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| Reno Hilton |
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Steve Daggett, the winner of the Reno Hilton Summer Showdown III, earned $11,120 for the victory, but was ineligible to qualify for the National Handicapping Championship.
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| Reno Hilton |
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The Reno Hilton Summer Showdown's four Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship V qualifiers were (L-R) Dave Snyder, Dane Moore, Richard Witt, and Larry Hodin.
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Most of the horseplayers who took part in last weekend's Summer Showdown III tournament at the Reno Hilton were trying to qualify for the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship.
Steve Daggett of Walnut Creek, Calif., missed the June 7 early-bird deadline to be eligible for the four NHC berths, but he made the 200-mile drive from the Bay Area and entered anyway.
The tournament drew 139 entries at $200 apiece, and contestants had to put $300 in live bets through the windows on each of the two days. After Friday's opening day, Daggett had turned his $300 into $336 and was in a distant 23rd place, nearly $2,000 behind the leader, Dave Snyder of Mission Viejo, Calif.
Daggett more than made up that deficit on Saturday, collecting $4,440 from his $300 in plays for a two-day total of $4,776, well ahead of Reno Hilton regular Larry Hodin, who built his bankroll to $4,000. In addition to the real-money earnings, Daggett claimed $11,120 for finishing first, and Hodin won $4,994.
Nevertheless, it will be Hodin going on to the NHC at Bally's Las Vegas in January along with the next three finishers, but tournament director Steve Fierro said Daggett wasn't crying over spilled milk.
"When he called earlier in the week, I explain that he wouldn't be eligible for the early-bird bonus, and he was fine with that," Fierro said. "He wasn't too bummed afterward. He knew what he was getting into. He was happy with his winnings - and why wouldn't he be since he turned $800 into nearly $16,000? - though he did say, 'This is the last time I'll skip the early bird.'"
While Daggett stays home, Dane Moore will be representing northern California at the NHC, as he finished third with a final bankroll of $2,925.80 (plus $2,780 from the prize pool). Snyder held on for fourth place with $2,852 (plus $1,947).
Summer Showdown I champion Richard Witt, a sports handicapper for the New York Post and a former advertising rep for DRF, finished fifth with $2,580 in earnings (plus $1,391). Normally, that would be the extent of his bounty, but with Daggett missing the deadline, the final NHC berth falls to Witt, who, along with the other qualifiers, gets round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.
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