Saratoga and Del Mar. To many horseplayers, the two tracks go hand-in-hand due to their similar positions on the racing calendar. They also go hand in hand with respect to this weekend’s featured schedule at HorseTourneys because they take important new positions on our bill of fare.
This Friday, for example, you’ll see that we’ve added a Saratoga Challenge qualifier to the featured menu so that you now have two weekend opportunities to qualify for the Spa.
You’ll also see above that our old up-to-$10,000 Pick & Pray has been upgraded. It’s now an up-to-$12,500 Pick & Pray with $7,000. This is in response to your ardent support, which resulted in the up-to-$10,000 tourney being sold out each of the last four weeks. One thing that hasn’t been raised, however, is the entry fee. It remains at $190.
There’s also a special Friday game at HorsePlayers this week.
It’s a $75 NHC qualifier with two seats guaranteed. This is a good spot for budget-minded NHC hopefuls who can pop a really good day every now and then.
Contest races for this and the featured Friday contests at HorseTourneys are the 6th through 10th from Keeneland, where it will be closing day; the 6th, 7th and 9th from Belmont, where it will be opening day; and the 5th and 6th from Santa Anita—10 races in all.
If Friday was Saratoga’s day in the spotlight, then Saturday is Del Mar’s.
The first online qualifier to the 2018 Del Mar Handicapping Challenge takes place on Saturday. The live-format tourney carries an entry fee of $400 and one entry per each 25 will receive an $8,000 entry plus $500 for travel. This July 28-29 event is always one of the most anticipated on the tournament calendar—and perhaps even more so this year compared to last year, given that the Breeders’ Cup won’t be coming back to Del Mar in the fall.
Saturday also brings with it our up-to-$30,000 cash game (guaranteed at $20,000). This week’s will be run in live format…as will our Monmouth Pick Your Prize qualifier, which slides over to Saturday after running on Sunday for the last several weeks.
The Saturday featured-tourney race menu consists this week of races 3 and 6 at Santa Anita; the 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th from Belmont; the 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th from Gulfstream and the 9th and 12th from Laurel. Twelve races (including several big fields) across the four contest tracks. We hope you enjoy handicapping them.
Over at HorsePlayers, there are two events on Saturday.
One is a $179 “regular” qualifier to the BCBC. One $10,000 entry is guaranteed to be awarded in this live-format game regardless of participation.
There’s also an NHC Super Qualifier where, by paying a higher entry fee, you cut down significantly on the number of competitors you have to beat. Here, the winning ratio is 1 in 21. (Note that this tourney is a Pick & Pray.) Contest races are the same as in the HorseTourneys events.
On Sunday, the featured schedule is highlighted by more cash and more Saratoga.
The cash component is led by our up-to-$20,000 live-format tourney. This event carries an entry fee of $195 with $12,000 Guaranteed. Entries are limited to three per account and 118 overall.
Another fun way to make money is via our Sunday Exacta tourney for $72. It’s an up-to-$5,000, live-format game with $2,000 guaranteed. Here, you choose a three-horse box for each race, and if you hit, your score is credited with the payoff of a $1 exacta. And here there are no price caps, so you’re never out of it until the fat lady sings.
As for Saratoga, Sunday represents your second opportunity of the weekend to win your entry fees ($3,000) plus travel ($500) to both days of the August 10-11 Saratoga Challenge which, again this year, will be contested as two single-day tournaments. Unlike Friday’s qualifier, which is a Pick & Pray, this one will be run in live-format mode.
If you live in or near Texas and missed last week’s first-chance qualifier for the Steve Sexton Mile Day Challenge at Lone Star Park, then perhaps we can interest you in Sunday’s last-chance qualifier for the Sexton Challenge. It costs just $41 to play and winners (one per each 10 participants) receive a $350 entry for the Lone Star Park competition, which takes place next weekend on Sunday, May 6.
Over at HorsePlayers, there are Sunday qualifiers for both the NHC and BCBC.
The NHC qualifier is of the “regular” sort, with two seats guaranteed and entries going for $165.
The BCBC qualifier, meanwhile, is a “Low Ratio” game, meaning you pay more but compete against fewer. As a result, one in just 23 entries will earn a coveted $10,000 BCBC entry, and one such entry is guaranteed to be awarded even if fewer than 23 sign up.
Of course, all weekend long, you can also participate in our new Jackpot Survivor tourneys. They cost just $7 to play and if you pick an in-the-money finisher in each race of the contest, you win or share not just the regular pot but the jackpot pot as well. This may sound hard, but don’t tell that to David Sferra. He did just that last Wednesday on the Keeneland card and won over $1,600 for his $7 entry. The jackpot amount was reset to $500 on Thursday, and it will grow each day that the jackpot is not hit.
There’s nothing like risking a little and winning a lot. We offer those opportunities every single day at HorseTourneys. We hope you can join us for a few this weekend. Good luck!