Flanigan Locks Down DerbyWars $10K Game

Dan Flanigan of Medina, Minnesota is the latest DerbyWars $10,000 Lockdown tournament winner!

Flanigan, known as "flannymn" in the game, bested a tough field of 63 to take down the $5,000 first prize. It was his first big DerbyWars win but with his skill at picking winners, it won't be his last!

"I’ve always said a good horseplayer just puts themselves in a better position to get lucky," said Flanigan. "I was fortunate to not only get a good number of winners, but I got even better prices than I expected when I put the picks in."

This is particularly important in a Lockdown game - all of the picks for all 11 races must be submitted before the first race closes, and no changes can be made as the game goes on. Flanigan had two chances to win, playing two tickets that dueled for the top spot as the game progressed. See the ful leaderboard here.

Flanigan said, "the lockdown (format) gives me a level playing field and really forces me to think about how a contest might play out and where to pick my long shot opportunities."

That longshot came in Churchill Downs' race 5, a maiden claiming affair for three-year-old and up fillies and mares. Flanigan pegged Tiz Resplendent, a 4-1 morning line choice who drifted up to 8-1 by post time. The filly trained by Charles LoPresti scored a 1-3/4 length victory and added $27.40 to Flanigan's total. His final score was $85.60, to top former $10K winner Eric Moomeyer by just $4.

His second ticket didn't fare poorly, either, topping out at $74.40 for the 4th place spot.

Your chance to win $5,000 comes this Saturday - Qualify Today for the next $10,000 Game!