The seventh annual Grayson Grass Challenge brought in a total of $8,723 for the Grayson-Jockey Club Equine Research this year at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The innovative promotion featured eight nationally known handicappers placing wagers on turf racing during a five-week period. Those eight handicappers all contributed to the final tally earmarked to equine research through the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation.
"First of all, I want to thank the staff at Horseshoe Indianapolis because they have been great in supporting us," said Jamie Haydon, President of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, in the winner's circle interview with Rachel McLaughlin. "Our organization is the largest funder of equine research in the world, and every October we will have grants submitted. Your money will go directly to any horse health project we have."
Haydon was trackside for the presentation during the Wednesday, October 14 racing program. Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing, made the presentation to Haydon. Both Haydon and Halstrom came up with a unique way to tie in the organization with racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
"We wanted to find a way to support Grayson, and having a challenge each summer with our turf racing has been beneficial in raising funding and awareness for them," said Halstrom. "The work Grayson does for our industry is vital to the advancement of our sport, and we appreciate the strong partnership we have developed with them over the past seven years. We want to thank all the handicappers for volunteering their time and efforts for such a great cause."
Each handicapper began with a total of $500 provided by Horseshoe Indianapolis. The contest spanned five weeks of turf racing from the end of July until the end of August. Two races were showcased each week leading up to the final total raised for Grayson-Jockey Club Equine Research.
This year's lineup of handicappers included Gene McLean of The Pressbox, Scott Ehlers of Daily Racing Form, Dan Cronin of Fat Bald Guy Racing, Jimmy McNerney, announcer and Midwest handicapper, Jenna Otten, on-air racing analyst at Caesars Entertainment's Eldorado Scioto Downs, and Alexa Zepp of America's Best Racing. They were joined by Horseshoe Indianapolis racing analysts Brian Arrigoni and Rachel McLaughlin. Scott Ehlers led the field once again this season with a tally of $849.50 followed by Brian Arrigoni with $716.90. In all, a total of $3,723 was raised by all handicappers, the highest amount in the seven-year history of the event. The total was paired with a donation from Horseshoe Indianapolis to reach the final donation of $8,723.
