We can’t blame our many friends in the New England and greater Philadelphia areas if they are a bit distracted this weekend. All the more reason, however, to go over this weekend’s HorseTourneys highlights—including our very first feeders to two of the year’s most popular onsite tournaments.
The Keeneland Grade One Gamble on April 15 and the Monmouth Pick Your Prize tournament have become of the most anticipated brick-and-mortar events on the contest player’s calendar. Feeders are now being offered for the first qualifiers to the respective contests. Both of these “first chances” will take place a week from Sunday on February 11.
There are also a pair of online events you’ll want to note—the February 18 Horse Player World Series Full Package Blowout, and the February 25 Horse Player World Series Entry Only Blowout—both right here at HorseTourneys. We’ll provide more reminders and details as those dates get a bit closer, but we wanted to give you an early heads up about it now.
Of course, there’s also our 14-featured-tourneys menu, which all gets under way on Friday.
When you think of great trios, three threesomes that undoubtedly spring quickly to mind are The Three Stooges, The Bee Gees and the unforgettable troika of the up-to-$10,000 Pick & Pray with $6,000 Guaranteed, the Horse Player World Series entry-only qualifier and the Treasure Island NHC Last Chance qualifier.
Sadly, this last trio will be breaking up after this weekend, due to something about the third member wanting to take some time off. You can catch them together one last time, however, this Friday. Who knows when—or if—this band will ever get back together? On Friday, they’ll be performing some of their greatest hits, including: the 7th through 11th from Gulfstream; the 7th and 9th from Tampa Bay Downs; and the 5th, 6th and 7th from Santa Anita—10 in all.
There’s no such turmoil to report regarding the Saturday lineup, because you know that up-to-$30,000 tourney isn’t going anywhere!
The weekend’s big-money event at HorseTourneys—with $20,000 Guaranteed—will be run in live-format this week, as will most of the featured events. It’s joined by the equally popular Horse Player World Series Full Package qualifier with a good-bang-for-the-buck entry fee of $117. Packages include $1,500 tournament entry, travel stipend, hotel, and complimentary cocktails (gratuity not included) at The Orleans gaming tables.
Contest races are the 9th through 12th from Gulfstream; the 8th and 9th from Aqueduct; and the 4th through 9th at Santa Anita—12 in all, and seven of those 12 races are stakes.
Over at HorsePlayers on Saturday, using the same contest races, there are two next-to-last chances and one sort-of last chance on the docket.
The sort-of last chance is the regular NHC qualifier (again live-format) which is not your last chance to qualify for the 2018 NHC, but it’s definitely your last chance to qualify for the NHC for a $165 entry fee.
The two next-to-last chances are the NHC Super Qualifier and the qualifier for the NHC Last Chance tourney at Treasure Island. They are “next-to-last” chances because…
…they are both also offered on Sunday!
This time, we’re not joking around. The $500-entry-fee NHC Super Qualifier on Sunday really is your last chance to qualify online for the 2018 NHC. Your last chance to qualify for this year’s NHC Last Chance tourney on Feb. 8 at Treasure Island is also offered on Sunday. So I guess you could call it a last chance at a last chance. Sounds chancey.
If you’re more of a cash-on-the-barrelhead person, you’ll enjoy the Sunday bill of fare back here at HorseTourneys.
We’ll be offering an up-to-$20,000 live-format game with $12,000 guaranteed for win/placers and an up-to-$5,000 Exacta tourney for three-horse-boxers.
Win-and-placing-it will be back in vogue for our Sunday Horse Player World Series qualifier.
And, what do you know? There’s another NHC Last Chance $58 qualifier scheduled over here as well. So I guess you can call this one the co-last chance at a last chance.
They say that you can never control when a chance will present itself, but that you CAN control what you do with that chance once it arrives.
Whoever said that never played tournaments.
However many “chances” you take, good luck this weekend.