Siraco wins $94,000 in handicapping contest

Monday, Oct. 19, 1998 | 11:32 a.m.

The Sun's Ralph Siraco already had earned an reputation as one of the nation's premier horse racing handicappers.

But now he has got a check that proves it.

Siraco this weekend topped a field of 537 of the world's most noted horse racing prognosticators to capture the $318,500 Orleans Handicapping Challenge at The Orleans Mardi Gras Ballroom.

Although he has a lot of plans for the first-place check of $93,975, Siraco set setting up a telephone tout service to promote his daily selections won't be one of them.

"I'm probably the first guy to win a major tournament who doesn't have a 900 number," Siraco said. "If people want my picks, they'll just have to spend 50 cents and read the Sun."

Each player was required to make a dozen $100 win bets per day in The Orleans contest, wagering on any of eight tracks.

Siraco stood sixth after the first round, fourth after the second and overtook the leaders with a big day on Saturday.

"I had two $19 horses at Laurel and a $20 horse at Santa Anita," Siraco said about his winning stretch run.

Siraco said he rarely enters handicapping contests. He only entered this one as a favor to the Orleans, one of the sponsors of his radio show.

"It's not that I don't want to enter, it's that I don't have the time," Siraco said. 'But it's very exhausting ... three days in the pressure tank."

Siraco's horse racing column appears Mondays in the Sun. His Southern California handicap runs on the Scoreboard page Tuesday-Friday.