It’s a big weekend ahead of mainly live-format competitions this weekend at HorseTourneys. So let’s start off with an exception to the general rule!
As per usual, we will host a fun $5,000 guaranteed game on Friday, and this will (again, as per usual) be a Pick & Pray. We realize that it can be a challenge for some of you to get aways from work long enough to register and input your selections — we certainly don’t want to make you feel like you need to be on our site all afternoon, or that you have to play at some sort of disadvantage. So these $5,000 guaranteed Friday games are virtually always Pick & Prays. As we mentioned last week, get these entries in early because people really flock to these Friday games when Keeneland is part of the mix. Contest races are already picked out. They are: Belmont’s 5th through 8th; Keeneland’s 6th through 9th; and Santa Anita’s 6th and 7th (11 races in all). It is a guaranteed game so full prizes will be paid down to 4th place regardless of participation, and the winner gets $2,500. Entry fee is $185.
Saturday is headlined by our low-takeout $12,500 guaranteed contest. This one pays down to 6th place and will go as a live-format event. There is $6,250 going out to the winner of this one with entries (at $195 each) limited to 71. This, too, will pay full prizes no matter how many take part. Don’t get shut out of this one.
We also have an entry-only Horse Player World Series qualifier on Saturday for $87. One in 20 will earn an entry into next year’s $1,500-to-play event. And there will also be a direct qualifier to the November 26 Twin Spires Online Championships with one per 15 entries (at $58 each) moving on to the “cyberfinal”. This has been a popular qualifier of late. We had four Twin Spires winners last weekend. Both the Twin Spires and HPWS qualifiers will have a live format, as will a couple of other guaranteed games, but note that we do have a $12 guaranteed tourney running Saturday in Pick & Pray format.
Now let’s move on to Sunday…
Sunday’s featured event is a 2-package-guaranteed NHC direct qualifier that will have a special All-Optional live format whereby you make your 10 contest plays from among 20 eligible contest races. To put it another way, you pick the 10 races you like best and skip the other 10. Keep in mind that it is still a live format, though, so you can decide on your races as the contest progresses…you don’t need to make your picks all up front.
This is our third of eight consecutive weekly NHC qualifiers. We are again guaranteeing two spots, but we will offer up to four if we can hit 280 entries. Packages, of course, include NHC entry, four nights’ hotel at Treasure Island plus $1,000 in additional travel expenses. Entry for Saturday’s direct qualifier is just $160.
Sunday will also bring another chance to qualify for the November 25-26 Hawthorne Fall NHC Super Qualifier. Hawthorne will run two separate single-day tourneys costing $350 each day. A win in a HorseTourneys direct qualifier gets you entry fees for both days ($700 total) plus another $500 in travel. Entry for our first Hawthorne Fall direct qualifier is $93 with one of every 15 moving on to Chicagoland in late November.
Also scheduled for Sunday is a qualifier for the Del Mar Fall Classic ($4,500 value) for $212 and our $7,500 guaranteed cash game where you could win $3,750 for a $190 entry fee.
Last but not least we’ll mention our Sunday $1,500 guaranteed exacta box game. Last week’s winner had just one three-horse exacta box winner out of 12 races but still got the job done. Our $1,500 exacta tourney costs $54, pays to 5th and offers $600 to the winner.
Again, all of the above-mentioned Sunday games will be run in live-format mode.
And may you, this weekend, be in winning mode. Good luck.