December-January 2015-2016 /
American Turf Magazine
9
Contest Central
The Seventh Annual
“CONNY” Aawards
Recognizing the Best in Handicapping Tournaments in 2015
By Noel Michaels
T
he
year
2015
is over
and
a new
year is just beginning, so this
seems like the perfect time to
look back on the past year in order to
recognize the best in handicapping
contests and tournaments. Motion
pictures have theOscars, Broadway has
the Tonys, television has the Emmys,
the music industry has the Grammys,
andnow, annuallyandonly inAmerican
TurfMonthlymagazine, handicapping
contests have the Connys – honoring
excellence in the world of horse handi-
capping tournaments.
The consensus biggest and best horse
handicapping tournaments in the
world are the National Handicapping
Championship (NHC) and the Breed-
ers’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC).
They are so obvious, they speak for
themselves, and require no additional
award recognition. Therefore they are
excluded from these awards – we’ll just
call them both “Lifetime Achievement
Award” winners. This column is about
the tournament world that extends
beyond the top two.
And so, gentlemen dust off your
tuxedos. Ladies put on your finest
evening attire. Maestro strike up the
band! Let’s get the show on the road.
Move over Eclipse Awards – these are
the seventh annual... Conny Awards...
The envelopes please...
Top Tournament Award:
The Conny goes to:
Players Challenge
(presented by HPQualify and Bettor Rac-
ing)
Contest veteran aficionado J. Randy
Gallo and his South Dakota-based
wagering operation Bettor Racing,
along with the folks at Horseplay-
ersQualify.com, Lee and Kevin Ger-
aghty, once again presented the Play-
ers Challenge – the best handicapping
tournament of 2015.
The Players Challenge might be
a challenge to get to in Sioux Falls,
SD, but none of the dozens of players
who qualify or buy-in to the event ever
seem to mind. The two-day tourna-
ment offers unrivaled perks and hos-
pitality for players – not to mention
an incredible prize structure includ-
ing more than $200,000 in cash to the
top 10 finishers, plus 6 NHC spots,
3 BCBC spots, and 10 Horseplayer
World Series berths. Perks include
meeting and mingling with horserac-
ing legends Steve Cauthen and Laffit
Pincay Jr., and custom-crafted trophies
for the top five finishers. Top tourna-
ment player Brent Sumja and too many
other handicappers to mention call
this event an absolute “must on every
player’s yearly calendar.”
Several preliminary online qualify-
ing contests were held on Horseplay-
ersQualify (HPqualify.com) offering
$7,500 prize packages including entries
into the Players Challenge. Entry fees
include a $5,000 real-money bankroll
that is used for tournament bets, and
the proceeds are obviously kept by the
players at the end of the tournament.
Don’t have $5,000 to bet with and
the money to get to South Dakota?
That’s understandable, but thankfully
there is an extensive qualifying pro-
gram offered throughout the year. If
you are good enough to qualify, you
won’t be disappointed. Between buy-
ins and online tournament entry fees,
the tournament pays back 100% of all
entry fees to the top finishers including
an $82,600 grand prize in 2015. Total
cash and prizes including final bankroll
winnings and qualifying spots came to
roughly $600,000.
Players bet a minimum of $500 on 5
races per day on each day of the tour-
nament for a total of at least $2,500
per day. An additional five races per
day can be wagered on the races from
Keeneland, Belmont, Gulfstream,
Hawthorne and Santa Anita. Bets could
be win, place, show or exactas. The
2015 champion, Joe Koury, finished
with a winning $23,307 bankroll.
With this contest, getting to the Sher-
aton Hotel and Convention Center
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and win-
ning is the hard part. Aside from that,
everything is first class and easy all the
way in what is universally lauded as an
expertly run contest offering top-class
action, food, and camaraderie.
Top On-Track Tournament Award:
The Conny goes to:
Belmont Park Handi-
capping Challenge
In an era when on-track tournaments
are switching to real money, charging
big take-outs, or disappearing alto-
gether, the Belmont Handicapping
Challenge continues to stand-out for
all the right reasons. Belmont again
did it “old school” in 2015, offering
handicappers a great traditional mythi-
cal money event returning 100 percent
of all entry fees to the top finishers in
the form of prize money (NYRA pays
down to the top 20 finishers).
Belmont also continues to offer all of
the perks that many tournament play-
ers used to rely on, such as excellent
complementary lunches, nice welcome
