The Road to Kentucky 2016
“Turn and face the strange.” – David Bowie
The annual Road to Kentucky Handicapping Contest starts this Saturday, January 16. Under the premise “you can never have too much of a good thing,” Canterbury Park has expanded the contest to 17 weeks this year. The rules and contest dates can be found on the Canterbury Park website. The contest offers $30,000 in total cash and prizes including an opportunity to play in a local National Handicapping Championship qualifier, so why not follow the horses as they try to qualify for the Kentucky Derby and maybe win some prizes along the way?
The format for the Road to Kentucky contest is “pick and pray,” meaning all selections are submitted at the beginning of the contest. There are weekly prizes and cumulative prizes, and this year the three lowest scores will be dropped when determining each player’s cumulative score. There are also Handicapper of the Year points available for the top three weekly scores and the top six cumulative scores.
In previous years, averaging about 1,000 points per week has been a good target to aim for. It’s hard to get there by using too many favorites, so I recommend taking some chances. Oftentimes when the favorite wins, the horse that runs second will be worth more points than the winner. To achieve the top weekly score, you typically need between 55-60% of the maximum available points for that week.
It’s horse racing, so strange things can and will happen over the course of 17 weeks. Be on the right side of the strange and cash for size.
Good Luck in Road to Kentucky 2016.
The Oracle
Minimum tracked pari-mutuel play using MVP Rewards card required for full prize pool payout: $20 in pari-mutuel wagers each contest day for daily prizes, $320 in pari-mutuel wagers for all contest days combined for overall prizes. Minimum play must be made using MVP Rewards card. Cancelled wagers are not considered valid for minimum wager determination. Should a weekly or overall winner not meet minimum wagering requirements, 10 percent of the cash prize will be awarded.
