We’re very excited about our $75,000 Guaranteed, No-Limit tourney on Belmont Stakes Day, June 9. There’s a lot of lucrative action between now and then, however, including this upcoming weekend when we’ll see two new events join the HorseTourneys 2018 roster of qualifiers, and we’ll also be offering a last-chance play-in game for the big money Belmont Stakes Handicapping Challenge.
HorseTourneys regulars will know what leads things off on Friday.
Of course, it’s our up-to-$12,500 Pick & Pray with $7,000 guaranteed. The entry fee is $190, and total entries are capped at 75. The 10-race schedule for this event will be split between Belmont and Santa Anita with the 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th originating from Belmont and the 4th through 8th races serving as the Santa Anita portion of the challenge.
On Saturday, we welcome an old favorite back into the HorseTourneys fold.
We’re not sure exactly where things stand with the Wynn Handicapping Challenge this year, but one Vegas contest we know is a “go” is the Orleans Fall Classic. This year’s renewal takes place on October 11-13, and your first chance to qualify for it comes Saturday. Our $79, live-format qualifier will award a $500 entry plus $500 for travel to one per every 15 entries.
Only a great, vintage event like the Orleans Fall Classic would steal first billing on Saturday from the weekend’s richest event: our up-to-$30,000 tourney with $20,000 Guaranteed. Like most of our featured tourneys this weekend, it will be operated in live-format mode. The buy-in is $260, and entries are limited to 133, but $20,000 is guaranteed to be awarded no matter how many take part. Contest races for both of the above featured events are the 6th and 10th at Gulfstream; the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th at Santa Anita; the 5th, 8th and 9th from Belmont; and the 8th, 9th and 11th from Monmouth—12 races in all.
Using the same dozen races, HorsePlayers will offer Saturday qualifiers to both the NHC and BCBC.
The BCBC contest is a regular qualifier with a 1 in 65 winning ratio, and one $10,000 entry guaranteed. The NHC tourney carries a special, reduced entry fee of just $75, and two berths are guaranteed. If entries reach the 429 mark, we’ll add in a third package. Both events will be run in live-format.
It’s safe to assume that many of you have the Belmont Stakes on your radar screens—and since this is a tournament site, then a lot of you probably have the June 8-9 Belmont Stakes Handicapping Challenge on your radar screens. This Sunday, our last-chance Belmont qualifier is one of seven featured events on tap.
One $10,500 Belmont package (entry plus travel) will be awarded per each 25 entries. Buy-in is $495.
To counter that “last chance,” allow us to present a “first chance.” It’s the first qualifier for the 2018 Keeneland NHC/BCBC Challenge, which will be held on October 14. One entry per 25 will receive a $3,000 entry plus $500 for travel. It’s never too early to get excited about a trip Keeneland.
It’s definitely not too early to think about the Gulfstream Seize the Speed Betting Championship because it’s now less than a month away. The June 30 event is a $3,000 buy-in contest with half being directed to the prize pool and half to your live betting bankroll. Our Sunday qualifier will send one in 25 on to South Florida with a $3,000 entry plus $500 for your travel expenses.
On a day that’s chock-a-block with excellent qualifiers, don’t overlook our 2-seat-guaranteed play-in affair for the September 22-23 The BIG One at Laurel Park. That’s where a maximum of 57 players will compete for 10 BCBC entries, 10 NHC seats and 10 Horse Player World Series entries. Not bad work if you can find it! All packages include not just travel, but hotel, welcome dinner and full buffet and open bar amenities while at Laurel. Win or lose, you will be treated well here. Note that this qualifier is one of the weekend’s few Pick & Pray tourneys.
Another terrific qualifier this day is that for the Saratoga Challenges on August 10-11. Your buy-in for this one is $164, and like it’s similarly priced counterparts, one in 25 will win a $3,000 entry (good for both days of the event) plus $500 for travel.
Our featured Sunday cash game is again our up-to-$20,000 tourney (live-format this week) with $12,000 guaranteed. Entries, at $195 each, are limited to 118.
There’s also our up-to-$5,000 Exacta tourney which calls upon players to select a three-horse exacta box in each race. Here, $2,000 is guaranteed regardless of participation, and there are never any price caps. Whatever your exacta pays is what your score is credited.
HorsePlayers has a pair of important tourneys scheduled for Sunday.
One is a “regular” NHC qualifier for the traditional buy-in amount of $165 with two seats guaranteed.
The other is another of those increasingly popular BCBC Low Ratio qualifiers with a $500 buy-in and one in just 23 winning a $10,000 entry. In these low ratio games, you don’t always need to knock it out of the park to win big.
Forty-one of our HorseTourneys players will be trying to win big this Saturday at Momouth Park for their Pick Your Prize tournament. We hope that a whole bunch of our 41 qualifiers get to “pick their prizes.” We wish them all—and you—good luck and a pleasant weekend ahead.