win, place & show  

Updated 11/26/2010

2010 WBC Report     

 2011 Status: pending December Membership Trial Vote

John Welage, OH

2010 Champion

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Event History
1992    Bruce Reiff      14
1993    Stephen Kershaw     10
1994    Stuart Tucker      20
1995    Dennis Nicholson      29
1996    Bruce Reiff      17
1997    John Coussis      15
1998    Bruce Reiff      14
1999    Bruce Reiff     31
2000    Ken Gutermuth     26
2001    Ken Gutermuth     42
2002    Stuart Tucker     40
2003    Robert Drozd     41
2004    Dave Steiner     57
2005    Dave Steiner     28
2006    John Welage     37
2007    John Welage     39
2008    Jason Levine     34
2009    Ted Drozd     25
2010    John Welage     27
 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Ken Gutermuth      TX    10    111
  2.  John Welage        OH    10     86
  3.  Bruce Reiff        OH    10     73
  4.  Dave Steiner       DE    07     72
  5.  Jason Levine       NY    09     57
  6.  Robert Drozd       IL    06     48
  7.  Stuart Tucker      MD    06     47
  8.  Ted Drozd          IL    09     24
  9.  Jim Bell           MD    04     24
 10.  Jeff August        VA    04     24
 11.  Gerald Lientz      VA    08     21
 12.  Craig Fox          PA    10     20
 13.  Mark Kennel        DE    10     18
 14.  Jim Garvey         NY    03     18
 15.  Mike Zorrer        DE    07     15
 16.  John Emery         SC    06     14
 17.  Jennifer Drozd     IL    08     12
 18.  Lance Fogel        PA    01     12
 19.  Bruce Monnin       OH    02      9
 20.  John Tighe Sr      DE    10      8
 21.  Jeff Finkeldey     OH    05      8
 22.  Josh Githens       SC    04      8
 23.  Raphael Lehrer     CA    09      6
 24.  Anna Palermo       NY    02      6
 25.  Joshua Garton      VA    01      6
 26.  Charles Ellsworth  NY    00      6
 27.  Frank Sinigaglio   NJ    99      6
 28.  Dennis Nicholson   NY    09      4
 29.  Michael Cook       VA    01      4
 30.  John Tighe Jr      NJ    99      4
 31.  Rachel Harley      VA    08      3
 32.  Tom Browne         PA    07      3
 33.  Bert Schoose       IL    05      2
 34.  Peter Martin       NJ    99      1

2010 Laurelists                                             Repeating Laurelists:

Bruce Reiff, OH
2nd

John Tighe Sr, DE
3rd

Ken Gutermuth, NC
4th

Mark Kennel, DE
5th

Craig Fox, PA
6th

Past Winners

Bruce Reiff, OH
'92, '96, 1998-'99

Stuart Tucker, MD
1994, 2002

Dennis Nicholson, NY
1995

John Coussis, IL
1997

Ken Gutermuth, TX
2000-01

Robert Drozd, IL
2003

Dave Steiner, DE
2004-05

John Welage, PA
2006-07, 2010

Jason Levine, NY
2008

Ted Drozd, IL
2009

Tom Brown, Mark F. Smith, Sean McCulloch and Vassili Kyrkos try to outwager the Chairman.

The Tighe's returned to the track in force this year as we welcomed back John Tighe Sr after a too long absence.

Maybe we need to add slots?

The horse racing industry has been fading for a long time - relying on adrenaline from legalized slots gambling to prop up its sagging fortunes all over the country. This trend is also visible at WBC where attendance has been trending downwards. At the end of the 2009 racing season, it was decided to increase the demand for slots in the "WBC Derby" with a third day of qualifying on the card for the 2010 season. The wisdom of this decision was confirmed when the Racing Association reversed the decrease in the number of entries and added a definite rise in the excitement level since the change would not only mean that there would be increased opportunities to play the game, but also to qualify for the big board Final. Despite Win, Place, & Show being a "6-player" game, having more than six in a game ensures that the auction for horses becomes a more crucial part of the game. Bidding is no longer a matter of having to take some nag just to fill the field, but an integral part of one's strategy in securing a mount to control in each race.

This having been said, there was no lack of excitement in the Preliminary races where there were often less than six participants to a board. Because WPS has a loyal cadre of players and a very high level of participation from previous champions, the qualifying action was very hard fought. The first set of races on the Tuesday card featured wins by four-time champion Bruce Reiff, newcomer Thomas Browne, and John Tighe, Sr. John, was a major player at Avaloncon many years ago and had obviously not lost form in his return to WPS and it was good to see him back after a long absence. All of the wins were conclusive as each amassed a considerably larger stash than the other punters.

The Friday slate was not as well attended but did generate two boards, both won by former two-time champs Ken Gutermuth and David Steiner. While Ken had a fairly easy win, Dave had to sweat his win ended up only $3000 to the good.

The last preliminary on Saturday again drew three boards. Former two-time champ John Welage managed to triumph with a fairly modest $110,000 and a newcomer to the big board, Mark Kennel won his invite with not much more. The third board was, however, the most interesting of the tournament. Jason Levine finished the day with $178000 in his pocket and could only come in third as everyone was hitting the long shots. In the end, long time player Craig Fox went over the $200K mark to win.

The championship round was a lot more conservative. With four former champs in a field of eight, the Final was bound to be close as all players were keeping an eagle eye on one another. The first three races were played close to the vest. When two players tried to break out in the fourth, they were rewarded with bankruptcy. The fifth and sixth races did not go according to form, at least for a few of the usual suspects. In the end, a win for Jungle Monarch provided the winning margin for now three-time champ John Welage as the purse won was the margin of victory. As opposed to most years where the betting is the thing and the backers of Mona Lisa are usually rewarded, the 2010 championship was decided by a $4000 owner investment.

GM Jim Burnett acts as steward for the usual array of suspects, shady owners and corrupt jockeys on the take.

Winning on the little board gets you a ticket to Lancaster Downs and the big track where the Chairman of the Board is usually in residence.
 GM      Jim Burnett  [2nd Year]   NA 
    jimallene@comcast.net   865-850-9187 

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