Canterbury Park

Road to Kentucky contest winner Jamie Rau (center) was presented with a $5,000 check and trophy by Canterbury Park's John Harty and Rachel Backes.

Canterbury Park's seventh annual $50,000 Road to Kentucky Handicapping Tournament took 14 weeks to crown a victor, but the payoff was worth the wait for eventual winner Jamie Rau of Shakopee, Minn. who won the contest's $5,000 first prize and qualified for the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship VI next January in Las Vegas.

The Road to Kentucky Tournament was a free event hosted by Canterbury Park every Saturday from Feb. 14 through the Kentucky Derby on May 1. The contest required entrants to pick horses at selected racetracks each week. Players accumulated points throughout the 14 weeks based on mythical $20 across the board wagers each week. Race cards from tracks hosting Kentucky Derby prep races were used often during the contest, and Derby preps were always worth double points. More than 1,000 entrants participated in the contest.

Rau, who was in contention throughout the tournament, took the lead on the next to last week of the contest and then remained on top on Derby Day finishing with a final point total of $11,846. It was more than $200 back to eventual second-place finisher Allen Hopen who finished with $11,629.

Canterbury Park put up the entire $50,000 purse for the event. The $50,000 in prize money was awarded to the contest's weekly winners as well as its top overall point earners.

Canterbury will send a total of six qualifiers to next January's National Handicapping Championship. The track's next qualifying contest is scheduled for Aug. 14-15.