Caposio, Haas weekend's biggest DRFT winners

Michael Caposio and Tim Haas were this weekend’s biggest winners on DRF Tournaments. Each won his $3,000 seat to the Keeneland Fall Challenge, plus $500 travel money in a 20-entry event Saturday that consisted of 10 races at Del Mar and Saratoga.

The game required players to make mythical $2 win-place bets in each of those races, with the highest totals at the end winning. It utilized the live format, in which picks could be changed until the scheduled post time of each race.

Caposio’s winning total of $88.50 was achieved from four collections, the largest coming via Sippican Harbor ($46.40 win-place combined), the longshot winner of the Spinaway. He also collected much needed points in the anchor leg (the contest’s last race) from Lady Montdore, who got the job done in the Glens Falls. The real difference-maker, however, came much earlier in the sequence. Caposio picked Beau Square in Del Mar’s opener. When that bay filly overcame a tardy start to close and win, he got back the $21 that would prove decisive.

The reason those points mattered so much is that second-place finisher Haas also had Sippican Harbor and Lady Montdore and collected in one more race than Caposio. No need to feel bad for Haas, though. His total of $80.70 still got him to the same place – a coveted spot at Keeneland for one of the most popular contests of the fall.

Pat Stich will join those two at Keeneland. He won his spot Sunday in a 10-entry event that awarded only a $3,000 tournament berth. Stich grinded out the victory with six collections in a low-scoring affair. His total of $54.50 was just clear of an unlucky Brett Wiener, who finished with $53, good for nothing but a hard-luck story. Stich’s longest price was Year of the Kitten ($15.60) in Saratoga’s eighth.

Also on Sunday, two players won entries in DRFT events to the Orleans Fall Classic. Robert Courtney ($52.20) was best with seven hits overall, the longest of which was also Year of the Kitten. Steven Banks came in second with $48.40. His big winner was Myrcella ($20.40) in Del Mar’s second; he had five collections in all.

For more information about tournaments past, present, and future, navigate to tournaments.drf.com