Bruce Meyer won his sixth Canterbury Park Handicapper of the Year title, defeating Shaun Rau by four points in the year-long battle for local horse-handicapping supremacy that concluded Dec. 28.
“It’s never easy,” Meyer said. “I enjoy the challenge. I’ll be back at it in 2020.”
In fact, the 2020 handicapping contest schedule is underway now with $10 super satellite contests that award one Handicapper of the Year point weekly.
Throughout the 2020 calendar year, Canterbury will offer contests awarding HOY points at predefined levels. The points accumulate throughout the year. The player who has accumulated the most points by the end of the year is declared Canterbury Park Handicapper of the Year and receives a prize of $2,000. The second highest point total will receive a runner-up prize of $500.
Contest rules and structure vary. Some contests will be free to enter, such as the Road to Kentucky Tournament that begins Jan. 18, while others will require entry fees and ‘live’ bankrolls.
Meyer earned his 18 points in many different formats including Road to Kentucky and a Horse Player World Series Satellite that earned him a trip to Vegas for the HPWS. He also will play in the $3 million National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) in Vegas next month, an entry he won via a second-place finish in the annual Dog Days of Summer Handicapping Tournament.
“There are many reasons to play in handicapping contests,” Meyer said. “If you do consistently well, you have a chance at the Canterbury title and can also put yourself in larger events with huge payouts. A lot of local players have had very good success on the national scene.”
Mike Ferrozzo, the 2017 Canterbury HOY, won the NHC Tour that year and has made the final table at the NHC and performed well in the HPWS as well as in other events across the country.
Meyer keeps busy on Twitter during the summer offering his daily Canterbury Park live racing selections through his account: @Oracle65 . He selected winners at a 34% rate last season, beating the takeout by 11 percentage points.
It is a CanterburyLive.com tradition to post HOY future pool odds at the beginning of each year.
Future Pool Odds
Bruce Meyer 8/5
Andrew Zabowski 6-1
Shaun Rau 8-1
Ron White 10-1
Mike Ferrozzo 12-1
Terry Severson 15-1
Field 30-1