Mike Labriola of Richmond, CA won the Claiming Crown Ultimate Handicappers Open on Saturday at Canterbury Park. Labriola, a regular on the handicapping tournament circuit, turned his $1,000 live bankroll into $3,865 to win the $25,000 first prize and an entry to the $1,000,000 Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) to be held in January 2010 in Las Vegas.
The contest offered a total of $39,400 in prize money and three entries to the NHC. Second in annual Claiming Crown Ultimate Handicappers Open was Ricky Zimmer of New York City with a final bankroll of $3,064. He received $7,200 in prize money. Terry Ousky of New Prague, MN was third with $1,108. He received a berth in the NHC and $3,600. The fourth-place finisher, Gary Wigell of Willow Springs, IL, qualified for the NHC as well because Zimmer had already earned an NHC entry in a prior contest. Wigell’s final bankroll of $1,066 also netted him $2,160 in prize money. Fifth was Brian Herrity of Mankato, MN with $1,043. His prize was $1,440.
