Cote wins AmericaTab Handicapping Open

Ronald Cote of Middletown, Delaware, picked up the $60,000 prize for winning

AmericaTab's second annual Handicapping Open, the world's richest online

handicapping contest.

"Fantastic," said Cote when asked to describe his feelings following the

finals on August 5.

Cote finished with a return on investment (ROI) of $114.70. Gordon Arenz of

Bend, Oregon, finished second with an ROI of $101.50. The ROI was computed with

mythical dollars and based on $2 win and $2 place wagers. Arenz was awarded

$17,000 for second place in the finals.

After his win, Cote said he relied on Ultimate Race Summaries from

Brisnet.com as a prime source of handicapping the races.

"Every time I play a contest, I get the Ultimate Race Summary from BRIS,"

Cote explained. "It helps break down the races for me. I use the Prime Power

Rating, the Class Ratings and the Late Pace figures."

Throughout the day he was changing his selections for a strategy based on his

standings at the time. He picked up $26 for Original Spin's (Distorted Humor)

runner-up finish in the Test S. (G1) at Saratoga. There were 15 pre-selected

races on the finals card and Original Spin catapulted Cote to a comfortable

position in the standings. However, Cote didn't feel good about his chances

to win until Red Zipper (City Zip) captured the 10TH race at Saratoga and paid a total

of $21.20 for win and place. Red Zipper's race was the 11th event on the finals

card.

"The Race Summary put me on my final winner, Red Zipper, in the 10TH race at

Saratoga," Cote explained. "He was ranked in the top two in the field on the

Current Class, Speed Last Race and Back Speed categories. I couldn't have done

it without the Brisnet.com information."

Cote qualified the maximum number of two tickets for the finals and

concentrated on the leading ticket in which he eventually won. He shifted to Red

Zipper shortly before the race because he felt strongly about his chances. From

there on out he concentrated on chalk horses and picked up $5 with Live Fast

(Machiavellian) in the 7TH race at Del Mar, the last event in the finals.

"This tournament was so much fun, yet also nerve wracking," said Cote,

who added that he will use a portion of his winnings to buy a new computer. "Having two

entries was real helpful. Last year I made it into the Championship but only had

one entry. This year my goal was to qualify twice and have a better chance in

the finals. It paid off."

More than $103,000 was distributed in the finals, with payouts to the top 30

finishers. A total of $257,550 was paid out through the 43 weeks

of qualifiers and the final Saturday. The AmericaTab Handicapping Open returns

100 percent of the entry fee money to the players. Three quarterly winners were

awarded trips to Oaklawn Park for the Racing Festival of the South; Churchill

Downs for the Kentucky Derby (G1); and the upcoming Pacific Classic (G1) at Del

Mar. The top five players from each week qualified for the finals.

The inaugural AmericaTab Handicapping Open Championship was contested on

Saturday, August 6, 2005, with veteran horseplayer Dennis Tiernan taking home

the lucrative $60,000 grand prize.