We’ve been champing at the bit to offer them, so we’re guessing some of you have been champing at the bit to play them. And now they’re here—our first qualifiers for one of the most anticipated racetrack tournaments of the year: the Saratoga Challenges.
Our first direct qualifier is Sunday, and we’ll have plenty of low-cost, $28 feeders leading into it. The two-day extravaganza at Saratoga (Wednesday and Thursday, August 9-10) will again be operated as two separate, single-day tournaments. The buy-in each day is $1,000 and one Belmont Stakes Handicapping Challenge seat and two NHC seats will be up for grabs each day along with a lot of cash. With the big contest coming up at the Spa in just about a month’s time, opportunities to qualify online will be limited, so sign up now for the feeders and Sunday qualifier. Winners receive their entry fees for both days ($2,000 total) plus $750 in travel–$250 more than normal because, well, it’s Saratoga.
A different bricks-and-mortar qualifier you should absolutely be playing at HorseTourneys—and not anywhere else—are our weekly guaranteed qualifiers to the July 29-30 Del Mar Handicapping Challenge. Our winners receive a $7,000 entry plus $500 for travel. But that’s not why you should only play Del Mar qualifiers here.
We go the extra mile for Del Mar lovers by attaching a 4% rebate to all of our Del Mar feeders. And, as noted earlier, we guarantee a seat regardless of participation. Last, but far from least, if you win one of our Del Mar qualifiers (as many already have) and then go on to finish first out where the Turf meets the Surf, you will receive a $10,000 HorseTourneys site credit bonus—payable in six monthly installments. Imagine the fun you could have with that credit boost added to your account!
If you are contemplating trying to qualify for the Del Mar Handicapping Challenge at any other site, you should only do so if you are certain you won’t do well out at Del Mar! Or if you don’t like money!
People who do like money may well be interested in the Friday kickoff to our featured weekend schedule: the $7,500 Pick & Pray offering $3,750 to the winner and payouts down to fifth place.
Entry is $190 with a limit of 44 entrants. Contest races are the 5th through 8th at Ellis Park, the 6th and 7th from Belmont; and the 4th through 7th at Woodbine—10 races in all.
Friday also represents your first of three weekend opportunities to qualify for the NHC—and the Friday game should be especially popular.
Yes, it’s another $50 qualifier for the NHC. Entries are limited to three per person. But that means you can take your swing at Vegas for less than a third of the normal cost. Or get three entries for the price of one. You’ll need to be sharp to win but, then again, don’t you always?
Chance #2 for the NHC comes Saturday at HorseTourneys, back at the more customary $165 entry level. Two seats are guaranteed and we’ll award up to four if participation allows it.
Another great way to qualify for the NHC is at Monmouth’s popular NHC Super Qualifier, held this year on Travers Day. You can qualify for the Super Q on Saturday for just $77 with one in 15 moving on to the Jersey Shore with a paid $500 entry plus $500 for travel.
We’ll also host a Saturday qualifier for the Gold Coast Summer Classic…but our biggest game of the day (our biggest game of the weekend, actually) is reserved for cash game enthusiasts—it’s our $25,000 Guaranteed event (a Pick & Pray) with $12,500 to the winner and payouts down to eightth place. Entry is $260 with entries capped at 107.
HorsePlayers has a big game of its own on Saturday, a Pick & Pray guaranteed qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Entry is $179 and winners receive a full $10,000 BCBC entry to play the big races at Del Mar.
Here’s a visual of the Saturday featured slate for those scoring at home:
There are nine featured tourneys slated for Sunday—including yet another shot at the NHC.
This one is at HorsePlayers and, again, two seats are guaranteed.
Things also figure to be busy here at HorseTourneys on Sunday.
The two exciting new Sunday developments are the aforementioned Saratoga qualifier and our Exacta Box tourney. Why the Exacta tourney? Because for the second straight week, we have increased its purse (thanks to your fervent participation). The game will now be worth $2,500 Guaranteed with $900 to the winner and payoffs down to fifth place. All you need to do is pick a three-horse exacta box for each contest race. Standings are tabulated based on $1 exacta payoffs. And, yes, alternate plays are available in the event of late scratches.
Our Sunday win/place cash game is a lot of fun too. It’s a $10,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with prizes to 5th and $5,000 up top.
We also have six excellent qualifiers to brick-and-mortar events. There’s the Del Mar Handicapping Challenge qualifier, of course—complete with rebated feeders and $10,000 bonus provision—and one of our other Sunday staples: a qualifier to the September 23-24 The BIG One. The BIG One qualifier will advance a BIG Two on to Laurel because that’s how many all-inclusive packages (including hotel, welcome dinner, full buffets and open bar) are guaranteed in the Sunday qualifier. If you qualify to The BIG One, you’ll be competing against no more than 56 opponents for NHC, BCBC and HPWS seats galore plus a lot of cash.
Week in, week out one of most popular events is our entry-only Wynn qualifiers. We sent six people to the Wynn last weekend and we hope to send several more there on Sunday with a live-format qualifier for $116. One in 20 will win a $2,000 entry to the posh Las Vegas Strip event.
As the calendar continues to march forward, it means that this week’s qualifier for Surfside is a “last chance” event with the three one-day Surfside contests coming up on July 14-16. For an entry fee of $98, you can win entries for all three days plus $500 for travel.
And we’ll give Hawthorne another go this weekend with a qualifier to the August 11-12 Hawthorne Summer NHC qualifiers. Entry is just $99 and one in 15 will win their starting live bankroll of $800 (there are no entry fees at Hawthorne) plus $500 for travel.
Speaking of Chicagoland, we want to wish good luck to the 14 HorseTourneys competing this weekend in the Arlington Handicapping Challenge. And also to our three representatives playing at Belmont in the Stars & Stripes Challenge.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the racing this weekend.