With another NHC in the books—and one that left HorseTourneys regular Chris Littlemore $800,000 richer—we turn our sights forward this weekend to the upcoming Horse Player World Series…and even the 2019 NHC.
The Horse Player World Series takes place in a mere three weeks and HorseTourneys will offer qualifiers every day of the weekend, including our full-package Horse Player World Series Blowout on Sunday with one entry per 10 earning an entry/hotel/travel combo. However, the first of those three consecutive HPWS tourneys comes on Friday.
Friday’s Horse Player World Series game is a traditional entry-only qualifier costing $87 to play with one entry per 20 earning a $1,500 entry at the March 8-10 “major.”
Of course, we’ll also be hosting our Friday up-to-$10,000 Pick & Pray with $6,000 Guaranteed. Entry fee for this up-to-$10,000 event is $190 with a limit of 60 entries, and these two Friday featured games will be run as Pick & Prays, though the vast majority of our top games this weekend will be run in live-format mode.
Featured tourney contest races for Friday are races 7, 8 and 9 from Laurel; the 7th through 9th from Gulfstream; the 1st and 5th from Santa Anita; and the 9th and 10th from Tampa Bay Downs —10 in all.
Four more featured tourneys are scheduled for Saturday—three at HorseTourneys and one at HorsePlayers. We’ll start with the one at HorsePlayers because it’s a “first.”
We know Chris Littlemore is already in the 2019 NHC field by virtue of an automatic bid for having won last weekend’s extravaganza. On Saturday, you can join Littlemore by playing in the first online qualifier to the 2019 tournament. This is a “regular” qualifier with one entry per 65 (at $165 each) earning a spot, and two seats are guaranteed to be awarded regardless of how many participate.
Meanwhile there are three big Saturday contests at HorseTourneys, including another popular qualifier to the Keeneland Grade One Gamble
Last weekend, we had so many Keeneland players that we were able to award five $3,500 packages to the high-end April 15 competition. One in 25—at $164 per entry—will again earn that big prize on Saturday.
There’s also a Saturday up-to-$30,000 live-format tourney with $20,000 Guaranteed. out that distraction, then the pot swell just as high as ever — $30,000. It’s $260 to play and entries are limited to 133.
And as you probably guessed, another entry-only Horse Player World Series qualifier (entry only) with an entry fee of $87. One per 20 advance to The Orleans.
Contest races for Saturday are the 9th through 12th from Gulfstream; the 9th and 10th (both stakes) from Laurel; the 7th through 10th from Santa Anita; and the 6th and 7th (the El Camino Real Derby) from Golden Gate—12 races all together.
By far, our busiest day is Sunday, with lots of firsts, plus the aforementioned Horse Player World Series Full-Package Blowout.
If you haven’t qualified yet for the Horse Player World Series—or if you have, but would like to cover your travel and lodgings costs plus gain an additional entry—the Horse Player World Series Full Package blowout is for you. It’s $290 to play and the winning ratio is a kind one in 10.
Meanwhile, there are no fewer than three “first chance” qualifiers at HorseTourneys on Saturday. One if for The Stronach Group Ultimate Betting Challenge. It takes place on Sunday, March 11, so it’s a good option for those who can’t or won’t be in Las Vegas for the Horse Player World Series. (Though you could conceivably red-eye it out of Vegas on Saturday night and catch both.) Winners—one per 25 entries—receive a $4,500 entry plus $500 for travel.
The other two “first chance” qualifiers are for similar events to be held at Aqueduct. One is for the March 10 Gotham Challenge and the other is for the April 7 Wood Memorial Challenge. Both carry $59 entry fees with one in 10 earning a $500 entry to the respective finals where one Belmont Stakes Challenge seat and two NHC berths will be on offer each time.
We have “second chance” qualifiers as well this Sunday. One is for the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge on June 2. This popular event offers an array of BCBC, NHC and straight cash prizes. The higher you finish, the sooner you get to select your prize from among those available. One per 25 entries in our Sunday qualifier will snatch a $2,000 entry plus $500 for travel to this Jersey Shore competition.
The other second-chance qualifier (since the first chance was last weekend) is the Laurel Park Champions contest on March 3. The entry fee at Laurel for this is a budget-friendly $300 and, thus, our qualifier carries an even budget-friendlier entry fee of $35. At Laurel, there will be prize money plus four available tournament seats—two to the NHC, one to the BCBC and one to The BIG One. The winner gets first choice of seat, the runner up gets second choice and so on.
Cash players, fear not. We’ll be offering an up-to-$20,000 Pick & Pray with $12,000 guaranteed regardless of participation levels. This one costs $195 per entry with entries capped at 118.
There is also an up-to-$5,000 Exacta tourney that carries an entry fee of $72 (maximum of 79 entries) and guarantees a purse of at least $2,000.
There are two big NHC qualifiers at HorsePlayers on Sunday, and note that both of these are Pick & Prays.
Of most widespread interest is a free 2019 NHC Qualifier with the top five finishers punching his or her ticket to the NHC Finals. But please note that you must be a member of the 2018 NHC Tour (not the 2017 NHC Tour!) to be eligible for this event. For additional information or to register for the 2018 NHC Tour visit NTRA.com.
There figures to be a lot of people playing in that free Pick & Pray, so if you wish to increase your odds of winning, then consider Sunday’s first 2019 NHC Super Qualifier. It has a winning ratio of one in 21 and one seat is guaranteed no matter how few sign up. This could be a good chance to catch some of the higher rollers napping.
We also expect to have a robust schedule on Monday—President’s Day, though that menu has yet to be finalized as of press time. So come back and check the HorseTourneys home page to see what’s on tap for Monday.
We know there will be something great in store come Saturday, March 3.
That’s Fountain of Youth Day at Gulfstream and we’ll try to make the big day bigger by offering an up-to-$75,000 Pick & Pray that day. Feeders start this weekend.
Whether you’re playing for next year (NHC), next month (HPWS) or just living for the moment (cash games), we wish you good luck and a fun weekend of contest action.