NHC 16: John O'Neil Dominates the Final Table
While everyone in the top 50 at the National Handicapping Championship was jockeying for position to get in the top 10 and an eventual spot at the final table, Day 2 leader John O’Neil and Ken Jordan traded punches throughout the early part of Day 3. Jordan poked his nose in front when adding $10.30 to his bankroll early on. About an hour late O’Neil reclaimed the top spot when successfully tabbing Baby Wildcat ($7.00/$4.20) in Oaklawn Park’s 2nd race.
After Jilleah ($23.20/$12.20) won the 3rd race at Gulfstream, Jonathan Kinchen moved both of his entries into the top 5. Eventually Kinchen’s entries finished up 5th and 7th before moving to the final table. The race also moved 2010 champion, Brian Troop, into the 10th spot. Briefly after, though, Troop fell out of the top 10, but re-rallied in the last race before the final table to grab the 10th spot.
According to NHC rules, a player cannot take two entries to the final table should both entries be in the top 10. Therefore, Joe Scanio got the last seat at the final table, though he was in 11th place, and Kinchen's lower spot was awarded 11th place. NHC emcee, Eric Wing, declared that Scanio “drew in off the also-eligible list.”
Heading into the final table, Jordan held a $283.30-$277.60 lead over O’Neil, but the first mandatory race produced yet another lead change. O’Neil, along with 2 others in the top 10, successfully tabbed Huntstown in the 10th race at Tampa Bay Downs, and added $10.40 to his bankroll. From there, he never looked back. He extended his lead in the 3rd final table race (Gulfstream Park race 11) when Main Man Mike won and paid $14.40/$8.20. The result also moved Troop up from 10th to 6th.
Aperfectdaytofly winning the 7th race at Santa Anita added another $11.60 to O’Neil’s bankroll of $327.20, and was now $43.90 ahead of Jordan with two races remaining. O’Neil’s lead wasn’t insurmountable, but it definitely put the pressure on the others to reach with longshots they normally wouldn’t play.
The penultimate race was the Clocker’s Corner Stakes at Santa Anita. Pure Tactics’s win was only good for Joe Scanio. The $22.20 total moved him up four spots to 5th place. The final race was anticlimactic as Sum Midnight Star at 7/2 took Santa Anita’s nightcap. In fact, people began congratulating O’Neil as the horses turned for home when there were only three contenders left, none of which were a big enough price to leapfrog him. For his three days of work, O’Neil takes home $800,000, an Eclipse Award, entry into next year’s NHC, and entry into this fall’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
Here are the remaining results and prizes from the final 10 contestants:
2. Ken Jordan-$291.70, $250,000
3. Matthew P. Ransdell-$269.00, $125,000
4. Joseph Muzio-$266.30, $100,000
5. Myles Richards-$262.20, $75,000
6. Joe Scanio-$206.20, $65,000
7. Jonathan Kinchen-$256.60, $59,000
8. Robert A. Pontani Jr.-$247.90, $54,000
9. Brian Troop-$245.60, $52,000
10. Mike Ferrozzo-$234.40, $50,000
Photos courtesy of Melanie Martines