Pro gambler wins big at BCBC

Professional horseplayer Chuck Grubbs won $394,020 last weekend at the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge by finishing best of 391 entries that put up $10,000 to compete in the biggest live-bankroll contest in the country.

A Georgetown, Ky., resident who has an office at the Red Mile in Lexington, Grubbs finished with a total score of 94,020, besting Ed Abel of West Des Moines, Iowa, who had 86,330 points and, combined with his secondplace prize of $200,000, had total winnings of $286,330.

Grubbs’s betting action is 95 percent focused on harness racing, but he showed that he knows the Thoroughbred game as well.

“My whole family was brought up in the harness business,” said Grubbs, who is licensed as a Standardbred trainer and owner. “It’s always been in my blood, and I’ll never leave it, but I love the Thoroughbred game because of all the money.

“You always dream about winning, but this tournament is so hard,” said the 51-yearold Grubbs, who grew up right between Beulah Park and Scioto Downs in Ohio. “I have so much respect for all of these guys, so to beat them on the biggest stage is quite an accomplishment.”

Grubbs was playing in his sixth BCBC, and he finished in the money last year as well.

“I always thought I could win; now I know I can win,” he said.

Despite his strong finish last year, he wasn’t happy afterward in light of the controversy that surrounded the tournament, with accusations of the winner taking advantage of unclear rules and a player being disqualified for collusion. But Grubbs gave full credit to the Breeders’ Cup for rectifying the situation in 2018.

“I like the fact that the Breeders’ Cup was proactive and put a committee together to come up with new rules and regulations that were fair to everyone,” he said. “The format changes were right up my alley. I’m all about making the players make more bets. I don’t believe in letting them sit there and hold onto their money to bet it all in one race.”

The key to Grubbs’s wagering on Friday was Newspaperofrecord in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. His secondary key in the race was East, and he constructed trifecta tickets 6-14-all and 6-all14. When Newspaperofrecord won easily and East got up for second, he had a $20 tri and was off and running.

By the end of the day, he was happy with where he sat in 13th place with $18,500, and it was time to come up with a strategy for Day 2.

“I came into the day with several small feelings but nothing like Newspaperofrecord,” he said. “I knew Accelerate was the fastest horse, so I was thinking if I can get to that race, that’s where I’m going to take my shot.”

He thought Accelerate was good value due to the narrative about trainer John Sadler that had taken hold.

“In my mind, I knew Accelerate was the best horse on paper but thought he would be 7-5 or 8-5, not 5-2,” Grubbs said about the Classic favorite. “People may have shied away from him because Sadler had never won a Breeders’ Cup race. But I thought he was an overlay at 5-2, so I took advantage of that price.”

Heading into the Classic, he had $15,000 left. He put $7,000 in his pocket and bet the remaining $8,000 – $6,080 to win on Accelerate and two $40 trifecta wagers keying Accelerate on top with Gunnevera and Mind Your Biscuits underneath (14 with 4, 11 with all, and 14 with all with 4, 11).

“Gunnevera was very consistent – not in winning, but he was always in the money,” said Grubbs. “I thought he would make a strong run in the stretch, and he did.”

Grubbs credited his friend Blake Jessee (ninth in the BCBC) and videos by racing pundit Andy Serling with confirming his interest in Gunnevera, adding that the jockey booking was another reason he liked the horse.

“Irad Ortiz fits the horse perfectly,” he said. “He’s a strong rider, and that horse needs coax the entire race.”

Gunnevera finished one length behind Accelerate to be second. Thunder Snow completed the trifecta, and Grubbs earned $64,000. Combined with the win bet on Accelerate, he pushed his bankroll to $94,020 and earned the BCBC title.

“I was sitting in the Jockey Club Suites [at Churchill Downs], and when I found out I had the top score, the place went crazy,” Grubbs said. “The thrill of celebrating with loved ones is something I wish all horseplayers could feel. I thought of my dad, who I lost 20 years ago. He would say to me about playing the races, ‘Boy you need to get a real job.’ And I would say, ‘But, Dad, I’m good at this job.’ ”

For BCBC results, go to www. breederscup.com/bcbc/leaderboard.

Pegasus World Cup qualifier

Just as the Pegasus World Cup will be the next major stop for many of the horses who competed on Saturday, so will the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship be the next major event for live-bankroll contest players. The contest prize pool is put up entirely by The Stronach Group, making it a fantastic opportunity for players to gamble with a positive expectation.

Players can buy into the Pegasus contest for $12,000 or try to win their way in this weekend via DRF Tournaments. Sunday’s qualifier costs $960, and 1 in 15 entries will win their entry fee plus $500 for travel. On Saturday, you can feed into Sunday’s qualifier in a game that costs $220 and will advance 1 in 5 entries.

Also on DRFT this weekend are chances to win into next year’s Horse Player World Series and World Championship of Handicapping. For more information, including a list of all matchup, winner-takesall, and feeder events, go to tournaments.drf.com.