July 2026 ASD Handicapping Challenge winner Harold Wiens.
By G.S. Thompson
Harold Wiens won the July ASD Handicapping Challenge tournament with a total of $150.90, and he did it mainly on the strength of longshot Not True, who paid $64.80 in the sixth race last Tuesday.
Wiens defeated runner-up Jeff Rozmus, who finished with $142.20 in the two-day contest. Wayne Misko was third with $137.50, just ahead of Gayle Gray at $137.30, while Alan Hampton rounded out the top five with $123.10.
It was hardly Wiens’ first trip to the winner’s circle in an ASD handicapping tournament. He believes he has won the summer contest three or four times, the last one he can remember being the Las Vegas Challenge Handicapping Tournament on June 27, 2022.
“It’s called lucky,” said Wiens.
Wiens noticed Not True had shown unexpected early speed in her previous race. When he sat down with the programs for the 14-race tournament, he circled two horses and wrote the same instruction beside each one: do not change your mind.
Not True was one of them.
“I looked across the infield and saw this horse, and then I looked at the odds board and went, ‘Whoa, this thing is huge,’” said Wiens.
Whitehall gave Not True a patient ride, waiting for room before slipping through along the rail. The win put Wiens in a strong position after the first night.
“Now they’re chasing me,” said Wiens. “I don’t have to chase them.”
Rather than swinging at more longshots on the second night, Wiens stayed with the horses he liked. He changed his mind only once, switching away from a horse that appeared with different equipment for the first time.
Wiens finished the contest with six winners and five seconds, with almost every selection hitting the board. His only serious miss was a $23 horse that finished fifth after making what Wiens felt was a premature move.
“You can’t dance every dance,” he said. “You’ve got to pick your spots.”
Originally from Glenlea, Manitoba, Wiens grew up on a farm and later became involved in the thoroughbred business. For roughly 10 years beginning in the late 1970s, his circuit included Tampa in the winter, Ohio in the spring and Assiniboia Downs in the summer.
He worked for Jack Hardy, managed J.Y. Farm and learned from veteran horsemen in Florida. He also kept notes on information that was not always available in the Daily Racing Form, including horses racing on Lasix for the first time.
“You had to put the work in,” said Wiens.
Wiens remains largely self-taught as a handicapper. His advice is simple: watch the races, make notes and follow horses back when the circumstances remain favourable.
“My program, when I come home, is full of notes,” said Wiens. “Then I watch the replay to see if I saw what I thought I saw.”
Wiens now lives in La Salle and remains busy with a small grain farm, trucking and a construction business. He still gets to Assiniboia Downs whenever work allows, often sitting near the paddock and comparing notes with other horseplayers.
He encouraged others to enter the ASD contests and praised Sheri Glendinning for keeping participants informed.
“It’s a good deal,” said Wiens. “Sheri does a really good job. She sends stuff all the time. If you want to know something, it’s usually already on your computer or your phone. She’s already sent it. She runs a really good show there.”
His biggest tip for future contest players?
“The big thing is discipline,” said Wiens. “Stick with the horses you like, and don’t talk yourself out of them.”