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FORT
MONMOUTH MAN WINS FREEHOLD HANDICAPPING CONTEST Racing
columnist finishes third, Standardbred Lobbyist takes fourth FREEHOLD, NJ ñ John Norton, of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey defeated 58 fellow handicappers and won the Freehold Raceway Thoroughbred Handicapping Contest, which was held on Friday, November 24. Norton amassed a bankroll of $ 897.50 to take the top prize of $ 4,425. Nortonís bankroll swelled as a result of hitting a 10-1 horse, Angel Flying in the twelfth race at Churchill. He had a $ 50 win and place wager on the horse which paid $ 22.20 to win and $ 9.80 to place. When it was official, he had jumped from fifteenth place up to first. Norton was third in the August, 2006 contest held at Freehold. Finishing second was Richard Sosidka of Clark, New Jersey with a bankroll of $ 720. That was good enough for second place prize money of $ 2,212.50. Sosidka finished fifth in the August contest. Finishing third was horse racing columnist for the Asbury Park Press Bill Handleman of Neptune, New Jersey. Handleman had been in the lead for much of the tournament until Norton hit on the race at Churchill. He took the third place prize of $ 1,062. with a bankroll of $ 674.50. Leon Zimmerman of Trenton, New Jersey, a public relations consultant and lobbyist for the New Jersey Standardbred industry finished fourth ($ 557.50 bankroll, $ 708 prize) while Gil Winston of Manalapan, NJ ($ 550 bankroll, $ 442.50 prize) took fifth. In addition to his winnings, Norton gained entry into the 2007 Horseplayer World Series in Las Vegas. |