Meet The First $25K Winner of the Summer Here

This week’s DerbyWars $25,000 Saturday Game was nothing short of impressive. Recently receiving a purse increase of $5,000, the contest drew a full field of 120 players. Thirteen races from Belmont, Monmouth and Del Mar made up the contest menu. Jason Duncan (Zero) hit the ground running. Through four contest races, he had an incredible score of $93.70. Even with a seemingly uncatchable leader, it was Ralph Lough (Bigrtex) who would add his name to $25,000 Saturday Game winners.

The contest kicked into high gear right from the start. The first four races resulted in scores of: ($25.30) ($17.40) ($14.80) ($43.20). The leaderboard blew up – quickly. The fourth contest race proved to be the tournament’s most critical. Roughly twenty percent of the field was on Early Entry ($43.20) in the 10th race at Monmouth. When the dust settled, the players filling out the top nine had taken Early Entry.

Going into the fifth race, the players near the bottom of the leaderboard needed a miracle. Lough made sure they wouldn’t get one. Lough was well within striking distance early in the contest. He followed up his good start by cashing in five straight races, including Hatta’s Appeal ($27.90) in Belmont’s 10th race. After his brilliant stretch, Lough was only able to add $6.20 in the last three races. At that point it didn't matter. His incredible middle move would be more than enough to take home $10,000 and the title of DerbyWars $25,000 Saturday Game Champion.

The contest’s longtime leader, Duncan, drew a blank in the last six races. His incredible start and second place finish banked him $4,125 and an $875 entry to the DerbyWars $100,000 Whitney Day Game. Michael Tanzer (Oreo) made a solid late charge to finish third, earning him $2,000 and a “100K” entry. Rounding out the top five were both of Denis McCormick (panther1)’s entries. Between the two entries, he took home $1,915 and two 100K entries.

The contest’s unsung hero was Garett Skiba (Skibasher), the only player to crack the top 10 without Early Entry ($43.20) in the fourth race. His tenth place finish returned $350 and a world of confidence.

Congratulations to Ralph Lough and the other top finishers in this week’s DerbyWars $25,000 Saturday Game! Qualifiers for next week’s contest are running now so get in on action today!

-- By Josh Frederick

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