How many NHC berths are we guaranteeing on the Fourth? Four! They’re available in a special $100 Pick & Pray at HorsePlayers on Monday.
That is but the Grand Finale of what is an extended salvo of marquee events during Fourth of July weekend. The first featured-tourney flares go up on the same day that July begins—Friday.
Lighting up the sky on Friday is our HT Tour event, out $15,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray tourney. Entries are $190 each.
Speaking of the HT Tour, the first half of the 2022 campaign ended at the conclusion of last Sunday’s action. That means that our leader, Travis Pearson, receives a $5,000 bonus.
Cry not for Anthony “Doczilla” Trezza or Barbara Small. They get mid-year HT Tour bonuses too. Trezza receives $2,500 while Small pockets $1,000. Good luck in the second half, all!
Back to Friday business…
There will be one qualifier on all four days of the holiday weekend for the Spa & Surf Showdown. Friday’s is a $147 Pick & Pray, with one of every 20 entrants earning a $2,500 berth into the two-day, $400,000 Guaranteed, final leg of the 2022 Tourney Triple here on August 6-7.
There will also be a “One-a-Day” qualifier on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to snag a $1,000 entry for the July 23 Haskell Challenge, which will be played not at Monmouth, but exclusively at Xpressbet or 4NJBets. Playing in Friday’s 1-per-15 Pick & Pray requires an entry fee of $79.
The two Friday features you know (and apparently love a great deal!) are again on the schedule at HorsePlayers.
The day’s NHC qualifier is a $75 Pick & Pray with two seats certain and a winning ratio of 1-per-143. In addition to the two March 2023 berths—the first two of 10 at stake this weekend—plenty of NHC Tour points will also be up for grabs. Entries are limited to three per person. Remember—you must be a 2022 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.
There’s also a $500 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio Pick & Pray on Friday. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 entry is certain to be awarded.
Friday’s 10 contest races are the 6th through 9th from Woodbine; the 5th through 7th at Monmouth; and the 7th through 9th from Belmont.
Regulars are accustomed to Friday features being Pick & Prays. During Fourth of July weekend, that’s largely the case on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well.
Travis Pearson can get off to a great start in defending his first-half lead if he can do well in Saturday’s HT Tour event, our $30,000 Gtd, Pick & Pray. The entry fee is $350.
Our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks game is also a Pick & Pray (and it has been won lately with some low scores). It’s an “up-to-$20,000” tussle with a high-end entry fee of $1,150 each—and there is a limit of 20 entries that will be allowed in the door. Payouts go only to the top three finishers with the winner taking the biggest slice (70 percent) of the net pool, the runner up getting 20 percent, and the third-place finisher squirreling away the remaining 10 percent.
Saturday is the first of consecutive-day, Pick & Pray qualifiers to The BIG One —a mythical-money contest here at HorseTourneys on Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18. In The BIG One, the field will be no greater than 57, and no one will be playing more than one entry. Despite the modest field, the prizes will be gaudy. The top 10 finishers will all receive cash and his or her choice of a seat to the NHC, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, or the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship. (At least two of the seats awarded must be for the NHC.) Saturday’s Live-format qualifier carries a $395 entry fee, and there is a maximum of 27 entries that will be allowed into it. Also—the winner of the qualifier gets a $500 prize in addition to the September entry…and the runner up receives a $395 refund/consolation prize.
As mentioned higher up, there will also be a Saturday Pick & Pray to the Spa & Surf Showdown ($147 entry fee; 1-per-20 winning ratio) and the Haskell Challenge ($79, 1-per-15).
At HorsePlayers, there are 1-per-65 qualifiers for both the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and the NHC. One of them is the day’s lone Live-format game.
The format outlier is Saturday’s special $210 NHC qualifier. The price point works out to a winning ratio of 1-per-50—though two seats are guaranteed regardless of how many or few sign up.
The BCBC game is a Pick & Pray that requires an upfront investment of $179 entry in order to participate. One November berth—worth $10,000—is guaranteed.
Saturday’s featured-tourney race schedule is the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th from Gulfstream; the 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th at Woodbine; and the 8th and 10th from Monmouth—12 races in all. Closing time will be approximately 3:11 pm ET.
There’s nothing like a Sunday when you have the next day off. That’s the case on July 3rd. We have eight Pick & Prays and one Live-format game across the two contest platforms.
The Sunday NHC qualifier takes place right here—It’s a “regular,” $165 Pick & Pray with two entries assured. The winning ratio is 1-per-65.
Sunday’s richest cash tourney is our HT Tour gathering—a $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. An outlay of $250 allows you to test your skill in it.
The only Live-format attraction on Sunday is the Big Bucks game—an up-to-$20,000 tourney with an entry fee of $1,150 and a purse guaranteed to be at least $7,500. Total entries will again max out at 20, and payouts go strictly to the top three finishers.
Pick & Pray qualifiers to The BIG One ($395 entry fee, 1 seat guaranteed), the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown ($147, 1-per-20 winning ratio); and the Haskell Challenge ($79, 1-per-15) are all important entries on the Sunday featured-tourney menu.
You can also take a shot at a hefty $5,000 entry into the two-day Del Mar Summer Challenge on July 30-31. Sunday’s Del Mar Pick & Pray mandates an entry fee of $295, with one of every 20 contests securing a spot in the on-track contest.
Another upcoming on-track tournament is the Lone Star Summer Betting Challenge, which takes place on July 16 at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex., near Dallas. Entries for the Lone Star Summer Betting Challenge will cost you $1,000 on July 16. However, you can get one on Sunday for $79 if you do well in our Pick & Pray. The play-in’s entry fee is $79.
At HorsePlayers, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge has the Sunday featured-tourney spotlight to itself.
Awaiting your entry-fee approval is a $500 Low Ratio BCBC Pick & Pray. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 entry is definitely going to someone.
On Monday, the Fourth of July, there are featured-tourney opportunities at both Horse Tourneys and HorsePlayers.
All five of the marquee games are Pick & Prays, which should allow you time if you need it to grill, drive home from the lake…or just take a little snooze if that’s what you need to do.
A special Monday attraction is the “Four on the Fourth” NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers with a quartet of 2023 spots guaranteed. The entry fee is a relatively low $100—which makes this a 1-per-100 play-in.
The other Monday feature at HorsePlayers is a $500 Low Ratio BCBC Pick & Pray. As was/is the case on Sunday, the winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 seat is guaranteed.
Here at HorseTourneys, we’ll be offering a $15,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. The entry fee is $190 (just like on Friday). Note that this is not an HT Tour event—just something we hope is a really fun holiday cash game.
And, of course, what would a weekend day of any ilk be around here without qualifiers to the Spa & Surf Showdown ($147 entry fee) and the Haskell Challenge ($79)?
May you all enjoy a happy and healthy holiday weekend with families and/or friends—and may winning be at least a small component of your holiday happiness. Good luck!