Those players that assumed Golden Gate Field’s nine-race El Camino Real card, the featured track in the weekly Road to Kentucky Contest last Saturday, was going to be a predictable chalk-fest were mistaken. Four of the races produced scores of more than 475 points including the feature race which was won by Zakaroff at 48 to 1 odds, a cap horse in R2K, yielding 2,104 points. Total points available for the week totaled a season high 4,540.
Zakaroff was a must have for contest purposes and about a dozen entrants selected him. The 2,104 points from that race alone is more than any of the total winning scores from the first four weeks. R2K is a marathon with several weeks and many double-point races remaining, but Zakaroff supporters were provided a huge boost in quest of the overall title and $1,350 prize.
The high score of the week went to Kerry Stephens with 3,140, nearly 70 percent of the available points. The second place score, 2,834, was earned by Larry Cronin. Neither had played R2K in the first four weeks so while they are not impacting the overall leader board currently, they did earn prize money, and if they play out the remainder of the contest, keeping in mind that the lowest three scores are dropped from the total, they both could contend.
This Saturday’s R2K track is Fair Grounds with 12 races including the Derby prep Risen Star, a field of 14. Entry to R2K is always free.
The Horse Player World Series Satellite Contest also takes place Saturday. Winning players will earn a trip to Las Vegas in late March to compete in the HPWS at The Orleans Hotel Casino. Entry fee to the satellite is $100. Players make 10 mythical $2 win/place wagers with the goal being accumulating the most points based on mutuel payouts of selections.
