We are only permitted to offer 2017 NHC Qualifiers through the end of November 2016. So it made things even a little more chaotic than normal when we were forced to scrap our next-to-last NHC qualifier last Sunday due to racing cancellations at Aqueduct and Woodbine. In case you haven’t already learned of new details surrounding our final NHC qualifier of the year this Sunday, November 27, I will go over them here.
The November 27 qualifier will now be run as a Live-format event, matching the format of the aborted November 27 qualifier.
The November 27 qualifier had originally been slated to guarantee two NHC packages and award up to four, based on participation. However, with the gracious consent of the NTRA, we are pleased to report that the November 27 NHC qualifier will now guarantee FIVE packages, and award up to TEN (one per 70 entries) should we reach 700 entries.
Entries in our ill-fated November 20 NHC qualifier were automatically transferred to our November 27 qualifier. If, for any reason, a player does not wish to participate on November 27, he or she may obtain a full refund of the November 20 $160 entry fee through a simple two-step process:
1) Go to the BUY ENTRIES section of our Web site and cancel the NHC entry (or entries) desired. This will refund 90% of the entry to fee to your account.
2) Email us at support@horsetourneys.com and request a refund of the cancel fees (i.e. the other 10%). A customer support representative will address your request promptly.
The November 20 cancellation was unfortunate. But, knock on wood, we think it may lead to an extraordinarily exciting finale to the HorseTourneys NHC qualifying year. Here’s how entries look so far for Saturday:
In closing, here are a few words (three, to be exact) about tourney cancellations.
We hate them.
As much or more than you do.
We hate them in part because we can’t stand inconveniencing our players. And also because we lose money on them after staff and operational costs are factored in.
But we’d rather lose money in the short-term than have even one player question the fairness of a cancellation decision. This why we have our cancellation policy clearly spelled out in the “Rules” section of our Web site:
We believe that transparency is extremely important. The worst-case scenario for us would be for players to think that a decision was arbitrary…or made because “they just want their money”…or, perhaps even worse, was based on who was leading at the time of the canceled races.
This will never happen at HorseTourneys. We also won’t hit you with seat-of-the-pants, last-minute race additions in a featured contest just to salvage the event. There’s a lot at stake in these tourneys, and we know how seriously you prepare for them. We respect that, and prefer to always take a longer-term view rather than a shorter-term one.
We value your business and sincerely appreciate your understanding when events like last Sunday’s occasionally pop up.