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| Colonial Downs |
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The four DRF/NTRA NHC V qualifiers from Colonial Downs are (L-R) Berkley Kern, Jr., contest winner Dave Durkin, Henry Damgaard, and John Vitale.
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First-time tournament player Dave Durkin of Atlanta, Georgia beat a sold-out field of 200 horseplayers to win the Colonial Downs Handicapping Classic on June 28. The victory netted Durkin a first-prize of $5,000, plus an invite to the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship V to be held on Jan. 23-24, 2004 at Bally's - Las Vegas.
Durkin compiled a final contest-winning bankroll of $114.20 with eight mythical $2 win and $2 place wagers on the day's live race card. Durkin had three winners for the day including Improvised ($40.60) in the second race and Azazel ($21.60) in the eighth race. He also had three seconds to propel him to the top of the standings ahead of runner-up Berkley Kern, Jr. of Baltimore, who earned $2,500 for finishing with a final bankroll of $108. Kern was playing in his second tournament in three weeks after having recorded a 13th-place finish in a field of 487 at Delaware Park on June 14.
The top four finishers from Colonial all earned qualifying spots in NHC V in Las Vegas. Completing Colonial's four-person team will be third-place finisher Henry Damgaard of Charlottesville, Virginia ($106.40) and fourth-place finisher John Vitale of Chesapeake, Virginia ($101). Damgaard and Vitale earned $1,500 and $1,000 in prize money.
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