By Lucas Marquardt
LAS VEGAS — Ray Arsenault took an early lead at the $2.44-million National Handicapping Championship 18 and never looked back, securing a clear-cut victory in the nation's richest handicapping tournament. The 64-year-old from Thornhill, Ontario is one of the most popular players on the NHC Tour and was swarmed with well wishers after the final race at Santa Anita last evening, capping a stellar run that was as comprehensive as it was impressive. Arsenault will take home the $800,000 grand prize for winning the NHC and an Eclipse Award as the 2017 Horseplayer of the Year. A total of $2.44 million was up for grabs at the three-day tournament, which began Friday. Arsenault hit a $100 winner on Saturday (capped at 20-1) that ensured a place in Sunday's morning's semi-final. He kept on picking winners and led all the way to the Final Table, which included nine other finalists. The final was made up of seven mandatory races that required players to place mythical $2 win and place bets. Arsenault's biggest score in the final was care of the 12-1 Mr. Tickle (Street Sense), who dug in to win the ninth at Fair Grounds.
At the end of the day, the results were:
Player, Bank
1 Ray Arsenault 407.7
2 Stephen Wolfson, Jr. 361.1
3 Ryan Scharnowske 320.2
4 Louis Filoso 309.3
5 Dan Kovalesky 308.7
6 Steve Hartshorn 299.4
7 Joe Jarvie 284.1
8 Frank Mustari 279.4
9 David Bernal 270.8
10 Michael Caposio 265.4
Arsenault's lead was just under $42 going into the final race, the ninth at Santa Anita, which led to a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with the 2003 NHC winner Stephen Wolfson Jr. in second. For much of the lead-up to the race, only one horse was over the 20-1 price. That meant Wolfson had to pick that horse to have any chance of catching Arsenault–who only had to play the same horse to secure a win. But with two minutes to post, two more horses went over 20-1, so Wolfson was still alive, if only barely, if he was able to root home the one horse Arsenault himself didn't pick. In the end, it was a moot point as the 2-1 favorite Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) charged home a winner.
Arsenault said it just a case of getting in the zone and staying there all weekend.
“The $100 horse [Saturday] got me off the schneid [for the day], and the rest is history,” he said. “Everything I played just won; I wish I could do that everyday!”
Arsenault said he was moved by the outpouring of support throughout the contest.
“It's outstanding,” he said. “I had so many people come up to me and wish me well, including people that I've never met before. I really appreciated it.”
Asked what his plans for the winnings are, Arsenault quipped, “Give it to the IRS, at least some of it. I'm Canadian–they take way too much.”
It was Arsenault's seventh trip to the NHC dating back to 2005. Arsenault, a transportation broker, attended racing at Woodbine and Greenwood as a young child and fell in love with the sport.
In other news, Rick Vasquez won yesterday's NHC Consolation Tournament with a final bankroll of $112.80. The 51-year-old Vasquez, who coached the Missouri State University hockey team for four years, is an attorney from Springfield, MO. The win earned him a $10,000 first prize, plus an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, worth another $10,000. He edged out Chicago's Brian Yablon for the win. Yablon took him $7,500 for the runner-up performance.
For full results, visit www.ntra.com.
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