It's tight at the top of the Fixture Series. With 21 of 27 California Classic races already in the books, three players are locked together on 2,011 points - and the remaining six races could blow the leaderboard wide open.
The Standings
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Oars before Whores | 2,011 |
| 1= | jrjcm | 2,011 |
| 1= | TMoneyhoughton | 2,011 |
| 4 | rehood | 1,977 |
| 5= | Grum. | 1,958 |
| 5= | BFWBeluga | 1,958 |
How We Got Here
The series spans three events so far: The Boat Race 2026, The Boat Race Veterans & Lightweights, and the California Classic.
The top three - Oars before Whores, jrjcm, and TMoneyhoughton - have been near-identical throughout. Across The Boat Race and the Veterans & Lightweights they made exactly the same picks, heavily backing Cambridge in the first eight races. That included some big scores: 82 points from the Goldie crew in the Reserve Men's race, and a combined 92 from both lightweight events. They also shared the shrewd call of Oxford's women in The Boat Race, who delivered 34 points.
Into the California Classic, the trio continued to mirror each other through races 1-21, riding the same Cal and Stanford picks to identical totals.
Where rehood Lost Ground
rehood sits 34 points behind the leaders, and the deficit traces to a single pick. In The Boat Race Women's race, rehood backed Cambridge Blue Boat Women - who scored zero - while the top three went with Oxford (34 points). That one call accounts for the entire gap. Everywhere else, rehood has matched the leaders pick for pick, including all 21 completed California Classic races.
Grum. and BFWBeluga: The Veterans Gamble That Didn't Pay Off
The 5th-place pair are 53 points off the pace, and both deficits came from the same place: the Veterans events. Where the top four backed Cambridge in both the Men's and Women's Veterans races (25 and 28 points respectively), Grum. and BFWBeluga went with Oxford in both - and scored zero in each. Those two picks account for the full 53-point gap. Like rehood, they have otherwise matched the leaders' selections across every other completed race.
The Races Still to Come
Six California Classic races remain without results. This is where the series could get interesting, because for the first time, the top three have diverged.
Race 22 — Wisconsin 1V v Temple 1V
The first real split among the leaders. jrjcm has gone with Temple 1V, while TMoneyhoughton and Oars before Whores are backing Wisconsin 1V. The field is evenly divided:
- Temple 1V: jrjcm, rehood, Grum.
- Wisconsin 1V: TMoneyhoughton, Oars before Whores, BFWBeluga
This race alone could break the three-way tie at the top.
Race 23 — OSU 1V v UCSD 1V
Oars before Whores goes against the grain here, backing OSU 1V while the other two leaders pick UCSD 1V. rehood joins the OSU camp.
- UCSD 1V: jrjcm, TMoneyhoughton, Grum., BFWBeluga
- OSU 1V: Oars before Whores, rehood
Race 24 — Wisconsin 2V v Cal 4V
TMoneyhoughton stands completely alone with Wisconsin 2V. Every other player in the top six has gone with Cal 4V. A bold contrarian call that could either open up a solo lead or see TMoneyhoughton fall off the pace.
- Cal 4V: jrjcm, Oars before Whores, rehood, Grum., BFWBeluga
- Wisconsin 2V: TMoneyhoughton
Race 25 — OSU 2V v UCSD 2V
The same split as Race 23: Oars before Whores and rehood back OSU, the rest go UCSD.
- UCSD 2V: jrjcm, TMoneyhoughton, Grum., BFWBeluga
- OSU 2V: Oars before Whores, rehood
Races 26 & 27 — No Daylight
All six players agree on Wisconsin 3V (Race 26 v OSU 3V) and Cal 5V (Race 27 v Cal 6V). No points to be gained or lost here.
What to Watch For
The three-way tie will almost certainly break in Race 22, with jrjcm on one side and the other two leaders on the other. But TMoneyhoughton's lone pick of Wisconsin 2V in Race 24 is the biggest wildcard - a right call there with the other two leaders on the wrong side could create real separation.
rehood's path back into contention depends on picking up points where the leaders disagree. The good news: rehood has sided with jrjcm on Race 22 (Temple 1V) and with Oars before Whores on Races 23 and 25 (OSU). So regardless of which leader is right, rehood stands to claw back some points.
For Grum and BFWBeluga, it's a longer road. The 53-point gap from the Veterans races is a lot to make up with only a handful of divergent picks remaining — but the tight margins in this series mean nothing is settled yet.
The final California Classic races will tell us who has the nerve and the knowledge to take the Fixture Series title. Stay tuned.
