Monmouth Park’s held its first NHC Qualifier of 2022 as well as the Invitational of the Simulcast Series on Saturday, May 14.  The Invitational winner was Damian Sasso of Princeton, NJ.  Peter Smeding of Commack, NY captured the top spot in the $300 NHC Qualifier.

Sasso bested a field that included 45 pre-qualified entries. He turned his starting $200 bankroll into $1,410 by betting races from Monmouth Park, Belmont, and Gulfstream. Invitational players could only bet win, place and/or show and needed to bet a minimum of $20 per race.

Smeding bested a field that included 128 entries. He turned his starting $150 bankroll into $3,667.15 by betting races from Monmouth, Belmont, and Gulfstream. NHC Qualifier players could only bet win, place and/or show and needed to bet a minimum of $15 per race.

By finishing first in the Invitational, Sasso selected the highest cash prize of $3,000.  Second-place Invitational finisher Shirley Wolff selected $2,000.  Third-place finisher Michael Samples and fourth-place finisher Tom Barone are headed to Vegas for the 2023 NHC.  Smeding takes home a cash prize of $7,100 for his first-place NHC Qualifier finish.  In addition, he and second-place finisher Chuck O’Mara are also headed to the NHC.

In total, the Top 5 NHC Qualifier finishers are:

Here is the Top 5 for the SSC Invitational: