One of the best contests in which to win an NHC spot is the Lone Star Million Betting Challenge held on Memorial Day each year at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex. This year’s event falls on May 30th, and eight seats to the 2023 NHC are guaranteed. That works out to a winning ratio of 1-per-10.
Another nice thing about the Lone Star Million B.C. is the fact that the entry fee of $2,500 goes completely into your bankroll. The prize pool on May 30th is funded by Lone Star. On Saturday, you can win your $2,500 stake—plus an additional $500 for travel to suburban Dallas—in a $177 qualifier.
The Lone Star play-in is one of 25 marquee games this weekend. The first batch of those will be hosted on Friday.
Friday’s HT Tour event is our $15,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray. You can take part for an entry fee of $190.
Five important qualifiers are slated for Friday. One of the is to the Keeneland Grade One Gamble. The April 23rd contest will offer cash prizes plus seats to the NHC and Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. This year’s “GOG” can be played either on-track at Keeneland or at Xpressbet. Winners of Friday’s $207, 1-per-20 Pick & Pray receive a $3,500 entry to the Keeneland game.
The Monmouth Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge takes place on June 4th Based on 200 entries, the Pick Your Prize Challenge will offer a whopping 18 spots to the 2023 NHC, four Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge berths and cash prizes totaling $65,000. You can secure a $2,000 entry to it for $156 in Friday’s 1-per-15 Pick & Pray.
The $350,000 Guaranteed Players Championship, the middle leg of the 2022 Tourney Triple, will be hosted here at HorseTourneys on April 9-10. On Friday (and on Saturday and Sunday too) a $156 entry fee gets you a 1-in-15 chance at a $2,000 seat into the lucrative, all-cash “PC”.
Two NHC seats plus additional cash prizes will be on the line in the onsite Sam Houston Texas Champions Day contest on March 26th . The entry fee for Friday’s qualifier is $79, and the grand prize is a $1,000 seat. One of every 15 competitors will win.
April 2 is the date of the Florida Derby. That means it’s also the date of the Florida Derby Challenge at Gulfstream Park and Xpressbet. You can win a $1,500 entry to the live-money tournament by winning our $118, 1-per-15 Pick & Pray.
Over at HorsePlayers, there’s a (yup, you guessed it) $75 NHC qualifier.
It’s a Pick & Pray with two seats guaranteed and a winning ratio of 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.
Contest races for Friday are the 6th, 7th and 9th from Gulfstream, the 1st through 3rd at Santa Anita; and the 6th through 9th from Aqueduct—10 races in all.
Most of the featured tourneys on Saturday and Sunday will be contested in Live format—but not all of them.
One of the exceptions is Saturday’s $165 NHC Pick & Pray. The winning ratio is 1-per-65, and two seats to the 2023 event are guaranteed.
Following the norm of the day is the aforementioned Lone Star Million Betting Challenge qualifier, which will be a Live-format game. It’s $177 to participate and 1 in every 20 will pick up a $2,500 entry for Memorial Day and $500 for travel to Texas.
The weekend’s most lucrative competition is our $30,000 Guaranteed, No Limit tourney, which is also the day’s HT Tour event. Entries for this Live-format game cost $350 each.
The Saturday Big Bucks tourney is always a Pick & Pray (so as to alternate in format with the Sunday version). It’s an “up-to-$20,000” game with a guaranteed purse 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 slightly 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 scooping up the remaining 10 percent.
The weekend’s second Monmouth Pick Your Prize qualifier is also part of the Saturday slate. It’s a $156 live-format skirmish with a winning ratio of 1-per-15. Winners get a $2,000 entry for the first Saturday in June.
The same price tag ($156) applies to Saturday’s Players Championship play-in. It’s a 1-per-15 test that offers $2,000 seats to the big All Optional Live, $350,000 Guaranteed game here on the weekend of April 9-10.
For $207, you can try your luck in another Keeneland Grade One Gamble qualifier. The winning ratio is 1-in-20, and the object once again is to earn a $3,500 seat into the April 23rd contest.
Also a Pick & Pray is Saturday’s $15 Jackpot Pick 4 tourney, which has a current carryover of $1,188. 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 8th at Aqueduct and the 10th and 12th from Gulfstream.
There’s just one headliner on Saturday at HorsePlayers.
It’s a Live-format, $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge play-in. The winning ratio is 1-per-65, and at least one $10,000 BCBC entry is certain to be awarded.
Saturday’s 12 contest races are the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th from Gulfstream; the 8th through 10th (all stakes) at Laurel; the 7th and 8th from the Big A; and the 5th through 7th at Santa Anita. Closing time is approximately 4:06 pm ET.
On Sunday, some will be interested in finding out the final invitees to the Sweet Sixteen. Everyone is invited, though, to our sweet nine…featured tourneys.
Sunday’s HT Tour event is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit tourney. You can play in this Live-format get-together for $250.
Our Big Bucks game (always a Live-format affair on Sundays) is an up-to-$20,000 battle with an entry fee of $1,150 and a purse guaranteed to be at least $7,500. Total entries are limited to 20, and payouts go only to the top three finishers.
For a third straight day, we’ll again offer Live-format opportunities to qualify for the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge, the Players Championship and the Keeneland Grade One Gamble.
A qualifier to the Sam Houston Texas Champions Day is back in the fold on Sunday after a day off on Saturday. It is again a $79 game with a winning ratio of 1-per-15. Winners pick up a $1,000 seat to the onsite contest a week from Saturday.
Though not pictured in the above screen shot, another $15 Pick 4 Jackpot tourney takes place 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.
There are two featured qualifiers on Sunday at HorsePlayers. One is to the NHC, and the other is pegged to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
The NHC play-in is a $210, Live-format game with two seats guaranteed. The winning ratio is 1-per-50.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier is a $500 Low Ratio game hosted in Live format. One $10,000 seat is guaranteed, and the winning ratio will be 1-per-23.
Enjoy all of the weekend madness—both of the two-legged and four-legged variety. We wish you good luck in your brackets and, more importantly, in your tourneys.