It remains to be seen how Always Dreaming fares off a two-week-turnaround, but we here at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers are certainly ready for Preakness weekend.
On Friday, HorsePlayers comes in hot with another renewal of its newly popular “Combo qualifiers” whereby someone will win a seat to both the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and the NHC.
Our most recent combo qualifier took place two weeks ago when Dane Moore (below) captured the grand prize(s).
Have a good day on Black-Eyed Susan Day and you can cross off two key entries in your 2017 bucket list just like Dane did. Contest races for this live-format tourney are the 9th through 14th races at Pimlico, the 7th and 9th at Belmont and the 5th and 6th from Santa Anita.
If you prefer cash games (or Pick & Prays), then maybe Friday’s 7,500 Guaranteed contest at HorseTourneys, with prizes down to fifth place and $3,750 to the winner, is more your cup of tea.
The entry fee is $190, and contest races are the 6th through 9th at Churchill Downs; the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th from Belmont, and the 3rd and 5th from Arlington.
On Saturday, Preakness Day, there is one tournament you’d be crazy to miss:
It’s an absolutely free Pick & Pray tourney at HorsePlayers offering a $10,000 entry to this year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. And those who finish in 2nd through 51st places will receive a $20 credit to play in a future designated BCBC feeder at HorsePlayers. Note that there is a limit of one entry per person and two entries per household. (Yes, we can track that!) You must be 21 to play.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call you crazy if you miss Saturday’s NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers, you may be passing up a good opportunity. It’s a 2-seat guaranteed, live-format event, and if we reach 195 entries, we’ll add in a third seat. Contest races are still to be announced, but you can be sure the Preakness card will represent a fair chunk of the race menu.
Back here at HorseTourneys on Preakness Day, we’ll host a $25,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with $12,500 to the winner and cash prizes down to 8th place. This one costs $260 to play and entries are capped at 107.
HorseTourneys will also offer direct qualifiers on Saturday to both the June 3 Monmouth Pick Your Prize tournament and the July 28-29 Gold Coast Summer Classic. Both qualifiers are Pick & Prays and offer $500 travel stipends in addition to the contest entry fees ($2,000 for Monmouth, $500 for Gold Coast).
Here is an at-a-glance look at the Featured Saturday HorseTourneys events:
If you didn’t have luck in the free BCBC tournament on Saturday, you can enter one on Sunday at HorsePlayers that will have far fewer players.
It’s a $179 live event with one BCBC seat guaranteed, regardless of participation levels.
Meanwhile, here at HorseTourneys, Sunday is always a big day and the day after the Preakness is no exception.
Our Sunday headliner is an NHC Pick & Pray with three seats guaranteed and we’ll offer up to five if participation warrants it.
If you’re daring, you could take your Pick & Pray selections for the NHC qualifier and play them in our Sunday Pick & Pray qualifiers for The BIG One (one all-inclusive package guaranteed, with winner immediately eligible for $500,000 TBO-NHC bonus), the Arlington Handicapping Challenge and the Wynn Handicapping Challenge. Or you can cherry pick, of course, and play just the ones that make sense based on your budget and your preferences.
And we haven’t forgotten about our Sunday cash game players. For them, we have our $10,000 Guaranteed game (a Pick & Pray this week) with entries (capped at 57) available for $195—and our Sunday $1,500 Guaranteed Exacta game (live format as always) with $600 to the winner.
Whether you plan to step in and play Preakness weekend aggressively, or just prefer to have some fun with the BCBC free roll at HorsePlayers on Saturday, we’ll be here for you, hoping that we can make things just a bit more exciting and rewarding. We wish all of you luck—with special good wishes sent out to HorseTourneys qualifiers competing this weekend at the Santa Anita Preakness Challenge and the Treasure Island Wager to Win contests in Las Vegas. Knock ‘em dead!