First 2022 NHC “Maiden Special” Among 20 Featured Tourneys to Help Ring in Opening Weekend at Keeneland

Have you yet to qualify for next January’s NHC? If so, you may want to make plans to play in the special Sunday $165 guaranteed qualifier at HorsePlayers that is restricted to those who have not yet earned a 2022 seat to the big dance. We call them “NHC Maiden Specials”…but if you win one of these, we promise you’ll feel like a graded-stakes winner.

Winning any featured tourney at HorseTourneys or HorsePlayers is a pretty terrific feeling. We have 20 such opportunities this weekend—including five on Friday.

Friday’s HT Tour event is our $15,000 Guaranteed No-Limit Pick & Pray. You can participate for $190, and there is no limit as to how high the purse could rise.

We offer a daily Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifier on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s will be a $118 Pick & Pray with a 1-per-15 winning ratio. Winners earn a $1,500 entry into the $250,000 Guaranteed, all-cash extravaganza here on January 8-9.

There will also be a qualifier a day this weekend to the October 16th Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge. Friday’s play-in requires an entry fee of $206 and carries a winning ratio of 1-per-20. Winners receive a $3,500 entry, which can be played a week from Saturday either on-track in Central Kentucky or at Xpressbet.

Once again, there is double-barrel, featured-tourney Friday action at HorsePlayers focusing on the 2022 NHC and the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. 

Friday’s $75 NHC Pick & Pray offers two guaranteed seats to the 2022 event as well as potentially valuable 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 Friday 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 features are the 7th and 8th from Belmont; the 7th through 10th (including two graded stakes) on the opening-day card at Keeneland; and races 2 through 5 from Santa Anita—10 races in total.

Religious players may have an edge this Saturday and Sunday, as the majority of our featured competitions—including five of seven on Saturday—are Pick & Prays.

Saturday’s $30,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray is an HT Tour event, and you  can get into it for a buy-in of $350. As with Friday’s No Limit cash game, there is no limit as to how high the purse could go.

Our Saturday Big Bucks game is always run as a Pick & Pray. It’s an “up-to-$20,000” tourney, with 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 Flo-Cal Faceoff play-in ($118) are both Pick & Prays. The winning ratio for the Keeneland tourney is 1-per-20, while people will win the Flo-Cal qualifier at a 1-per-15 clip. 

One of the day’s rare Live-format features is a “regular”, two-seats-guaranteed NHC qualifier right here at HorseTourneys. The entry fee is $165, and the winning ratio is 1-per-65.

The $15 Jackpot Pick 4 tourneys are always run as Pick & Prays. Saturday’s has a carryover of $2,737. In our Pick 4 Jackpot games, 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 are the 8th at Belmont and the 8th through 10th (all Grade I stakes) from Keeneland.

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 definitely heading out the door, and the winning ratio is 1-per-65.

The 12 featured-tourney races for Saturday are the 6th through 11th (two of them graded stakes) from Belmont; the 8th and 9th at Woodbine; and the 8th through 11th (three of them Grade I stakes) from Keeneland.

On Sunday, eight featured events are on the schedule—two at HorsePlayers and six here at HorseTourneys.

One is our Sunday qualifier to the January’s $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff. It’s a Live-format tourney with a required upfront investment of  $118, and one of every 15 will garner a paid-up $1,500 berth.

Sunday’s HT Tour event is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. Entries cost $195 each.

The Sunday Big Bucks tourney is always run in Live format. It’s an up-to-$20,000 test with $7,500 Guaranteed and an entry fee of $1,150. Entries are limited to 20, and payouts go strictly 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 to be bestowed. It’s $384 to play, and the winning ratio in this 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 yet to reach 20 entries over the last few weeks…so if you’re looking for an overlay opportunity, this could be it.

Our third of three weekend qualifiers to the October 16 Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge takes place on Sunday. It’s a $206 Pick & Pray with a 1-per-20 winning ratio.

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 played in the Saturday Pick 4 Jackpot tourney—and whether anyone went a perfect 4-for-4. Check our website or our Twitter feed starting on Saturday night for updates.

At HorsePlayers on Sunday, the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge share the featured-tourney stage.

The NHC game is the aforementioned “Maiden Special.” It’s a $165, Live-format qualifier with one seat guaranteed, and it is restricted to those who have yet to earn their first 2022 seat. Note that—because of the restricted nature of this tourney—no NHC Tour Points will be awarded in this game. 

The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge affair is a Low Ratio, Live-format qualifier with an entry fee of $500 and a winning ratio of 1-per-23. At least one $10,000 entry is certain here.

Good luck in all of your contest endeavors this weekend—and enjoy the fall racing at Keeneland.