The Breeders’ Cup may be over, but contest play at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers remains in high gear. In fact, qualifying for the NHC is just now shifting into overdrive.
No fewer than seven NHC seats are guaranteed to be awarded this weekend—and the final total could be more than that depending on participation. There’s a good chance our most popular of the weekend NHC qualifiers will take place right off the bat on Friday.
You can look for these $75 qualifiers to the NHC pretty much every Friday between now and the end of the year at HorsePlayers. Two NHC seats are guaranteed, and they are also good opportunities to earn valuable NHC Tour points in an inexpensive manner. Contest races are the 6th through 9th at Woodbine; the 8th and 9th at the Big A; and the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th at Del Mar.
Using the same races, HorseTourneys will offer its Friday staple—a $6,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray with pool-style payoffs that could mean a total prize pool of as much as $10,000 depending on how many entries jump in.
But it will be worth at least $6,000 no matter how many participate, so this might be a good one to check out in case other players are sleeping off the Breeders’ Cup. The entry fee is $190, and entries are capped at 60.
You’d think the Saturday contest races would be a weak bunch, given that it’s the week after the Breeders’ Cup.
You’d be wrong.
Our 12-race featured schedule contains no fewer than six stakes races spread out across four tracks. The races in question are the 7th through 9th at Aqueduct; the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th at Del Mar, the 8th through 10th at Gulfstream Park West; and the 9th and 10th from Laurel.
The Saturday slate is led by the weekend’s richest event:
Our $25,000 Guaranteed tourney (live-format) in which the winner will receive $12,500 and prizes will be paid down to 8th place. A maximum of 107 may enter with entries capped at 107.
We’ll also offer a last-chance, entry-only qualifier for the Aqueduct Challenge on Nov. 18. Entries are just $58, with one in 10 earning a berth in beautiful Ozone Park, N.Y.
And you can be sure there will be plenty of NHC qualifying action. At HorseTourneys, there’s a regular qualifier for $165 with two seats guaranteed.
And at HorsePlayers:
You can increase your chances of success by playing in our Guaranteed Super Qualifier where one in 21 will punch his or her ticket to Treasure Island in February. Note that this tourney is a Pick & Pray.
Sunday brings with it a whole new set of exciting featured tourneys.
Cash game lovers will appreciate our $15,000 Guaranteed live-format contest with $7,000 to the winner and payouts down to 7th. Entry is $195 with a limit of 86 entries.
And our Sunday Exacta game will be guaranteed at $2,000 though it could grow to as much as $5,000 depending on how many play. Entry fees for the Sunday three-horse-box game are $72 each.
We’re also offering a live-format direct qualifier to the Horse Player World Series for $87. One entry per each 20 in this Pick & Pray will earn a $1,500 entry to next year’s big confab at The Orleans in Las Vegas.
The best place to qualify for the NHC online is at HorsePlayers. One of the really good places to qualify in person is at Hawthorne on Thanksgiving weekend. That’s when the Cicero/Stickney, Illinois oval hosts its fall NHC Super Qualifier. For an entry fee of $87 on Sunday, you can win $800 in entry fees for this Chicagoland perennial.
If you prefer warmer climes, there’s a qualifier on Sunday for the December 9 Caribbean Classic Betting Championship at Gulfstream. The Caribbean Classic Betting Championship is a 100% payback, live-bankroll event where you could win seats to the NHC or Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship.
HorsePlayers, of course, is coming back on Sunday with another NHC qualfiier.
This one is a regular, $165 Pick & Pray with two spots guaranteed…and up to four if participation warrants it.
Another venue offering NHC spots this weekend—along with a lot of cash—is Del Mar, where the Del Mar Fall Classic is taking place. We wish the best of luck there to Tom Cooper, James Henry, Stephen Diaz and Mark McGuire—our four HorseTourneys qualifiers to the Fall Classic. Best of luck, gentlemen.
And to all of you as well!