Report: Lindy Man Wins $100K in Saratoga Handicapping Contest

A Lindenhurst man has won the grand prize in the Battle of Saratoga handicapping contest, held recently at the Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York, according to a published report.

Emad Himaya, of Lindenhurst, won the $100,000 grand prize with a $40 wager on a 29-1 shot in the final horse race at Saratoga track on August 9, according to a report on NYRA.com.

Himaya, 53, finished the two-day contest with "a mythical bankroll of $1,050, edging Paul Caltagirone of Whiting, New Jersey, who won the $30,000 second prize with a bankroll of $1,032," the report said.

Ross Gallo of Jupiter, Florida, came in third with a bankroll of $934, and won $20,000 in prize money, the report added.

Allowed one "mythical" $40 wager in the contest, Himaya placed it on Warrior Up ($60.50), who rallied between horses in the stretch, and went on to post a three-quarter-length victory in the 1-1/16-mile claiming race on the turf, according to the report.

“All day I'd been trying to build up my bankroll to stay in contention and wait until the last race to place my only $40 wager,” Himaya told NYRA.com. “I liked the horse [Warrior Up] because he'd drawn three bad posts from the 10 in three races, and he’d also been running against faster horses. I thought with a break in the post, he deserved a shot.”

Himaya, who said he also had a $50 cash bet on Warrior Up, earned an additional $3,250 for having the highest bankroll ($844) on Day Two of the contest.

By winning his first-ever handicapping content, Himaya will be joined by Caltagirone and Gallo in representing Saratoga in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA)/Daily Racing Form National Handicapping Championship (NHC) in Las Vegas in January 2013.

The trio will receive airfare reimbursement for the DRF/NTRA tournament, courtesy of The New York Racing Association, Incorporated (NYRA).

The NTRA will also provide a three-night stay at the official tournament hotel for the championship event.

The Battle of Saratoga format allowed players nine $20 win, place or show "mythical wagers" and one $40 wager during both days of the weekend contest, according to the report.

Read the full report here.