Handicapper Ryan Clements not only is leading the inaugural Bet Ontario Handicapping Contest, he also has won each of the first two legs – May 29 during the Camluck Classic card at The Raceway at Western Fair District and June 13 during the Pepsi North America Cup card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Clements – also known as the man who gave the world the Catch Driver racing game app – led all 12 participants at Western Fair with a night-ending bankroll of $102.80 – 30 cents better than runner-up Chris Ruddick. Clements (
right, Melissa Keith photo) then outdid himself on NA Cup Night against 42 other players, finishing with a bankroll of $386 to put his seasonal total at $488.80 through the second of six legs. In the second leg, Clements defeated runner-up Pierre Charette by $141.45.
Winning both legs has already earned Clements $1,000 in prize money.
The in-person contest, a collaboration between Ontario Racing,
HPIbet.com and the
Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA), features total prize money of $10,000 and is being held during some of Ontario’s biggest Standardbred events.
Each leg of the contest (
full details and standings here) features $1,000 in cash prizes – $500 to the winner, followed by $300 for second place and $200 for third. Each participant starts with their own $100 bankroll and plays that night’s races at the host track with a tournament-specific HPIbet betting card. Other than only betting on the host track, participants must make at least three wagers and spend at least $50 of their bankroll.
Contestants are ranked by their total in-tournament-play bankrolls after the final race of participating legs.
Any player that finishes in the top three during any of the six legs automatically qualifies to participate in the championship event. In addition, the championship will be open to any player that finishes in the top 10 by total seasonal bankroll through all six legs, not counting those that have already qualified.
Due to finishing in the top three in either the first or second leg, Clements, Ruddick, Charette, John Ferguson and Gordon Baird have already qualified for the seasonal championship event to be held during the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Final Night on Oct. 10 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. On that night, $4,000 in cash prizes is up for grabs – $2,000 to the winner, $1,000 to the runner-up, $500 for third, $300 for fourth and $200 for fifth.
Of those that have not, yet, qualified for the championship, the season-long leadership board looks like this through two legs:
- Melissa Keith - $132.20
- Gary Hunter - $90.28
- Jamie Martin - $88.65
- David Leslie - $62.75
- Ribsy - $59.22
- Ralph Moxlay - $56.87
- Bonnie Lam - $30
- Barry Strongman - $25.90
- Tyler Desroches - $20
- Art Bos - $19.10
That means if all six legs of the competition had been completed, all 10 of those players would qualify for the championship.
The four remaining legs are:
- Sunday, July 26 – Clinton Raceway on Legends Day / National Driving Championship
- Monday, Aug. 3 – Grand River Raceway on Industry Day / Battle of Waterloo and Battle of the Belles
- Saturday, Sept. 26 – Woodbine Mohawk Park for Mohawk Million / Metro Pace
- Saturday, Oct. 3 – Woodbine Mohawk Park for Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship
As of today, 29 of the 43 participants show a balance greater than $0 through the first two legs. Those players are ranked as follows:
- Ryan Clements - $488.50
- Pierre Charette - $244.55
- Gordon Baird - $148.85
- Melissa Keith - $132.50
- Chris Ruddick - $102.50
- John Ferguson - $97.29
- Gary Hunter - $90.28
- Jamie Martin - $88.65
- David Leslie - $62.75
- Ribsy - $59.22
- Ralph Moxlay - $56.87
- Bonnie Lam - $30
- Barry Strongman - $25.90
- Tyler Desroches - $20
- Art Bos - $19.10
- Vincenzo Strangis - $18.10
- Olivia Saunders - $2.50
- James Cauchon - $1.77
- Ryan Puglisi - $1.57
- John MacDonald - $1.10
- Corrado Puglisi - $0.60
- Brad Guthrie - $0.50
- Jennifer Graham - $0.40
- Paul Howard - $0.40
- Robert Day - $0.38
- Dante Sindori - $0.17
- Brad Guthrie - $0.10
- John Finlayson - $0.05
- Mario Grech - $0.05
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