Grand River Raceway’s latest winner in its weekly qualifying rounds of the Winter Wednesdays Handicapping Tournament is Chuck Hall. The Fergus resident isn’t a champ by coincidence. Hall has fine-tuned his strategy after the 2012 tournament, and the secret recipe seems to be working.
He was a runner-up to Clare Cressman in week two, but on Jan. 30, it was Hall who took the lion’s share of the $200 qualifying prize.
A keen thoroughbred player since he placed his first bet at the age of 16, Hall’s six contest selections for Tampa Bay Downs reaped a hypothetical bankroll of $166. Two zingers (45-1 and 32-1) put him $75 ahead of runner-up Kerria Hammond.
Hall’s connection to racing is in the family. He had an uncle who trained thoroughbreds and nephews who were jockeys at Woodbine Racetrack. His favourite jockey of all time is Hall Of Famer Willie Shoemaker, a four-time winner of Hall’s favourite stakes race, the Kentucky Derby.
The top 10 finishers in each of the 10 legs of the Winter Wednesdays Handicapping Tournament advance to the $4,000 final on Mar. 27.
Patrons can play for free at Grand River Raceway and its OTB site, The Bettor Club, in Kitchener.
Complete rules are available on the GRR website: http://www.grandriverraceway.com/web/?page_id=298
