Much of the HorseTourneys crew will hit the road this weekend to work The BIG One at Laurel Park. Thanks to a couple of $7,000 buy-in entries the field stands at 54 with only three buy-in seats remaining. As exciting as this competition will be with $100,000 in cash, eight BCBC seats and 10 NHC seats on the line, we’ve got plenty going on right here to keep those not in Maryland quite busy.
Before we get to the weekend schedule, we want to wish a hearty congratulations to HorseTourneys player Ali T. Aksoy for his impressive victory in last Saturday’s Woodbine Mile Handicapping Tournament. And congratulations also to HorseTourneys qualifier Chris Littlemore who finished second. Both won $10,000 entries to the BCBC plus a lot of Canadian cash. Here’s a story I need on the tournament for Woodbine:
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Our weekend featured tourneys get rolling on Friday with a $6,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with pool-style payoffs that could grow the pot to as high as $10,000 depending on signups.
As with all pool-style games, the more that play, the more we pay. Contest races are the 7th, 9th and 10th at Churchill Downs; the 6th, 7th and 9th from Belmont Park; the 7th and 9th from Woodbine; and the 4th and 5th from Arlington—10 races in all.
Using the same races, we’ll also host a Horse Player World Series entry-only qualifier (one of two during the weekend) for $87 with one in 20 coming out of this Pick & Pray with a $1,500 entry for next March.
Qualifying for the BCBC is really ramping up as time ticks away. At HorsePlayers on Friday, you can play in a BCBC Low Ratio, live-format qualifier with one $10,000 entry guaranteed. Entry is $500 and one in 26 will succeed. Same races as for the two previously mentioned contests.
For Saturday and Sunday, most of our featured tourneys will be played as Pick & Prays.
On Saturday, we host our highest-paying game of the weekend—a $25,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with $12,500 to the winner and prizes down to 8th place. Contest races are the 8th through 11th (all stakes!) at Parx where it is Pennsylvania Derby Day, the 8th through 12th from Churchill Downs; and the 8th through 10th at Belmont. Of the 12 races, eight are stakes.
Also on the Saturday HorseTourneys schedule is a $160 qualifier to the October 15 Keeneland NHC/BCBC Challenge with person per each 25 entries winning a $3,500 package to Lexington.
There’s also a Saturday Pick & Pray for the Orleans Fall Classic (entry fee: $58).
There are co-features at HorsePlayers on Saturday. Both are NHC qualfiiers and note that these two will be run in live-format. One of them is particularly special.
Yes, it’s our first-ever NHC Super Qualifier. Forget those 1 in 65 or 1 in 45 ratios. Here, one in 21 will punch a ticket to the NHC. Entry is $500 and one NHC seat is guaranteed.
For those who didn’t forget the old ratios, there is a regular $165 NHC qualifier with one entry per 65 winning and two packages guaranteed..
On Sunday, two things are certain: The Giants offense will sputter…and we’ll be awarding a lot of cash and tournament seats.
Our richest game on Sunday is our $15,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with $7,000 to the winner and payouts down to 7th. Entry is $195 with a limit of 86 entries.
The Sunday Exacta game will again be guaranteed at $2,500 though the pot could reach $5,000 depending on how many take part. Entry fees for the Sunday three-horse-box tourney are $72 each.
Or, for $116, you can take a last shot at playing for a $2,000 entry in Gulfstream’s Pick Your Spot Tournament on September 30 (next weekend!).
For $255, there’s a Pick & Pray qualifier for the Santa Anita Autumn Championship on October 7-8. One in 25 will win a $5,500 package to this rich, live-bankroll event that’s popular for many reasons, including its generous prizes for double-qualified NHC players.
There’s also another opportunity on Sunday to grab a $1,500 entry for the 2018 Horse Player World Series—via an $87 qualifier. Count on these each Friday and Sunday as long as interest in them stays as high as it has been in recent weeks. The Horse Player World Series is definitely an oldie but goodie.
There is pair of live-format BCBC qualifiers at HorsePlayers on Sunday.
One is a traditional qualifier for $179 with one $10,000 entry guaranteed. The other is an ever-popular BCBC Super Qualifier. It costs $1,000 to play this one and one in 11 entries will earn that coveted $10,000 entry to play the big money on the big day. One $10,000 prize is guaranteed and up to two consolation prizes will also be awarded for each 13 entries.
That’s it. I hope to meet some of you for the first time at Laurel. It’s always nice to match faces with names—and high scores.
Have a great weekend.