Harness racing handicapper Stanley Koper, 67, of Chicago Ridge, IL captured the $16,600 grand prize in the 2016 World Harness Handicapping Championship on Saturday, April 30 at Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment.
Koper finished the tournament with a $1,100 bankroll to top the field of 83 players from across North America who competed for $41,500 in prize money. Koper won his spot in the BetAmerica.com & USTA Qualifier hosted in March.
"Everyone at BetAmerica is excited to see Stanley win the World Harness Handicapping Championship," said Merv Huber-Calvo, Tournament Director at BetAmerica. "BetAmerica offers harness racing handicapping contests every single day; Stanley is obviously a sage handicapper, and he keeps his contest skills sharp by playing contests regularly on BetAmerica."
The WHHC contest format required contestants to bet 10 races: seven Meadowlands races of their choice, plus one mandatory race each from Vernon Downs, Buffalo and Meadowlands racetracks. Bets had to meet a $30 minimum, $100 maximum per race. Contestants could only bet one horse per race and wagers could either be win, place, show or a combination of the three.
Koper, a retired operating engineer, cashed on six of his ten bets and had an early $420 score with $100 to win on Roll N Catch in Race 2 at the Meadowlands. His largest score of the night was $450 on $100 win bet on Intheblinkofaneye in Meadowlands' sixth race. This win gave him a total bankroll of $1,215 with six contest races remaining. Koper cashed one more $100 win bet on Alexie Mattosie in the ninth at the Meadowlands. The next closest competitor, Todd Cross, finished well behind with a $688 total bankroll.
In addition to the Meadowlands, the following partner outlets sent players to compete in the 2016 WHHC: USTA via BetAmerica.com, BetAmerica.com, Buffalo Raceway, Vernon Downs, Tioga Downs, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Hawthorne, and Standardbred Canada.
Prize $ |
Bankroll |
First |
Last |
City |
State |
$16,600.00 |
$1,100.00 |
Stan |
Koper |
Chicago Ridge |
IL |
$8,300.00 |
$688.00 |
Todd |
Cross |
Seaman |
OH |
$6,225.00 |
$685.00 |
Whitney |
Nassimos |
Madison |
NY |
$4,150.00 |
$570.50 |
Arch |
Glenn |
Columbus |
OH |
$2,075.00 |
$550.90 |
Gary |
Scogna |
Carmel |
NY |
$830.00 |
$536.50 |
Brandon |
Downing |
Decatur |
OH |
$830.00 |
$488.00 |
Karen |
Fossli |
Yorktown |
NY |
$830.00 |
$453.25 |
John |
Murphy |
East Lyme |
CT |
$830.00 |
$440.20 |
Wladyslaw |
Kiczko |
Fairfax |
VA |
$830.00 |
$436.00 |
Dean |
Barone |
Huntingdon Valley |
PA |
Rachel Ryan