Adam Coglianese

Belmont Park Handicapping Challenge winner Dave Gutfreund (right) qualified for his fourth straight NHC finals. Others pictured include (L-R) third-place finisher Richard Gaetano, runner-up John Macklin, and NYRA's Bill Nader.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The $60,000 Belmont Summer Handicapping Challenge boiled down to a two way race between a pair of Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship veterans as Dave "The Maven" Gutfreund of Chicago edged John Macklin of Brooklyn in a seesaw battle for the tournament's $25,000 top prize. Gutfreund and Macklin both earned trips to next January's NHC VI in Las Vegas. Gutfreund will be making his fourth NHC appearance, Macklin his third.

Gutfreund is a longtime tournament player and handicapping analyst who currently co-hosts Horsin' Around TV, a weekly horse racing magazine show airing on Fox Sports Net Chicago. He cashed a total of five win bets and one place bet out of 20 tournament plays en route to a contest-winning bankroll of $1,244 based on nine $20 and one $40 win, place, or show wagers on each day of the two day event.

"Qualifying [for the NHC] for the fourth straight year is a very special thing for me," Gutfreund said. "You're qualifying for a chance to win a lot of money in Las Vegas."

Scores were high on the first day of the contest with Gutfreund and Macklin atop the leaderboard thanks to wins on Discover the Glory ($30.40) and Christine's Outlaw ($29.60) in races 7 and 8 at Belmont. Gutfreund, who hit Christine's Outlaw with his $40 bet, then added wins on Gold Reserve ($12.20) at Belmont and Ensenada ($9) at Monmouth to finish day one with the lead with $1,108. Macklin was close behind with $1,048.

Despite four winners during Saturday's play, Gutfreund believes Belmont's fifth race Saturday where 2-5 favorite Theatrical Cat nosed 21-1 longshot What the Hail may have been the most important race of the contest. "If the longshot wins the photo in that race, it totally changes the dynamic of the contest for me. I didn't have either horse and I lost the race, but the fact that the favorite got the head-bob over the longshot was huge."

In contrast to Saturday, Sunday's scores were very low thanks to a flurry of winning favorites at both contest tracks. Macklin took the lead midway through day two until Gutfreund rallied to victory thanks to a $20 win bet on Quest of Fate ($7.60 DH) in race 7 at Monmouth, plus a strategic $20 place bet on Ryan Is Flying ($6) in the Belmont finale.

"I got the breaks and I'm very appreciative," Gutfreund said. "I figured out a way to win."

Macklin finished $34 behind Gutfreund and settled for second place with $1,210. He held off third-place finisher Richard Gaetano who finished with $1,155. Gaetano won $5,000 plus a qualifying spot in NHC VI. Macklin captured the second prize of $8,000. He has now qualified for the NHC in three NYRA-hosted events dating back to 2000.

"I Know the New York horses, and I stick to what I know," said Macklin.

Macklin earned very respectable 42nd and 29th-place finishes in NHC II and NHC VI, respectively. Gutfreund has $2,833 in career NHC earnings. His highest national finals finish to date was a 19th-place finish in NHC IV.

The contest cost $300 to enter and sold out all 200 slots. All entry fees were returned as prize money to the top 20 finishers. NYRA will host another similar contest at Aqueduct on Nov. 13-14 with another $60,000 and three NHC berths at stake. The Aqueduct contest is one of 59 remaining DRF/NTRA qualifying contests scheduled for the rest of the year at racetracks, OTBs, and websites throughout North America.