Jim Famularo II won the National Harness Handicapping Contest at the Meadowlands Saturday night, finishing with a bankroll of $2,091 to take home first place and the $50,000 prize. He finished with $125 more than the second-place finisher. The Horseman And Fair World's Gordon Waterstone got off to a slow start and finished out of the top 10.
Famularo, of Toms River, N.J., Famularo finished the tournament with a $2,091 bankroll. This year’s event drew 105 players from across the country that either earned their seat through a qualifying tournament at one of the NHHC partner outlets or entered through direct buy-in. The total fee to enter the NHHC was $1,000 [$600 non-refundable entry fee plus $400 required tournament bankroll].
Players representing partner outlets had a strong showing in this year’s tournament, with 11 of the Top 25 winning their way to the championship through a qualifier. In addition to the Meadowlands, outlets which sent players to the 2007 NHHC were: Bally’s Las Vegas, Balmoral Park, Bangor Raceway, Brandywine Turf Club, Buffalo Raceway, Cal-Expo, Capital OTB/Albany Teletheater, Freehold Raceway, Harrington Raceway, Los Alamitos, The Meadows, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Western Regional OTB/Batavia Downs and Winticket.com.
The NHHC contest format required contestants to bet 10 races: seven Meadowlands races of their choice plus one mandatory race each from The Meadows, Balmoral and Cal-Expo. Bets had to meet a $40 minimum, $100 maximum per race. Contestants could only bet on one horse per race and wagers could either be win, place or a combination of the two.
Famularo began his climb to the top of the contest standings in the fourth race at the Meadowlands. He bet $90 to win on Magic Force [$12.80] and cashed $576. From there, he connected with Town Bullet [$13.80] in race six at Balmoral, one of the mandatory plays, and yielded $630 for a $90 win bet. Famularo’s biggest score of the night came with a $100 win bet on Boulder Creek [$17.60] in the Meadowlands’ eighth race, which returned $880. Famularo also picked A Different Tune [$15.00] in race 12 at the Meadowlands, and reaped $375 from a $50 win bet. As part of his prize package, Famularo will receive tickets for two on Continental Airlines to anywhere in the continental United States; a guest appearance on Fox Sports Net's Racing from the Meadowlands television show; and the chance to have his handicapping picks published in the Meadowlands program on major stakes days. Famularo, a senior vice president of finance at CitiStreet, earned his way into the 2007 NHHC through the Meadowlands’ Last Chance Qualifier in March. It was the first time he had entered a handicapping tournament. “The March tournament was the first handicapping contest I’ve ever played in,” said Famularo, “but I’ve been coming the racetrack since I was 12. My dad, Jim Sr., owned horses that raced at Freehold. I go to the racetrack once a week, either at the Meadowlands or Freehold, with my dad or brother, Tom. “I looked for value, longer shots and tried to pick as many winners as I could,” he said of his tournament strategy. “I had $100 to win on number one in race seven at Cal-Expo [one of the possible mandatory choices and the last race of the contest] and he lost by a neck. Luckily, nobody could catch me.” FINAL STANDINGS
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