Johnson captures WCH seat

Phillip Johnson was this weekend’s biggest winner on DRF Tournaments. On Saturday he won a $5,000 seat to next year’s World Championship of Handicapping, DRF’s big-money, no-takeout online contest. Assuming full participation of 200 entries – which is expected to happen in the contest’s second year – the WCH purse will be $1 million.

Johnson won by cashing in five of 12 races in the online qualifier in a nine-runner field. His longest price was Appa ($16.80 win-place combined) in Gulfstream’s 12th, and in the penultimate contest event he got back $14.60 from Fault in Santa Anita’s ninth. His final score of $58.80 put him more than $20 clear of Tony Zhou in second. Zhou was drawing live to catch Johnson with High North in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn (Johnson had selected Combatant), but it didn’t matter when Magnum Moon won the day.

Also on Saturday, former NHC Tour champion Cheryl McIntyre won a berth to Keeneland’s Grade 1 Gamble in a special added contest limited to 10 entries. The contest, which utilized the all-in format, was a nail-biter, with five of the 10 entries finishing within $5, a rare thing.

The players bunched together at the end included Zhou again, as well as McIntyre’s fellow former tour kingpin Jonathon Kinchen, who finished fourth and fifth with his two entries. McIntyre got back $11.60 in the Rebel, enough to vault to the front with a final total of $55.40, just 60 cents ahead of James Riley. Riley needed Solomini in the Rebel for the win. Had Combatant gotten by Solomini for second, the place points Kinchen received would have gotten him the victory (he played Combatant on both his entries).

In an equivalent event Sunday, Thomas Abinati won the Keeneland seat, with McIntyre in second. Abinati took the lead early with consecutive cashes in the second and third contest events: $12.80 from Sapphire Jubilee in Gulfstream’s ninth, and $33.20 from Daftar in Oaklawn’s fifth. He topped up later with $24 from Council Rules at Oaklawn, cruising to victory with $85.20 to McIntyre’s $55.

Sunday also saw Menas Philippides win his way into NYRA’s Wood Memorial contest with a score of $82.80 in a field of 14. Philippides essentially ran the table in the contest’s second half, cashing-in all six races and in eight of 12 overall. Council Rules was the longest price, but he gets style points for closing out with $14.40 from Donut Girl as well.

Also this weekend, there were feeders for the new World Horseplayer Tour/Santa Anita Preakness contest, with two players, Ronald Guffee and Sean O’Malley, winning into the April 7 qualifier. The WHT/ SA contest has its purse money fully added at no cost to players and will be used to film a television pilot. You can qualify for the WHT/SA contest only at DRF Tournaments.

Action returns to DRF Tournaments on Wednesday with a free chance for players to start their journeys to the World Championship of Handicapping. There is no limit to the amount of entries that will be accepted and the top 10 finishers will receive an $11 entry into the Thursday WCH feeder.

Look for more feeders for contests at Keeneland, Monmouth, Aqueduct, and the WHT/SA Preakness event. The April 8 qualifier for the Belmont Stakes Challenge, a $10,000 livebankroll event, is also now live on the site.

Go to tournaments.drf.com for a full list of all the games available.