By G.S. Thompson
Trevor Phelps won the April Player’s Choice Handicapping Tournament last Saturday, and for the second month in a row, it wasn’t really close.
Phelps built his $60.00 bankroll to $114.20 to claim the $1,000 first prize and trophy, finishing a commanding $26.10 clear of runner-up Eve Tilston-Jones ($88.10, $400). Nicole Baker took third ($86.20, $200), Steve Holborn was fourth ($82.80, $100), and Earl Grantham rounded out the top five ($78.00, $50).
If you know Trevor Phelps, you know the blueprint. Go long early, hit something big, then grind it home. It’s a strategy that requires nerve, conviction, and a willingness to miss spectacularly or land on the moon.
Saturday, he landed on the moon.
Phelps opened the tournament with an 18-1 winner at a Saratoga standardbred track, and from that moment, the April tourney was essentially his to lose.
“This horse was dropping in class after a bad race, and had shown a lot of potential in his previous races,” said Phelps. “He was a huge overlay too, as the morning line odds were 6-1. I couldn’t pass it up.”
He never does. Phelps won’t bet under 10-1 early in these tournaments. That’s not stubbornness, it’s architecture. He builds his bankroll on a foundation that can only be poured by longshots, then uses conservative play to protect what the longshots have given him.
After banking the Saratoga score, Phelps shifted his attention to Woodbine, where his picks cashed in seven of eight races. “It was mostly chalk,” said Phelps. “But I was able to build my bankroll with each one.”
That’s the Phelps method in two sentences: explode early, then be boring on purpose.
It’s a method that has served him extraordinarily well. He’s won the Player’s Choice tourney multiple times and has also won four summer handicapping contest trips to Las Vegas to compete in the Championship at The Orleans. His most recent previous win in the Player’s Choice tourney came in February 2024.
The bloodlines help, of course. Father Ron Phelps is a two-time Handicapper of the Year and a multiple tournament winner himself.
“That’s my goal, to get that impossible trophy for Handicapper of the Year,” said Phelps, who has been knocking on the door for several years without quite breaking through.
The family motivation isn’t subtle.
“With my Dad reminding me monthly that he has won the Handicapper of the Year title twice, I need to get this done to keep him quiet for a little,” laughed Trevor.