In The Money Telegraph
Monday, June 15, 2026
By ITM Staff
Pick Your Prize Smashes Its Record
Monmouth Park’s Pick Your Prize closed out the weekend with a bang. Contest organizer Brian Skirka reports a record 379 entries — blowing past the previous best of 331 — with the top 36 finishers all cashing for at least one prize.
Leading them all was Darren Schweiger, who ran a $19,512 bankroll into the winner’s share: $25,515 in cash plus seats to both the Breeders’ Cup Betting Championship (BCBC) and the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Phil Lam and Howard Kaplan rounded out the podium, and championship seats kept getting handed out well down the standings — BCBC and NHC berths were scattered all through the top 36.
Top 10 Finishers
| Pos. | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darren Schweiger | $19,512.00 |
| 2 | Phil Lam | $12,761.60 |
| 3 | Howard Kaplan | $9,928.10 |
| 4 | Evan Trommer | $9,570.00 |
| 5 | Larry Smitley | $8,888.00 |
| 6 | David Basler | $8,645.50 |
| 7 | Christian Hellmers | $7,702.00 |
| 8 | Robin Buser | $7,372.00 |
| T-9 | Greg Lewis | $7,004.00 |
| T-9 | Sally Goodall | $7,004.00 |
A special nod to ITM’s own John Gaspar, who finished 31st and booked a trip to the National Horseplayers Championship as a double NHC qualifier — proof the ITM crew can play, not just preview.
Congratulations to every player who cashed, and to the Monmouth team on a record turnout. ITM is proud to support Pick Your Prize all season long.
See the full list of all 36 prize winners →
Around the Sport
Fifth Circuit strikes down HISA — again. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the Authority’s enforcement powers an unconstitutional delegation of government power, its third such decision and a direct conflict with the Sixth Circuit. HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said the law remains in effect while the fight heads toward the Supreme Court. BloodHorse has the ruling.
East Avenue nails Bishops Bay in the Salvator Mile. Godolphin’s East Avenue rallied from last and got up by a nose over defending winner Bishops Bay in Saturday’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile, headlining Monmouth’s Haskell Preview Day for trainer Brendan Walsh and Tyler Gaffalione. America’s Best Racing has the recap. And a tip of the cap to ITM’s Eric Solomon, whose Saturday top picks Gimme a Nother (Eatontown), Baby Vino (Pegasus), and Program Trading (Monmouth Stakes) all hit on the same card — see his card.
Corey Lanerie calls it a career. The veteran rider will retire at the close of Churchill Downs’ spring meet on June 28, capping a 35-year run with more than 5,000 wins, over $172 million in earnings, and 1,244 victories at Churchill alone — second only to Pat Day. TDN has the story.
Today’s Free Analysis
New on ITM
Presque Isle Downs — Chance Rains
A warm ITM welcome to Chance Rains, who launches our Presque Isle Downs coverage today — and he picked the right day to start, with the $100,000 Tom Ridge Stakes headlining the Monday card on the Erie tapeta. A full field of a dozen sophomores goes six furlongs in the feature, and Chance is willing to take on the favorite: he tops Miguel Clement’s Grunge at a square price, with stakes winner Live Stream underneath. He’ll be trackside in Erie for his debut.
Santa Anita — Dean Keppler. Keppler closes the book on the Santa Anita spring meet — run a day late after Thursday’s power outage — with mandatory payouts in every pool. His Best Bet is 2-Battle School in Race 4, a McCarthy returnee off the layoff. Next stop: Los Alamitos opening day Friday. Read Keppler’s finale card →
