Pettit wins in style at Spa

Big names in the contest world were all over the leaderboards of the two contests held at Saratoga this past weekend. On Saturday, the Fourstardave Challenge became the firstever live-bankroll contest to be held at the Spa and the event proved popular with 176 entries competing and a prize pool of $176,000.

In the end, Joe Pettit of Charleston, S.C., proved best, crushing a $1,300 exacta as well as a $300 win bet in the contest’s last race. That got his bankroll to $20,785 and netted him $50,260 in prize money plus a $10,000 seat to next year’s Belmont Stakes Challenge. Back in 2015, under the old mythical format, Pettit ran second at Saratoga, which was his best contest cash until this weekend. But Pettit has been a mainstay in the contest world over the past few seasons, battling in person and online. Pettit, 51, has been dubbed the “Handicapping Haberdasher” and is the owner of the Key West Hat Company. He is often and is seen wearing a hat of some kind, but not this time around.

“The weather was too hot to wear an expensive hat,” he said.

Pettit eclipsed the leader, Dave Nichols, heading into the last. Nichols is from Wayne, Pa., and must have felt pretty secure heading to the last race with a sizable lead and only a short-field, off-the-turf race between him and the winner’s circle. Nichols ended up in second place with a bankroll of $13,500 and $24,412 in prizes. He was also awarded a seat to the National Horseplayers’ Championship, an event for which Pettit has already qualified. Roger Cettina of Rumson, N.J., twice second at the NHC, finished in third place with $17,232 in prize money and a bankroll of $9,500 as well an NHC Seat. Rounding out the top six were Robert Little in fourth place, James Videtic in fifth place, and John Behnke in sixth. Each received an NHC seat.

In the Saratoga Challenge on Friday, 63-year-old Paul Shurman of Dix Hills, N.Y., added to his Hall-of-Fame résumé by winning his first NYRA handicapping challenge, besting a field comprised of a whopping 215 entries and ending the day with a bankroll total of $4,161. He also received $29,365 in prize money, and a berth in the Belmont Stakes Challenge.

“Previously, I’ve come in second five times in NYRA contests, and this is the first time I’ve won, so it’s special,” Shurman said. “I was able to hit the late double to take the lead in the final race of the day.”

Early last week it was announced that Shurman was the winner of the NHC Tour first half, an interconnected series of contests that awards prizes at the mid-point and year’s end. Many years ago, tournament player Ross Gallo opined that “you don’t choose the tour, the tour chooses you.” He meant that a big result or series of results can make it so a player almost has to chase the tour for the potential financial gain. With an outright win over a huge field on Friday, it looks like the tour has chosen Paul Shurman.

“Now I’ve got to play for it,” he said. “For better or worse. There is so much luck in tournaments, but you’ve also got to be able to put yourself in a position to get lucky.”

Shurman won the tour in 2011 and would be the first two-time winner. “It would mean a lot to me to be able to do it again. It would be like Johnny Vander Meer,” he said, referencing the only pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a row. “Somebody might tie his record, but no one is going to pass him.”

In second place on Friday was Robert Rosenzweig of Toronto, Canada. He was awarded an NHC seat with $14,263 in prize money and a bankroll of $3,752. David Nelson of Exton, Pa., finished in third place with a bankroll of $3,542 and $10,068 in prize money. He also received a NHC seat. In fourthplace was Paul’s brother Bill Shurman of Danville, Calif. He finished with a bankroll of $3,484, won $7,551 in prize money, and received the last remaining NHC seat.

For a full listing of results and prizes awarded for the Saratoga Challenge and Fourstardave Challenge please visit NYRA.com/challenge.