Brisnet members dominate Handicapping Championship

Brisnet members dominate Handicapping

Championship

Brisnet member James Michelson Jr. earned the title of 2005 Handicapper of

the Year on Saturday, defeating 213 contestants to win the sixth

annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) at

Bally's racebook in Las Vegas. Michelson won the championship's $200,000 grand

prize just two years after his friend and fellow Brisnet member Steve

Wolfson Jr. accomplished the same feat at NHC IV in 2003.

Michelson, a 38-year-old advertising account director from West

Bloomfield, Michigan, qualified for this year's tournament last August. He received

the $200,000 Grand Prize for bankrolling $240.40 in mythical money during the

two days of play.

"To beat all these people is just mind-blowing," said Michelson, who was a

close fifth after the first day. "Some days you pick horses and they all run

backwards, but this was one of those days when they won. I didn't think I could

get lucky two days in a row."

Players made 30 mythical $2 win-and-place bets at seven tracks. Michelson's

total was $31.60 ahead of his closest rival, which was enough to give him the

largest margin of victory ever in the NHC. During his speech at the post-contest

awards ceremony at Bally's on Saturday night, Michelson mentioned that Brisnet

information assisted him in his win.

Brisnet customers dominated the leader board throughout the two-day

competition. Seventeen members placed in the top 20 and nine were in the top

10. Michael Conway (Glencoe, Illinois), took the $75,000 second-place prize for

totaling $208.80 in his bankroll. Conway also led the Twin Spires Club team to a

win in the NHC team championship. The winning team split a prize of $15,000.

Michael Elsass, part of Churchill Downs #2 team, rounded out the top three with

$205.40 in his bankroll, earning $30,000 for third-place. Damian Roncevich

(Honolulu, Hawaii), finished day one in second place and hung around the

leaderboard the entire contest to eventually finish fifth place. Roncevich took

home $10,000 in prize money.

Other Brisnet members finishing in the top 10 included Bill Shurman, who was

the day one leader and sixth overall; Richard Gaetano and David Kassmier, who

tied for seventh; ninth-place finisher Don Sullivan; and 10th-place finisher

Calvin Manns. The sixth through 10th-place finishers each won $5,000 in prize

money. A total of $20,000 ($10,000 a day) was also offered to the top daily

finishers. Shurman took home Friday's daily top prize of $5,000, with

Roncevich receiving $3,000 for second, and Conway earning $2,000 for third.

Brisnet members Elsass and Justin Carey won $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, for second- and third-place

daily prizes on Saturday.

Brisnet is now home to all six Handicappers of the Year. For the 2005

tournament, members captured an impressive $376,000 of the $412,400 in prize

money.

Brisnet congratulates all its members who were winners this year and wishes

them continued success in the future.

Placing		Name		Prize Money
1st		James Michelson Jr.		$200,000
2nd		Michael Conway		82,000**
3rd		Michael Elsass		33,000*
5th		Damian Roncevich		13,000*
6th		Bill Shurman		10,000*
7th		Richard Gaetano		5,000
8th		David Kassmier		5,000
9th		Don Sullivan		5,000
10th		Calvin Manns		5,000
11th		Kent Meyer		2,000
13th		William Haliziw		2,000
14th		Larry Moore		2,000
15th		Isaac Schultz		2,000
16th		Justin Carey		4,000*
18th		Donald Fritz		2,000
19th		Ron Geary		2,000
20th		David Gutfreund		2,000