This weekend’s featured schedule looks a lot like last weekend’s featured schedule. Not surprising, I suppose, since everything seems on a bit of a holding pattern right now. Not everything is static here at HorseTourneys, however. We hope to have news shortly about new track offerings from Australia…and we already have news about a purse increase in one of our most popular events.
The rich has gotten richer. Our most lucrative tourney of the week—the Saturday, $20,000-Guaranteed cash game is now the Saturday, $25,000-Guaranteed cash game. Happily, one thing hasn’t changed—the entry fee. It remains at $260.
The $25,000 game will be run in live-format…as will most of the featured tourneys on Saturday and Sunday. Fridays, though, are always all Pick & Prays, of course, and we have four nice ones slated this Friday—two here and two at HorsePlayers.
A Friday HorseTourneys staple is our $10,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray, The entry fee for this is $190. Last Friday’s renewal closed with a robust purse of $22,111 (and Curtis Meyer took home $9,950 of that with his winning effort).
The other marquee game on Friday is our first of three weekend qualifiers to the $150,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown. One of every 20 entries, at $113 each, will earn a $2,000 entry to the August 15-16 online tourney that will test players solely on the races from Saratoga and Del Mar.
On Friday at HorsePlayers, you can win your way in to the two most prestigious handicapping contests in the land.
At least two berths will be on the line in Friday’s $75 NHC Pick & Pray. The winning ratio works out to 1-per-143, and if recent weeks are any indication, there might be a third seat up for grabs as well. NHC Tour Points will also be available to those who finish in the top 10 percent. (Recently the NTRA announced that, this year, the top 75 players not otherwise qualified will earn spots in the NHC based on Tour Point accumulation (up from the usual top 50).
Sharing the main stage Friday at HorsePlayers is a Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio qualifier with one $10,000 BCBC entry certain to be awarded. The winning ratio is 1 per 23, and the entry fee is $500.
Contest races for Friday are the 4th through 10th at Gulfstream; and the 6th through 8th from Tampa—10 races in total.
On Saturday, we have a quartet of featured tourneys on tap at HorseTourneys.
There’s the aforementioned big-money cash game with its newly-elevated purse guarantee—at least $25,000 in the pot, $260 to compete.
Then there’s chance number two of the weekend to qualify for the Spa & Surf Showdown. Again, one of every 20 entries, at $113 per entry, will pick up a $2,000 entry to the $150,000 Guaranteed event. This play-in (unlike Friday’s) will be run in live format.
Another live-format tourney is the Saturday qualifier to the Lone Star Park Spring Betting Challenge—rescheduled to June 27. It’s a 1-per-15 contest with an entry fee of $80. Winners earn a $1,000 entry to the suburban Dallas competition.
The one featured Pick & Pray on Saturday is a good one—a “regular,” $165 qualifier to the NHC. Two seats are guaranteed, and NHC Tour Points are awarded to the top 10 percent of the field.
At HorsePlayers on Saturday, it’s all about the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
It’s a live-format, “regular” BCBC play-in with an entry fee of $179 and at least one $10,000 entry certain to be awarded regardless of participation. The winning ratio here is 1-per-65.
The 12 Saturday contest races for all of the features at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers are the 5th through 9th at Tampa; and the 5th through 11th from Gulfstream.
Ten top tourneys are on the table on Sunday—eight here and two at HorsePlayers. Leading the way are two five-figure cash games.
Our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks game carries an entry fee of $1,150, and entries are limited to 20. The purse is set at a minimum of $10,000 regardless of participation and the top three finishers split the pot on a 70/20/10 percent basis. This weekly event is always run as a Pick & Pray.
Those who prefer live-format games—or smaller entry fees—should enjoy Sunday’s $12,500 Guaranteed No Limit tourney. You can get in the door here for $195.
Another guaranteed event is our qualifier to The BIG One. The top prize here is a guaranteed, all-inclusive package to the 2020 The BIG One at Laurel. Fifteen contest seats and at least $75,000 in cash will be in the prize pool in Maryland on September 19-20. Best of all, the field in September will number no more than 57. The Sunday entry fee is $395 and entires for this live-format play-in are limited to a total of 26. Winners receive three nights’ hotel, travel stipend, welcome dinner, high-end amenities at Laurel and more. At The BIG One, the top 10 finishers receive their choice of a seat to the NHC, BCBC or Pegasus World Cup plus cash bonuses. Finishers 11-15 get a choice of either $1,500 or a Horse Players World Series entry.
This one is not guaranteed, per se…but we do have a Low Ratio NHC Pick & Pray on the Sunday schedule. It’s a 1-per-21, $500 tourney, but it will only take place if there are at least 10 entries.
Your third and final chance of the weekend to gain a $2,000 entry to the Spa & Surf Showdown takes place on Sunday (live format). One of every 20 entries, at $113 each, will play for a cash-only prize pool ($150,000 Guaranteed) in an event that will involve two days (August 15-16) of full-card picks from Saratoga and Del Mar.
The Monmouth Pick Your Prize tournament enters the weekend mix on Sunday. Players in our Sunday qualifier will strive for a $2,000 entry plus $500 for travel to New Jersey. Originally scheduled for May 30, the Monmouth event will be held on a yet-to-be-specified date this summer.
Sunday’s up-to-$5,000 Exacta tourney with $1,000 Guaranteed is always a fun get together. Players choose a three-horse-exacta box in each of the contest races, and receive scores based on the returns of a $1.00 base play. No payout caps are in effect, and the format is always Live. So you’re never out of contention.
Another fun (and low-cost) cash game on Sunday is our $8 Pick 6 Jackpot tourney. These are also always run in live-format, and 70% of the net pool gets paid to top finishers via the normal, $2 win/place scoring method, while the other 30% goes to the Jackpot pool. This week, the Jackpot is up to $8,582.
Two live-format qualifiers are in the Sunday spotlight at HorsePlayers.
One is a Low Ratio (1-per-23) Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier. The cost to play is $500, and at least one $10,000 BCBC entry is guaranteed.
The other feature is a regular ($165) NHC tourney with two seats definitely headed out the door. The winning ratio here is 1-per-65.
Whether you decide to play for seats, money or both this weekend, we appreciate your interest and wish you good luck and good fun.