Carey wins Belmont Stakes Challenge

Karen Carey, a registered nurse from Manhattan, N.Y., won the 2018 Belmont Stakes Challenge with a final bankroll of $36,571.50 in a two-day contest held Friday and Saturday.

Carey qualified for the event via Aqueduct’s Gotham Challenge in March and has now parlayed that initial $500 buy-in into cash and prizes worth more than six figures. In addition to keeping her bankroll, she receives $60,000, a $10,000 entry into next year’s Belmont contest, and a $10,000 seat to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.

A field of 56 entries started with a $7,500 live bankroll. Rules required them to make at least five bets of $600 on Friday and at least five bets of $900 on Saturday. There were no maximum bets: players had the option to go all-in at any time.

The prize pool also includes finishers two through six who were Thomas Maloof ($24,950), Bruce Berg ($23,293), Garett Skiba ($22,254.10), Benjamin O’Connell ($22,020), and Marshall Gramm ($14,875). Philly Joe Metka, first three weeks ago in the World Horseplayers’ Tour/Santa Anita event, fell just short of the prize pool in seventh, but he still walked away with his $14,469 bankroll.

For the full leaderboard, go to: https://www.nyrabets.com/Contest-Leaderboard/?contestName=bsc2018

Benes earns Del Mar seat

Jim Benes was at it again this weekend on DRF Tournaments. The former NHC champion, and recent winner of the televised Hawthorne Invitational, won his $8,000 seat for the Del Mar Challenge on Sunday.

Benes, a professional horseplayer who recently switched from playing the Illinois circuit to California, tallied $100.30 in the 10-race contest, easily besting a field of 31 entries. In fact, Benes’ second entry in the tournaments was third overall with $78, returning him DRF Tournaments site credit in addition to the full ride to Del Mar.

On his winning ticket, he did his damage early, connecting with Peculiar Sensation ($37 win-place combined) in Belmont’s sixth and Candid Desire ($57.60) in Belmont’s eighth. Funnily enough, he had neither of those prices on his second ticket, but he did have the mid-priced winner in Belmont’s seventh race, Cheyenne Bull, who returned $16.80. A Pick Three to his three Belmont winners would have returned $1,623.50 for a buck.

On his second ticket, he had five collections, none the same as on his first ticket. All in all, a good day at the office for Benes.

Saturday’s big winner on DRFT was William Smith, who walked away with his $5,000 seat to next year’s World Championship of Handicapping, DRF’s online contest with big money on the line and no takeout in the finals. Smith finished the special all-Belmont slate with an impressive $106.30, nearly $40 clear of second place.

He chipped away early with four small collections in the first six races, then blasted off with $53.80 from Spring Quality in the Manhattan. He wasn’t done yet, as he cashed twice more to win in high style, with Justify ($7.10) in the Belmont and Hammerin Aamer ($24.90) in the anchor leg.

Also on Saturday, Scott Sivo won a $3,500 Saratoga Betting Challenge package, including entries to both days of the Saratoga tourneys and $500 in travel. He, too, was a beneficiary of Spring Quality’s upset win.

Contest action returns to DRFT on Wednesday with a full slate of feeders, credit builders, match-ups and winner-take-all contests. Next weekend’s big games include qualifiers for Gulfstream’s Seize the Speed event June 30 as well as Keeneland’s fall contest. There will be another Saratoga qualifier as well.

Go to tournaments.drf.com [link] for all the details.