Jean Lee earned $5,000 and a spot in the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship next winter by winning the finals of the Churchill Downs spring meet handicapping contest on Wednesday June 23.

Lee, of Louisville, actually finished in a dead heat for first in the contest with William Lenzi, also of Louisville, but after a delay of some 20 minutes, Lee was declared the solo winner after tie-breakers were enforced. Both Lee and Lenzi finished with $73.20 bankrolls produced by their respective $2 win and $2 place wagers on races 3 through 8 on the Wednesday program.

The narrow defeat was not all that traumatic for Lenzi, since he earned $2,500 and the second of two berths in the National Handicapping Championship. Another eight contestants divvied up $2,500, with Brenda Kuhn of Prospect, Ky., faring best by finishing third. A total of 125 contestants participated in the finals.