It’s a big weekend coming up with the vast majority of our featured tourneys running in Live format. We’ll have the usual robust assortment of guaranteed cash games (including one for $25,000) and qualifiers for such events as the NHC, The BIG One, the Keeneland Grade I Gamble and many more. But we have a couple of new players joining the weekend lineup as well.
On Sunday, we’ll host our first Guaranteed qualifier to the July 29-30 Del Mar Handicapping Challenge. Entry is $350 and the winner is assured of a $7,000 entry plus $500 in travel, no matter how many or few participate. But as they say on informercials, that’s not all!
In case you missed the recent announcement, any HorseTourneys Del Mar qualifier who goes on to win the 2017 Del Mar Handicapping Challenge will earn an additional bonus of $10,000 in HorseTourneys site credit, payable over a six-month period. (The site-credit bonus must be played.) And all throughout the weekend—and beyond—we will offer low-cost feeders to the Del Mar qualifiers with 4% rebates built in. We hope you take advantage of what we believe is a really player-friendly deal.
Meanwhile, we have now begun running feeders for our March 18 Horse Player World Series Blowout qualifier where one in 10 will win an HPWS entry. These Blowout feeders are just $38 and are offered on an assortment of single-track tourneys.
Not to worry—none of these new games come at the expense of any of our popular games.
We get the weekend started on Friday with our $6,500 Guaranteed event (live format this week) offering $3,000 to the winner and prizes down to fourth place. There will be 10 contest races—Tampa’s 6th , 8th , 9th and 10th; Aqueduct’s 6th, 7th and 8th; and Oaklawn’s 5th, 6th and 7th. Entry is $185.
If $6,500 doesn’t get your attention on Friday, then maybe $25,000 Guaranteed with a low 10% takeout will on Saturday. There’s $12,500 to the winner; and payouts down to 8th place. The entry fee is $260 with a limit of 107 entries. Contest races for this—and for all of our Saturday featured tourneys are the 9th through 13th (all stakes races) at Gulfstream, the 2nd through 5th at Santa Anita, and the 4th through 6th at Oaklawn—12 races in all with the grand finale being the 11-horse Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes from Gulfstream.
We’ll also host another quick $2,000 Guaranteed Saturday Night Live tourney, using nine races from Turfway, Charles Town and Delta Downs…but let’s take a look at the many qualifiers that are scheduled.
The Saturday slate offers a Horse Player World Series full-package direct qualifier (with one in 25 winning an entry, plus hotel and travel) and a Pick & Pray feeder to our Sunday The BIG One qualifier. Entry fees are $116 for the HPWS contest and $87 for the feeder to The BIG One.
The Saturday listing also include a qualifier to the $200,000 Wynn Handicapping Challenge, with one in 20 winning a $2,000 entry to the desirable August event, hosted so capably each year by John Avello.
Another great host is Brian Skirka at Monmouth Park. On Saturday, we’ll be hosting a qualifier to the June 3 Monmouth Park Pick Your Prize tournament where up to 13 NHC spots and four $10,000 BCBC entries will be up for grabs, as well as some nice cash prizes. The prize or prizes you receive are your choice, but the higher you finish, the earlier you get to choose from among the available offerings. This qualifier costs $116 with one entrant per 25 receiving a $2,000 entry plus $500 for travel to the Jersey Shore.
We round things out on Saturday with a $69 qualifier to Keeneland’s April 22 $400 Spring Challenge where two NHC seats, one BCBC seat and cash comprise the prize pool.
Sunday is again our biggest day of the week with seven important qualifiers scheduled.
We’ve already touched on Sunday’s 1-seat-guaranteed Del Mar qualifier with a possible $10,000 bonus in the offing for the winner. The primary focus for a great many, however, will be our 3-seat-guaranteed NHC qualifier, which could award up to five seats if we reach 325 entries. It costs $165 per entry with a maximum of two entries permitted per person. Note that you must be a 2017 NHC Tour member to be eligible for NHC packages.
Last week Kenny McMahan became our eighth qualifier to the 2017 The BIG One and on Sunday, we will learn the identity of qualifier #9. One all-inclusive package (entry, travel, hotel & more) is guaranteed to be awarded, and entries (at $390 each) are capped at 35, with up to five $300 consolation prizes also available. The BIG One, with a maximum field of about 57, will take place on the last weekend of September at Laurel.
Sunday also offers a qualifier to The Stronach Group Ultimate Betting Challenge, where cash and up to 10 NHC seats and five BCBC spots will be at stake on March 11 at Gulfstream and Santa Anita. Players may choose to compete from either venue. Entries to this qualifier are $232 apiece with one in 25 winning a $4,500 entry along with $500 for your travel costs.
As per usual, Keeneland provides a key Sunday prize with a qualifier to its April 23 Grade One Gamble. Five NHC spots and five BCBC spots (plus lots of money) will be at stake on April 23 (the day after the Keeneland $400 Spring Challenge). Entries are $162 each with one in 25 winning a $3,000 entry fee (dining included) plus $500 for travel.
There’s also the Hawthorne Spring NHC tourneys on March 24-25, which go as two separate one-day tourneys with a $400 live bankroll (no entry fee) required each day. Winners of our Sunday qualifier (one per just 15 entries at $62 per entry) will receive $800 in bankroll cash—enough for both days. At Hawthorne, you would be competing for four NHC seats and two BCBC entries during the weekend.
Last but not least, an entry-only Horse Player World Series game ($1,500 value) is part of the Sunday qualifier lineup. Entry costs $87 with one in 20 winning a seat to next month’s “major” at The Orleans in Las Vegas.
For those who prefer birds in the hand, we also have a Sunday $8,500 Guaranteed cash game. $4,000 will go to the winner and cash prizes will be paid down to 5th. Entry is $190. And we’ll be hosting another $1,500 Guaranteed Exacta Box tournament on Sunday for $54 ($600 to the victor).
We wish you all a pleasant weekend and hope that you can spend part of it with us right here at HorseTourneys. Good luck!