For those that play handicapping tournaments and contests in the Canterbury Park Racebook, the name Pamela Kight would not be unfamiliar. Her name often shows up as a qualifier in the weekly $10 super satellite contests. The Spring Tune-Up Super Satellite series began Feb. 23 and Kight finished second in the first session, earning a $100 berth in the April 8 Spring Tune-Up Satellite. She followed that up by not only winning the March 2 through 4 weekly super with the high score, but also recorded the second highest score on another entry, winning two more spots in next month’s event.
The super satellites are offered Thursdays through Saturdays and players can pay to enter once per day. There are three contest tracks daily from which to choose and players make a selection in each of eight contest races at the track they have chosen. Scores are based on points accumulated through mythical $20 win/place/show payouts. This past session, Kight earned her best score Friday night at Sam Houston Race Course and then Saturday recorded the second-highest weekly score through her Oaklawn picks.
“I play the contests along with regular betting,” Kight said. “I get a lot of fun out of my $10 for the contest. I like the fact that I can play the next bigger contest if I win an entry.”
For a moment this year Kight was also atop the 2017 Handicapper of the Year leaderboard after winning the first contest of the new year. This recent victory earns her another Canterbury Park Handicapper of the Year point.
“I would like to someday win Canterbury Park Handicapper of the Year,” Kight said. “Not easy to do though! I think I was second one year. So I like getting that point last weekend!”
Over the years she has played in Canterbury’s biggest contests including the Dog Days of Summer, and years back the Claiming Crown Ultimate Handicapping Contest, both of which send players to the National Handicapping Championship. Victory in those contests has been elusive for Kight.
“I really look forward to Thursday, Friday and Saturday when I can play the contests,” she said. “The more chances I have, the more likely it is I will someday get the glory of winning a trip to the BIG one, or getting Handicapper of the Year. Meanwhile, I just enjoy playing.”
With four more sessions in this series, Kight has an opportunity to win her fourth entry, the maximum allowed April 8. Players can also buy-in to the Spring Tune-Up Satellite for $100. The top two players from that contest, which is an anything-goes mythical bankroll format, earn $700 Dog Days of Summer entries and third place is a $550 Ultimate NHC Qualifier entry. All three also earn cash prizes.
