Chances to win seats to top contests abound at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers this weekend. When Dan Fogelberg sang about the “chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance”, he was referring to the Kentucky Derby in “Run for the Roses”. We wouldn’t exactly call this weekend’s tourneys the chance of a lifetime, but if you’re looking for handicapping fun, chances are your chances are awfully good (Johnny Mathis) right here.
The first of 18 featured chances comes on Friday in our up-to-$15,000 Pick & Pray with $7,500 Guaranteed. It’s $190 to enter and the field will be capped at 90.
We’re less than two months out from the Breeders’ Cup now—and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Since time is drawing nearer, your chances to qualify for the BCBC will now become more frequent. The first of four opportunities this weekend takes place on Friday at HorsePlayers.
Low Ratio BCBC qualifiers have been very popular this year, and that’s what’s being offered here. It’s a Pick & Pray with a $500 entry and a winning ratio of 1 in 23. At least one $10,000 BCBC entry is guaranteed to be awarded regardless of participation.
Contest races for Friday’s features are the 5th, 7th and 8th from the opening-day card at Belmont; the 7th and 8th at Laurel; the 7th through 9th at Gulfstream; and the 4th and 6th from Woodbine—10 races in all.
On Saturday, Kentucky Downs is back in the mix. The weather forecast there is excellent, and between them, Belmont and Gulfstream, 10 of the 12 contest races this day will be stakes.
Just two weekends remain to compete for the six remaining berths to The BIG One at Laurel on September 21-22, when 10 NHC spots, five BCBC entries, five Pegasus World Cup entries and $75,000 in cash will be up from grabs. We’ll offer one live-format qualifier on Saturday and another on Sunday. Saturday’s has two all-inclusive packages (entry, hotel, travel stipend, hotel/track transfers and full amenities) guaranteed. The entry fee is $495.
The richest event of the weekend is Saturday’s up-to-$30,000 game (live format) with $15,000 Guaranteed. An entry fee of $260 will get you in the door.
We also have a qualifier for the October 13 Keeneland NHC/BCBC Challenge. Winners receive a $3,000 Keeneland entry plus $500 for travel to Kentucky. The winning ratio for this qualifier is 1 per 25, and entries cost $162 each.
Also on the Saturday schedule is a live-format qualifier to the Orleans Fall Classic. This Fall Classic qualifier offers a $1,000 package ($500 entry plus $500 travel) to the October 17-19 three-day, mythical-money contest at The Orleans in Las Vegas,
At HorsePlayers, two more BCBC qualifiers come your way on Saturday.
One is a “regular” Pick & Pray with an entry fee of $179, and a winning ratio of 1 in 65. At least one $10,000 entry/prize will be guaranteed.
The other is a live-format Super Low Ratio BCBC qualifier. With an entry fee of $1,000, the winning ratio here is just 1 in 11. One grand prize is guaranteed here as well—even if fewer than 11 sign up. (Anything less than 10, and the Accounting Dept. won’t be pleased!)
The 12 Saturday contest races at both HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers are: the 6th through 10th (all stakes) at Kentucky Downs; the 7th through 11th (three of them stakes) from Belmont; and the 10th and 11th (both stakes) at Gulfstream.
Ten of the weekend’s 18 featured events are on the Sunday docket, including eight here at HorseTourneys.
The second qualifier of the weekend to The BIG One leads the lineup. By the time Sunday rolls around, just four spots will remain. One of them is available to the winner of this $495 buy-in affair.
We also offer your first chance to qualify for the 2019 Del Mar Fall Challenge. The entry fee on Sunday is $325, and the winner(s) will receive a $5,000 entry to the November 9-10 (weekend after the Breeders’ Cup) contest plus $500 for travel. The winning ratio of this live-format game is 1 per 20.
Sunday is your last chance to qualify for the 2019 Woodbine Mile Horseplayers Tournament on September 14. One per 20 is also the winning ratio here with entries costing $184 and winner(s) earning a $3,500 (Canadian) entry plus $500 (U.S.) for travel.
As usual, we offer a Sunday, $10,000 Guaranteed cash tourney. This one carries an entry fee of $195, and is an “up-to-$20,000” pool-style contest. It’s a live-format game this week.
There’s a pair of entry-only qualifiers taking place on Sunday. One is to the October 13 Keeneland NHC/BCBC Challenge. One of every 10—at $352 per entry—will win a $3,000 seat to the Lexington, Ky., competition.
The other is to the Orleans Fall Classic. The winning ratio is one per 10 here as well, and the entry fee here is just $59 for the chance to win a $500 entry.
Getting back to the cash side of things, we have an up-to-$5,000 Exacta tourney for your multi-horse pleasure. Our live-format game offers a guaranteed purse of $1,000, and players select a mythical three-horse-exacta box play in each of the 12 contest races. The biggest overall return(s), based on $1 payoffs, wins. It’s $125 to play.
Our $8 Pick 6 Jackpot is now up to $2,746. In this event, you pay just $8 to enter and 70% of the net pool gets paid out to players via the normal, $2 win/place scoring method, while the other 30% is directed to the Jackpot pool. Pick the winners of all six races and you win the Jackpot. (Multiple winners would share the jackpot.) This game is always run in live format…so you’ll always be able to see who the favorite is in each race.
On Sunday, HorsePlayers hosts both an NHC and a BCBC direct qualifier.
The NHC play-in is a “regular,” $165 entry-fee tourney with one in 65 winning a berth next February to Bally’s where the NHC will be held again after several years at Red Rock and Treasure Island. The format is live.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier (the fourth of the weekend) is a live-format, low-ratio tourney in which an entry fee of $500 gets you a 1 in 23 shot at a $10,000 BCBC seat. One prize is guaranteed.
We wish you all a great weekend, and we hope you stop by the site to play–if you have the chance.