Surf’s up at Del Mar—which makes for a great one-two punch with Saratoga as we create tourneys and race schedules that we hope will tickle your summertime fancy.
In addition to offering two of the most anticipated race meetings at the same time, we are also presenting a first-chance and a last-chance qualifier this weekend. Both of those take place as part of our Friday featured schedule.
The new arrival to the schedule is a $206 qualifier to the October 15th Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge, which can be played either on-track or at Xpressbet. One of every 20 entrants in the Pick & Pray qualifier will earn a $3,500 Keeneland seat.
The last-chance play-in is that for Saturday’s Haskell Challenge (a 4NJBets/ Xpressbet-only tournament). If you want to avoid ponying up $1,000 on Saturday, you can risk $79 in Friday’s 1-per-15 Pick & Pray.
In the “business as usual” column, we have the Friday HT Tour event—our $15,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray. An entry fee of $190 gets you a (virtual) table and chair.
We’ll also have a qualifier on each day of the weekend for the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown here on August 6-7. Friday’s is a $147 Pick & Pray, with one of every 20 entrants receiving a $2,500 berth into what serves as the final leg of the 2023 Tourney Triple.
At HorsePlayers on Friday, you can go after the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
Friday’s NHC qualifier is a $75 Pick & Pray with two seats certain and a winning ratio of 1-per-143. 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.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge face-off is a $500 Low Ratio Pick & Pray. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 entry will go to some skillful picker and pray-er.
In honor of opening day at Del Mar, the Friday race schedule will consist of 12 races instead of the usual 10. The “deciding dozen” will be the 7th through 10th from Saratoga; the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th at Del Mar; and the 7th through 9th from Gulfstream.
Saturday seems like a “Top 10” day on the racing calendar because—in addition to it being the first Saturday in which Saratoga and Del Mar are running in tandem—it’s also Haskell Day at Monmouth. We have eight featured tourneys to try and make the big day just that much bigger.
The richest competition of the week is Saturday’s HT Tour event, our $30,000 Guaranteed game, which will be run in Live format this week. It’s $350 to enter.
Saturday is the first of two consecutive days of guaranteed, Live-format 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 qualifier carries an entry fee of $395, and there is a limit of 27 entries that will be accepted. Also—the winner of the qualifier gets a $500 bonus prize in addition to the September entry…and the runner up receives a $395 refund/consolation prize.
There will also be back-to-back, Saturday-and-Sunday play-ins to the July 30-31 Del Mar Summer Challenge. Saturday’s Live-format game requires an entry fee of $295, with one of every 20 entrants securing a $5,000 entry to next weekend’s on-track tournament. That means that this weekend is the final one in which to qualify for the high-end contest.
The weekend after the Del Mar contest is the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown right here at HorseTourneys. As noted earlier, we’ll have a Saturday qualifier for it with a $147 price of admission and a 1-per-20 winning ratio. The qualifier format will be Live.
Our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks game is always a Pick & Pray on Saturdays. It’s an “up-to-$20,000” test with an entry fee of $1,150—and there is a limit of 20 entries that will be accepted. Payouts go only to the top three finishers with the winner taking the biggest share (70 percent) of the net pool, the runner up getting 20 percent, and the third-place finisher picking up the remaining 10 percent.
Also on tap this Saturday is a Live-format, $71 qualifier for the Colonial Downs Handicapping Challenge on Monday, August 16. The winning ratio is 1-per-10 and winners get a $600 entry
At HorsePlayers on Saturday, handicappers can again try to lock up a berth in the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
The NHC qualifier is a “regular,” $165 Live-format affair with two seats guaranteed and a winning ratio of 1-per-65.
The BCBC get together is also a Live-format competition. It has an entry fee of $179, a winning ratio of 1-per-65 and one seat guaranteed.
Saturday’s 12 featured-tourney races are the 10th through 13th on the Haskell Day card at Monmouth; the 8th through 11th from Saratoga; and the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th at Del Mar. Closing time will be approximately 4:38 pm ET.
Another nine featured tourneys come your way on Sunday.
The Sunday opportunity to qualify for the 2023 NHC takes place right here at HorseTourneys this week. It’s a $165 Pick & Pray with at least two spots assured regardless of participation
Sunday’s HT Tour event is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit cash game. Upon presentation of $250, the maitre d’ will show you in. The format for this one this week is Live.
The maitre d’ will need to be greased to the tune of $1,150 at the door of Sunday’s Big Bucks game. It’s an up-to-$20,000 tourney with a purse guaranteed to be at least $7,500. Total entries will again be capped at 20, and payouts go only to the top three finishers. The format for this on Sundays is always Live.
After a one-day hiatus, we will again on Sunday offer a $206 qualifier into the Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge. The format is Live, the winning ratio is 1-per-20, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a $3,500 seat.
Live-format qualifiers to The BIG One ($395 entry fee, 1 seat guaranteed), the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown ($147, 1-per-20 winning ratio); the Del Mar Summer Challenge ($295, 1-per-20); and the Colonial Downs Handicapping Challenge ($71, 1-per-10) are also part of the Sunday featured-tourney slate at HorseTourneys.
Over at HorsePlayers on Sunday, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge has the featured-tourney spotlight to itself.
It’s a $500 Low Ratio qualifier. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 entry is certain to be awarded in the Live-format tourney.
Enjoy some of the finest summer racing that our sport offers. And may tournament success be part of that enjoyment. Good luck!