Stuart "Beef" Rubin took a $310 lead early Sunday afternoon and survived the
challenge of Tom Meeker to win the sixth annual $102,000 Autotote Sports Haven
Handicapping Challenge.
Rubin, who resides in the Bronx and works for the Board of Education for the City of
New York, won the first place prize of $40,000. Meeker, 61, was second, earning $15,000.
Michael Hyde, Congers, NY, was third, earning $9,000 and Mark Hill of East Lyme, CT, was
fourth, earning $7,000. The top four finishers qualify for the $200,000 Daily Racing Form
/ National Thoroughbred Racing Association Championship to be held in Las Vegas in 2003.
The 340 contestants are given a mythical bankroll of $2,000 to wager on each day of the
two-day tournament. Players have to make 10 $200 wagers on races from Aqueduct, Gulfstream
Park and Santa Anita. The wagers can be win, place or show.
Rubin won his third bet of the afternoon when Doubly Brite (23.60) captured Aqueduct's
fifth race, giving him $10,320 in mythical money. Meeker also wagered on Doubly Brite to
give him a bankroll of $10,010. Rubin seven bets remaining but couldn't cash a ticket,
while Meeker suffered a series of frustrating losses as he attempted to gain the lead.
With eight bets left, Meeker, a 61-year old retiree from New Haven, CT, had plenty of
chances to win. He bet $200 to win on Run Kush Run who had the lead in deep stretch in
Aqueduct's eight race before Peeping Tom made a powerful run up the rail to win by a half
length. He bet $200 to win on Pleasant Scholar in Gulfstream's ninth race, but the horse
finished second. In Santa Anita's fifth race, he bet $200 to place on Greenhills, but he
finished third, beaten a half-length for the place. He came close again when he bet $200
to place on Devon Deputy in the seventh, but he finished third, beaten a length for
second. His selection in the last race didn't hit the board.
I didn't think I was going to win, I was just hoping to finish in the top four so that
I would qualify for Vegas, said Rubin, who nervously watched the scoreboard throughout the
afternoon. For the tournament, Rubin only selected four winners, but they were enough to
win.
People from twenty states and Canada participated in the contest and they came to play.
Wagering for the weekend was a Sports Haven record $1.2 million.
Autotote will hold a one-day On the Wire phone wagering contest, April 20. Autotote's
other premier simulcast complex, Bradley Teletheater, will host a contest July 13-14.
Autotote owns and operates Connecticut Off Track Betting which includes Sports Haven,
the Bradley Teletheater in Windsor Locks, the Bristol and New Britain RaceView Centers and
branches in Bridgeport, East Haven, Norwalk, Waterbury, West Haven and Torrington.
