It’s already been a busy and important week for tourney play. Mark D’Amato and Scott Carson won the Battle of Saratoga tourneys on Wednesday and Thursday (HorseTourneys qualifers, representing about 12% of the field, made up half the top 10 on Wednesday and accounted for runner up Paul Shurman on Thursday). On Saturday, Monmouth will award 10 NHC seats and Hawthorne has a tourney of its own on Saturday-Sunday. But there’s also plenty of action this weekend to be had online.
It kicks off in earnest on Friday with a $5,000 Guaranteed game that closes at 3:48 pm ET. $2,500 will go to the winner and prizes are paid down to 4th. Contest races are Saratoga 6th through 10th, Woodbine 7th through 9th and Laurel 8th and 9th (10 races in all). Be aware, though, that less than a handful of spots remain open. So if you’re interested, act fast. Entry is $185.
Saturday’s “feature” is our $25,000 Guaranteed game with payments down to 8th place, including $12,500 to the winner. This one is $260 to enter and, again, this tourney is guaranteed to run and to pay full prizes. Contest races for this event (and all featured multi-track events on Saturday) are Saratoga 6th through 11th, Arlington 6th through 10th (it’s Million Day!) and Monmouth 8th and 9th — a robust 13 races in all.
We’ll also host our increasingly popular Saturday $2,000 Guaranteed exacta box tourney, which you can enter for just $42. It pays down to 5th with the winner receiving $750. There’s also a direct qualifier for the Orleans Fall Classic ($97), awarding entry and $750 travel per every 15 entries.
Last but not least, we’ll also be hosting a feeder for Sunday’s The BIG One direct qualifier. This one is a Pick & Pray for $106 with one of every five participants winning a $478 seat to Sunday’s event. Here’s an at-a-glance look at some of Saturday’s biggest tourneys:
So now you know about Sunday’s The BIG One event. Two packages are guaranteed on Sunday and keep in mind that just 12 seats remain available to be won online. The BIG One, a live-money event for the first time this year, will take place at Laurel on Sept. 24-25 and offer 10 NHC seats, 8 BCBC berths, 10 Horse Player World Series (HPWS) entries plus a cash prize pool of up to $200,000 (based on qualifying participation). There will be a maximum of 57 entries at The BIG One, which should be one of the real high-expectation events of the year.
Also on Sunday is an entry-only HPWS qualifier for $87, a $7,500 Guaranteed tourney for $190 with $3,750 to the winner and payments down to 5th place, and your very last chance to qualify for the August 20 Indiana Grand NHC qualifier. This is the first-ever NHC qualifier at Indiana Grand, and they are awarding three NHC seats. All HorseTourneys qualifiers receive not one but two entries to the Indy Grand event. This should be a great opportunity to win an NHC seat and/or rack up some valuable on-site NHC Tour points.
Here’s a visual on the top Sunday tourneys:
As much of the nation battles high temperatures this weekend, here’s hoping you beat the heat — and your tourney opponents — wherever you happen to be playing. Good luck!