Jim Videtic of Cleveland might not have been too familiar with the racing at Vernon Downs heading into last Saturday, but he is a big fan of it now.

Videtic parlayed a longshot winner at the upstate New York track into the $43,652 grand prize in the World Harness Handicapping Championship that was held at the Meadowlands.

Vernon's seventh was one of three mandatory races on the contest card and Videtic bet his $30 minimum to win on Jimi Wind Ricks, who rallied to win at 30-1 odds. He also picked three winners on the Meadowlands card to out-distance 116 rivals in the $75,000 contest. He finished with a $2,254 bankroll after cashing in with $100 win bets on Santiago Style ($18.80), and Highalator ($9) and a $40 wager on This Is The Plan ($5.80) as part of a 10-race contest slate.

As an added bonus, Videtic finished in fifth place with his second entry, good for another $3,767 in prizes.

Jeff Billings ($1,871 bankroll) earned the $11,547 second prize, followed by Thomas DeSimone ($1,597 bankroll/$7,616 prize) and Scott Warren ($1,350 bankroll/$5,773 prize). Sam Agigian, Lee Stuckey, Michael Rusovick, Peter Kleinhans and Dustin Carlson took home $1,916 each with a Top 10 finish.

Videtic wasn't the only big winner at the Big M last weekend. For the second week in a row, there was one winner in the 20-cent Pick 10 Survivor, which paid $27,252 for seven winners. In addtion, winning bettors shared in a six-figure Pick 4 pool for the second consecutive weekend..

On the track, 9-year-old Bettor's Edge ($7.20, Andy Miller) won the $20,000 preferred handicap in 1:50 flat for his fourth win the last six times he raced at the Meadowlands.

The Championship Meet runs through Hambletonian Day on Saturday, Aug. 4 with a 7:15 p.m. post time on Fridays and Saturdays.