver and USTA member in the 1970s, finished the tournament with a $1,100 bankroll to top the field of 83 players from across North America who competed for $41,500 in prize money.

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WHHC winner Stanley Koper with the Meadowlands’ Jennifer Bongiorno.

“Miracles don’t only happen in hockey,” said Koper. “For a Chicago guy to go out there and beat those guys from New York, that’s really a miracle. I bet $100 on the first race because I really liked the David Miller horse and from then on I led the whole way.

“This will help me pay off the costs of the trip and a car that I just bought but a lot of the money is going back into my betting accounts,” explained Koper when asked what he would do with the prize money.

Koper, a retired operating engineer, cashed on six of his 10 bets and had an early $420 score with $100 to win on Roll N Catch in race two at the Meadowlands. His largest score of the night was $450 on a $100 win bet on Intheblinkofaneye in Meadowlands’ sixth race. This win gave him a total bankroll of $1,215 with six contest races remaining. Koper cashed one more $100 win bet on Alexie Mattosie in the ninth at the Meadowlands.

The next closest competitor, Todd Cross, finished well behind with a $688 total bankroll.

Koper had finished 14th in the USTA qualifier, but earned his entry into the final when several of the top 10 qualifiers and the next couple of players on the list declined the invitation.

“Everyone at BetAmerica is excited to see Stanley win the World Harness Handicapping Championship,” said Merv Huber-Calvo, Tournament Director at BetAmerica. “BetAmerica offers harness racing handicapping contests every single day; Stanley is obviously a sage handicapper, and he keeps his contest skills sharp by playing contests regularly on BetAmerica.”

Third-place finisher Whitney Nassimos from Madison, N.Y., also qualified through the USTA’s April 1 contest on BetAmerica.com.

The WHHC contest format required contestants to bet 10 races: seven Meadowlands races of their choice, plus one mandatory race each from Vernon Downs, Buffalo and Meadowlands racetracks. Bets had to meet a $30 minimum, $100 maximum per race. Contestants could only bet one horse per race and wagers could either be win, place, show or a combination of the three.

In addition to the Meadowlands, the following partner outlets sent players to compete in the 2016 WHHC: USTA via BetAmerica.com, BetAmerica.com, Buffalo Raceway, Vernon Downs, Tioga Downs, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Hawthorne, and Standardbred Canada.

Following is the list of top 10 finishers in the 2016 World Harness Handicapping Championship: