Fantasy League Final: Halterman WINS, Fans Finish LAST

It’s finally over!

The 2020 Triple Crown Fantasy League lasted much longer than expected, but after many ups and downs along the way, Team Halterman prevailed with the championship, scoring an even 500 points for an 88-point victory. 

Let’s take a look at the final standing and analysis: 

Final Standings

Final Analysis 

1. Aaron Halterman

• Art Collector – This ended up being a valuable claim, winning two 50-point races. 
• Azul Coast – The horse drafted BEFORE Authentic pretty much sucked all year long. 
• Authentic – This third-round draft pick won the Kentucky Derby (G1). 
• Little Menace – It’s amazing that this horse was drafted, sucked the whole year, yet stayed on the winning team throughout the season. 
• Pneumatic – This was not a terrible claim, but he was an overall disappointment. 

2. The Magic Mike Show

• Tiz the Law – He was easily the best horse selected in the first round. He had this team ready to win it all until he lost the Kentucky Derby. 
• Liveyourbeastlife – This last-second Hail Mary claim didn’t make any noise in the Preakness Stakes (G1). 
• Jesus’ Team – His third-place effort in the Preakness wasn’t enought o put his team back on top.   
• Excession – This last-second Hail Mary claim couldn’t muster up much of an effort in the Preakness. 
• Tizamagician – The team mascot proved valuable all year, despite never winning a prep race. 

3. Paul “Free Beers” Withrow 

• Thousand Words – He had more ups and downs as a roller coaster this season, but overall, he wasn’t a completely terrible first-round pick. 
• Cezanne – He horse ended up flopping after having massive hype. 
• Nadal – His injury was the beginning of the end for this team. 
• Necker Island – This hard knocker ended up being a pretty solid late-round pick despite lacking much talent. 
• Caracaro – He was a fantastic claim, but a mid-season injury was the final blow to this team’s chances. 

4. Dan “Wise Dan” Waite

• Sonneman – He never could get going after being claimed. 
• Swiss Skydiver – This was the best claim of the year! Well done, Dan! 
• Man in the Can – This was the worst claim of the year! Well done, Dan!
• Max Player – Another great claim for Dan, this was the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown.  
• Mystic Guide – He ended up being a solid horse but never could win a big race. 

5. Jon White/Ryan Stillman 

• Honor A. P. – This horse never lived up to the hype but ended up being a pretty solid first-round pick.
• Cafe Pharoah – I take back what I said about Dan and Man in the Can. THIS was the worst claim of the year.  
• Basin – This colt never lived up to his 2-year-old form, but he did technically “win” the Arkansas Derby (G1), so he proved valuable. 
• Tap It to Win – Everyone wanted this horse, but he did very little running.
• Uncle Chuck – Another horse everyone wanted to claim but didn’t pan out. 

6. Mike “Saratoga Slim” Spector 

• Structor – This poor horse just never got healthy this year, which screwed this team up from the start.
• Ny Traffic – This solid claim could never win a big race.
• Charlatan – His Arkansas Derby disqualification and subsequent injury ruined Slim’s chances of winning. 
• Country Grammer – He sucked for most of the year, but did win the Peter Pan Stakes (G3). 
• No Parole – It’s hard to get many points when you claim a sprinter in this league. 

7. Jared Welch

• Candy Tycoon – Wait… maybe this was the worst claim of the year!
• Eight Rings – This horse just never could get it going this season, mostly because he couldn’t stay healthy. 
• Toledo – He was a sneaky pick on draft night, but he never developed into anything. 
• Shoplifted – This colt just ended up being very average all season long. 
• Ete Indien – When Team Welch claimed this horse, he looked great; however, injuries forced him to the sidelines. 

8. Real Dynasty 

• Green Light Go – This was a bad first-round pick, plain and simple.
• Happy Saver – He was a pointless claim who didn’t net any big-race points after he skipped Preakness.
• Creed – Where is this horse? He showed decent talent before disappearing.  
• Rushie – This was a pretty decent claim, but his connections entered him in spots that didn’t help. 
• Sole Volante – He simply lost his form as the season progressed. 

9. Brandon “B$” Bauer 

• Dennis’ Moment – This was the worst pick of the first round. 
• High Velocity – This was the worst pick of the second round.
• Silver Prospector – Early points that he earned at Oaklawn Park helped keep Brandon out of last. 
• Thunder Code – This was the worst pick of the entire draft; at least Real Dynasty drafting an unnamed horse was funny. 
• Major Fed – Thankfully for Brandon, this very average horse ended up being a good claim, earning him some much-needed points that kept this team out of last. 

10. Austin Elsey/Steve “Evil Steveil” Ronchetto

• Mischevious Alex – Ok, maybe THIS was the worst claim. 
• Mr. Big News – By some miracle, this horse got third in the Kentucky Derby, giving this team a glimmer of hope. 
• Shivaree – Yikes, another horrid claim. 
• King Guillermo – He’s the reason this team finished last. His lack of racing once claimed really hurt.
• Wells Bayou – This was the other big reason why they ended up in last. His injury was a major blow. 

Thanks for following along this year. We’ll be back in December with the 2021 Triple Crown Fantasy League draft.