NFL kickers apparently can’t kick extra points in the wind. But at least they can still try. No such luck with horses and jockeys, though, and that threw our Sunday schedule — including all of our Featured events — into chaos.
Per HorseTourneys rules, we cancel any tourney that doesn’t complete 70% or more of its races. When Aqueduct nixed its full card, and then Laurel canceled after the 6th, we wound up having to abort most of our tourneys that weren’t single-track events in temperate places like Del Mar.
Finger Lakes has scrapped its Monday card and for those of you not living in the Northeast, the high winds are expected to continue pretty much through Tuesday, so we could be in for more of the same.
Fortunately the winds didn’t arrive in time to mess up our Saturday schedule.
William Roth took first money of $7,000 in our $15,000 Guaranteed game, which ran as an $1,100+ overlay to our players. It was a real blanket finish with Roger Forget just 80 cents back in second and James Caldwell just 40 cents behind Roger. Ronald McKinnon (4th place) missed a win by $2.60.
In our Horse Player World Series full-package qualifier, Mitch Prado really didn’t give others much of a chance. He missed on his first play, then picked five winners and one runner up from his next six plays. At that point, he could have afforded to take the rest of the tourney off. And he pretty much did…blanking the rest of the way. But it mattered not and he won the HPWS ($1,500 entry + four nights’ hotel at The Orleans + $500 travel) comfortably. We’ll be running these full-package games each Saturday for the next few months.
The other featured event on the Saturday schedule was our Last Chance qualifier for this Saturday’s Twin Spires Online Championships.
It was a popular tourney, and we were able to award six packages ($500 entry + $250 cash), including two to 2015 NHC Champ John O’Neil, who finished second and sixth. Hats off (wind pun intended) to winner Jon Hurd as well as to our other winners Steve Simonovich, William McKinney Jr. and Dennis Gates.
Here’s an early heads up that our final NHC qualifier of the year will take place this Sunday. Because of the recent cancellation, we are now guaranteeing FIVE NHC packages and will award up to TEN packages, based on participation. Due to pent up demand, available places in this Sunday’s NHC qualifier (to be run in live format as was supposed to be the case last weekend) are filling up very quickly. Enter now so you don’t get shut out and wind up feeling like…
Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!