If you have yet to qualify for the NHC, or would like to earn a second seat, and would prefer to do so from the comfort of your own home, then get tied on at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers this weekend where your last six online opportunities exist. There are two NHC “play-ins” on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Friday, which marks the beginning of our 22-featured-tourneys weekend.
The Friday features are all Pick & Prays, led by HorsePlayers’ NHC Lower Ratio qualifier, which has one seat guaranteed and a winning ratio of 1 in 45. This is the “Final Friday” NHC qualifier…which is probably obvious since the NHC commences next Friday.
Three more featured tourneys come your way Friday at HorseTourneys.
Keen-eyed observers have probably deduced that this is also the “Final Friday” opportunity to qualify for the Treasure Island NHC Last Chance tournament, which takes place next Wednesday. One entry per 10 here earns a $500 buy-in to the NHC eve affair. The entry fee is $58 for this Pick & Pray, and one in 10 get a $500 entry.
For cash gamers, there’s our up-to-$12,500 Pick & Pray with $5,000 Guaranteed. It has a buy-in of $190 and entries are limited to 75.
There’s also a Pick & Pray qualifier to the Horse Player World Series. One in 20 in this one will get a $1,500 entry to the March 28-30 blowout at The Orleans. The entry fee here is $90.
Contest races for the Friday featured events at both HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers will center around the warmer- (if not drier) weather tracks at our disposal. They are: the 9th through 11th at Gulfstream; the 8th and 10th from Tampa Bay Downs; and the 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th from Santa Anita—10 races in all.
Most—but not all—of the Saturday and Sunday features will also be Pick & Prays, including the weekend’s richest event.
Our up-to-$30,000 Pick & Pray with $17,500 guaranteed takes center stage on Saturday. This one costs $260 to enter and the field is limited to 133.
Another Pick & Pray is Saturday’s qualifier to the April 14th Keeneland Grade One Gamble. Win this (one per 25 will do so), and you’ll get a $3,000 entry plus $500 for travel to the Lexington, Ky. The entry fee is $164.
Saturday is also full-package day for the Horse Player World Series. Winners (one per 25) in this $117 buy-in tourney receive not just a $1,500 entry to the three-day, mythical-money tournament on March 28-30, but a four-night hotel stay at The Orleans plus another $500 for travel.
One of your best chances, percentage-wise, to win a seat to the NHC takes place at HorseTourneys on Saturday via a Low Ratio qualifier. This one will be run in live format, and guarantees at least one seat winner. The entry fee is $500, and the winning ratio here is 1 in 21.
An NHC qualifying opportunity also awaits at HorsePlayers on Saturday.
It’s a Lower Ratio, live-format qualifier with one seat guaranteed and an entry fee of $240.
Also, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge is back on the board on Saturday with the first of two weekend qualifiers. This one is a “regular,” $179 Pick & Pray in which one $10,000 entry is guaranteed regardless of participation.
This week, “Super Sunday” refers to more than the goings on in Atlanta. HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers are “still here” with a dozen (XII) featured tourneys, eight of which are at HorseTourneys.
It’s your last day to qualify online for the 2019 NHC, and your HorseTourneys opportunity comes via a “Lower Ratio” qualifier with a buy-in of $240 and one winner per each 45 entries. All are welcome to play in this Pick & Pray.
There are also a pair of $10,000 Guaranteed cash tourneys on tap. One is our popular, every-other-week Big Bucks event with a buy-in of $1,150 and a limit of 20 entries. Payoffs are made only to the top three—on a 70/20/10 basis—and should the game sellout, the total pool would exceed $20,000…though it will be at least $10,000 even if just you and your dog sign up.
If you prefer a more modest buy-in, but still want to play for big money, then consider our $10,000 Guaranteed, up-to-$20,000 tourney that has an entry fee of $195. The lower price means more competitors, of course (limit: 118), in this Pick & Pray.
And while we’re on the topic of cash, don’t forget about our up-to-$5,000 Exacta box tourney. This contest (always run in live-format) offers a guaranteed purse of $1,000. Here, you make a three-horse exacta box play in each contest race, and the winner is based on total return from a $1.00 play. This one costs $125 to play.
Back on the qualifying front, Sunday represents your second chance to qualify for the 2019 The BIG One. As many of you have read, the September event at Laurel will have several enhancements this year, including a return to a $2.00 win-place format, a guaranteed cash pool of $75,000 and five Pegasus World Cup seats ($12,000 value each) to go along with 10 NHC spots and five BCBC entries. Another change: the entry fee for our qualifiers has been reduced to $350 (from $495). There will be one winner of an all-inclusive package (entry, travel, hotel and more) per each 35 entries, and one package is guaranteed.
Seven have already qualified to August’s Spa & Surf Showdown, and you can add your name to that list via our Sunday qualifier. Winners (1 per 20) earn $2,000 entries to the two-day, Saratoga/Del Mar online event that guarantees a pot of at least $100,000. It’s just $113 to play this Sunday.
Of a bit more immediate consequence is our qualifier to the Monmouth Pick Your Prize tournament, scheduled this year for June 1. You can play in this Pick & Pray for $117, and one in 25 will earn a $2,000 entry plus $500 for travel to “The Shore’s Greatest Stretch.”
Of way more immediate consequence is our $90 Pick & Pray qualifier to the Horse Player World Series that awards a $1,500 HPWS entry per every 20 sign ups.
Of extremely immediate consequence is our Sunday qualifier to next Wednesday’s Treasure Island NHC Last Chance tournament. Again, one per 10 entries (this time at $58 each) will win a $500 entry. Think of this as your last chance for the last chance.
There are three featured events at HorsePlayers on Sunday.
Your final two opportunities to qualify online for the NHC take place today via live-format, Low Ratio qualifiers. One is open to all; one is restricted to those without a 2019 NHC seat. Both cost $500 to enter, both guarantee one seat and both carry winning ratios of 1 in 21.
There’s also a guaranteed, Low Ratio Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier on Sunday with one in 23 earning a $10,000 entry. The price tag here is also $500, though this one is a Pick & Pray.
There you have it—22 featured tourneys. May you have good luck in your contests, may your team win (or cover in) the big game…and may all blatant penalties in it be seen and called!