Though the ink is barely dry on Ken Seeman’s $74,000 winner’s check and on the $6,000 Pegasus entry he won for capturing last weekend’s The BIG One, it is time to look forward to HorseTourneys’ next “major” competition, the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff (featuring two days of mandatory, full-card selections on Gulfstream and Santa Anita racing) here on January 8th and 9th.
We are still ironing out the details of next year’s “Tourney Triple” series and hope to have an announcement soon…but whatever form next year’s bonus series takes, the Flo-Cal will be Leg 1 of it. You could buy in directly to the Faceoff for $1,500—but starting this Sunday, you can attempt to win your way into the event that saw Alan Levitt earn $206,000 last January for an entry fee of just $118 in this Sunday’s 1-per-15 qualifier.
That Flo-Cal qualifier is one of 20 marquee games on the weekend’s featured-tourney slate. The first five of those take place on Friday.
Friday’s HT Tour event is our $15,000 Guaranteed No-Limit Pick & Pray. The entry fee here is $190.
There will be a qualifier a day this weekend to the October 16th Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge. Friday’s has an entry fee of $206 and a winning ratio of 1-per-20. Winners earn a $3,500 entry, which can be played on the 16th either on-track or at Xpressbet.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday qualifiers will also be offered for the October 2nd Santa Anita Opening Weekend Challenge at Xpressbet. A $118 entry fee gets you a 1-in-15 chance at grabbing a $1,500 entry to Santa Anita-centric contest a week from Saturday.
Once again,, the 2022 NHC and the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge share the featured-tourney spotlight on Friday at HorsePlayers.
Friday’s $75 NHC Pick & Pray offers two guaranteed seats for the 2022 event plus NHC Tour Points if you finish in the top 10 percent of the field. The winning ratio is 1-per-143. Remember—you must be a 2021 NHC Tour member, prior to the start of the contest, in order to be eligible for an NHC package in this or any other NHC qualifier. If you’re not a member, you can become one quickly and easily at NTRA.com for a $50 membership fee.
The other feature at HorsePlayers on Friday is a $500 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio Pick & Pray. At least one $10,000 BCBC entry is certain to be awarded in this one.
Contest races for the Friday featured events are the 5th through 9th from Belmont; the 7th through 9th at Monmouth; and races 7 and 8 from Laurel—10 races in all.
Saturday presents another enticing mix of cash games and contest qualifiers.
Saturday’s $30,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray is an HT Tour event and carries a $350 buy-in. There is no limit as to how high the purse could go, but it won’t be less than $30,000.
The other four Saturday features at HorseTourneys are also Pick & Prays this week, including our “up-to-$20,000” Big Bucks tourney, which carries a purse guarantee of $10,000. Entries—at $1,150 each—are limited to 20 (unless we get a late arrival or two from last-minute Saturday feeders…in which case the pot will exceed $20,000). Payouts go just to the top three finishers with the winner collecting 70 percent of the net pool, the runner up getting 20 percent, and the third-place finisher picking up the remaining 10 percent.
Saturday’s Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge qualifier ($206 buy-in) and the day’s Santa Anita Opening Weekend Challenge play-in ($118) will also be operated in Pick & Pray mode.
So will the $15 Jackpot Pick 4 tourney on Saturday. It has a carryover of $1,520. In our Pick 4 Jackpot games (always run as Pick & Prays), going four-for-four means you win or share the Jackpot. (You don’t have to be the only winner.) Meanwhile, 70% of the daily net pool gets paid out to players via the traditional $2.00 win/place scoring system. The other 30% goes to the Jackpot pool. Entries in these Jackpot Pick 4 tourneys are limited to three per person.
Saturday’s Pick 4 Jackpot races all come from the Pennsylvania Derby Day card at Parx: Races 9, 11, 12 and 13 (all stakes).
A Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier is the featured tourney on Saturday at HorsePlayers.
It’s a $179 Live-format play-in. At least one $10,000 BCBC entry is guaranteed, and the winning ratio is 1-per-65.
The 12 contest races for Saturday are the 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th (all stakes) at Parx; the 8th, 9th and 11th from Gulfstream; and the 7th, 8th and 11th at Belmont.
On Sunday, our busiest day, you can participate in any of nine featured events—two at HorsePlayers and seven right here at HorseTourneys.
If you succeed in Sunday’s first qualifier to the 2022 Flo-Cal Faceoff, you’ll want to keep next January 8th and 9th open on your calendar, because you’ll be competing for a first-place prize in the neighborhood of $200,000 then. This Sunday’s Faceoff play-in, a Pick & Pray, costs just $118 per entry and one of every 15 will move on to January with a paid-up $1,500 berth.
Sunday’s HT Tour event—and featured cash game—is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. It has a barrier to entry of $195.
The Sunday Big Bucks tourney is always run in Live format (so that there is one Pick & Pray and one Live Big Bucks game each week). It’s an up-to-$20,000 competition with $7,500 Guaranteed and an entry fee of $1,150. Entries are limited to 20, and payouts go just to the first three finishers.
Sunday’s Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship qualifier is guaranteed again this week with at least one $6,000 entry/prize certain. It’s $384 to play, and the winning ratio in Pick & Pray is 1-per-20. Winners also get a $500 stipend for travel to Gulfstream next January. Keep in mind that this event has only attracted 15 or 16 entries each of the last couple of weeks…so if you’re hunting for an overlay opportunity, this may be your spot!
Our third of three weekend qualifiers to both the October 16 Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge and the October 2 Santa Anita Opening Weekend Challenge take place on Sunday. Both are Pick & Prays, with the Keeneland game requiring an upfront commitment of $206 and the Santa Anita qualifier necessitating a $118 investment.
Our other Sunday feature here at HorseTourneys is the $15 Pick 4 Jackpot tourney (always a Pick & Pray). The Jackpot amount will depend on how many took part in the Saturday Pick 4 Jackpot tourney—and whether anyone won it. Check our website or our Twitter feed starting on Saturday night for updates.
At HorsePlayers on Sunday, you can take a run at the 2022 NHC, the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, or both!
The Sunday NHC qualifier is a Live-format $165 tourney with two spots to the 2022 big dance at Bally’s guaranteed. The winning ratio is 1-per-65.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge play-in is a Low Ratio Pick & Pray with an entry fee of $500 and a winning ratio of 1-per-23. At least one $10,000 entry is guaranteed to be won.
Enjoy September’s final weekend, and good luck in all of your tourney endeavors.