With the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff less than three weeks away—and the new year less than three days away—we will be increasing the ways players can earn their way into the first leg of the 2022 Tourney Triple series.
No longer will you have to conquer 1-per-15 ratios to earn a coveted $1,500 berth (though we’ll still be offering them, of course). Instead, if you wish, you can cut things down to 1-per-5 in our new Low Ratio Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifiers.
There’s one on the Friday schedule, which kicks off another Pick & Pray holiday weekend here at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers.
A buy-in of $350 gets you that increased potential for success in Friday’s Low Ratio Flo-Cal qualifier.
If normal ratios are more your speed, then our more standard $118, 1-per-15 Faceoff play-in as well. Win the Flo-Cal Faceoff on January 15-16 and not only will you enjoy a big payday, you will be halfway to a $1 million bonus…and a third of the way to a bonus of $2 million.
Since Friday is the last day of 2021, it’s also the day of our final 2021 HT Tour event—our $15,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray, which carries an entry fee of $190. It’s your last chance to lock down a Tour bonus…or a seat in our free Top 50 bonus tourney (tentatively slated for January 22).
Another event for which you are running out of time to qualify is the January 8th Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers Tournament Presented by HorseTourneys. For an entry fee of $80, you get yourself a 1-in-15 chance of earning a $1,000 seat to the Oldsmar, Fla., tournament, with upgraded amenities (like open bar) on us, and at least two NHC seats and plenty of cash at stake.
Another Friday Pick & Pray qualifier is that for the Bally’s NHC Last Chance tournament on NHC Eve (Thursday, January 27th). Winners in Friday’s $59, 1-per-10 test gain a $500 entry for the annual day-before-the-NHC contest.
The New Year’s Eve feature at HorsePlayers is their Friday staple, the $75 NHC Pick & Pray with two seats guaranteed and a winning ratio of 1-per-143.
This typically-well-attended game also offers the promise of potentially valuable NHC Tour points for those engaged in an end-of-year push.
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.
Contest races for New Year’s Eve are the 5th through 8th from Aqueduct, the 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th at Tampa Bay Downs and the 6th and 8th from Gulfstream—10 races in all. The tourneys should all begin at 2:38 pm ET and end by 4:50 pm ET, leaving plenty of time for whatever else you may have on your Friday evening schedule.
You’ll want to take precautions against a potential hangover on Saturday…because there’s plenty more money to be made on the first day of the new year.
That most Saturday money will be up for grabs in our $30,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray, which serves as the very first event in the year-long, 2022 HT Tour (which offers an expected $100,000 in cash and contest seats). Entries cost $350 each.
Also operating as a Pick & Pray (as it always does) is the Saturday Big Bucks tourney. It’s an “up-to-$20,000” game with a guaranteed pot 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.
The new year’s first qualifier to the NHC takes place right here at HorseTourneys. It’s a $165 Pick & Pray with two spots to the end-of-January Vegas extravaganza guaranteed.
As was the case on Friday, there will be regular ($118 buy-in) and Low Ratio ($350) qualifiers to the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff on Saturday. Both will be Pick & Prays.
Pick & Pray play-ins to both the Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers Tournament Presented by HorseTourneys ($80 entry fee, 1-per-15 winning ratio) and the Bally’s NHC Last Chance contest ($59, 1-per-10) are also on the Saturday featured-tourney agenda.
Saturday’s $15 Jackpot Pick 4 tourney, a Pick & Pray, will have a carryover of $4,024. 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.
The Jackpot Pick 4 races for Saturday are the 7th and 9th from Aqueduct and races 8 and 11 at Gulfstream.
Over at HorsePlayers, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge has the New Year’s Day stage to itself.
The featured BCBC game is a $179 Pick & Pray with at least one $10,000 entry guaranteed to be headed out the door, regardless of how many (or few) take part.
Saturday’s 12-race featured-tourney mandatory race menu consists of the 6th through 9th from Aqueduct; the 6th and 8th at Laurel; the 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th from Gulfstream; and the 8th and 10th at Tampa Bay Downs.
As for Sunday, we will lead the preview off with HorsePlayers, because that is where a very special competition will take place.
It’s a 15-race, Live-format NHC Super qualifier with five seats to the Jan. 28-30 big dance guaranteed. The entry fee is $430, which works out to a winning ratio of 1-per-25…though, again, a minimum of five spots will be awarded regardless of participation.
There will also be a $165 NHC Pick & Pray (of the 12-race variety) limited to those who have yet to earn a 2022 seat. Since this is a restricted affair, no NHC Tour points will be awarded in this one.
On the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge side of the Sunday HorsePlayers ledger is a $500 Low Ratio Pick & Pray with a winning ratio of 1-per-23. An upfront investment of $500 will get you in the door for this one.
Six more features are on tap back here at HorseTourneys on Sunday,
We’ll again offer Pick & Pray qualifiers to the Flo-Cal Faceoff ($118 entry fee), Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers contest ($80) and the Bally’s NHC Last Chance tournament ($59).
Sunday’s HT Tour battle is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. Entries cost $250 each, which represents a $55 bump up from 2021 Sunday levels, but purse money will, of course, be similarly and accordingly elevated.
One of the only Live-format games of the day (and weekend) is our Big Bucks tourney. It’s an up-to-$20,000 get together with $7,500 Guaranteed and a barrier to entry of $1,150. Entries are limited to 20, and payouts are made only to the top three finishers.
Though not pictured above, we’ll also have a $15 Pick 4 Jackpot tourney on Sunday. The Jackpot amount will depend on how many played in the Saturday Pick 4 Jackpot tourney—and whether anyone hit it. Check our website or our Twitter feed starting on Saturday night for updates.
We hope that 2021 was a winning year for you. If not…at least we all start out even in 2022! May you all enjoy good luck and good health in the year ahead.