Ken Seeman, winner of $74,000 and a Pegasus World Cup seat in the 2021 renewal, will attempt to become the first two-time champ of “The High Expectation Tourney” when he does battle with no more than 56 others (all playing just one entry) in The BIG One this Saturday and Sunday at HorseTourneys.
The BIG One requires players to make 12 “All Optional Live” selections from 30 available races on each day of the two-day event. Make no mistake, though. You don’t have to finish first to have a highly successful weekend. The top 10 share in the cash-prize pool (currently at $129,000+ and counting). The top 10 also receive their choice of an NHC seat, a Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge entry or a spot in the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship.
(Some brief housekeeping: At least two of the 10 awarded seats must be for the NHC…so we can hand out NHC Tour points…and Pegasus seats will be supplemented with additional cash to bring them up to an ultimate value of $10,000, putting them on par with the other options.)
Four buy-in berths remain available (as of press time) to The BIG One, an HT Tour competition. Those can be had for $6,400 each by contacting support@horsetourneys.com. However, two online berths remain for The BIG One—and those will be won on Friday in a $395 qualifier which headlines our Friday featured schedule. There is a limit of 54 entries that will be accepted for this important qualifying tourney.
The Last Chance opportunity for The BIG One takes the form of a $395 Pick & Pray qualifier with two “better-late-than-never” seats guaranteed. Also—the two winners of the qualifier get a $500 bonus prize in addition to the entry…and the 3rd-place finisher receives a $395 refund/consolation prize.
There’s plenty more to play for on Friday even if The BIG One, for some reason, doesn’t float your boat.
Friday’s HT Tour event is our $15,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray. Astake of $190 gets you a seat at the table in this all-cash game.
There will also be a qualifier on each day of the weekend for the Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge and the Exacta Extravaganza.
The Keeneland play-in (a Pick & Pray on Friday) has a price tag of $206, and one of every 20 participants will pick up a $3,500 entry for the October 15 skirmish.
Exacta Extravaganza qualifiers are run in Live, Exacta format (not as a Pick & Pray). In Exacta-format games, players make a mythical, three-horse exacta box selection in each contest race, and there are no price caps in effect. (You get the full payoff if you hit a long one.) Friday’s Extravaganza qualifier costs $89 to play, and winners (1-per-10 entrants) get a $750 seat for the two-day, $50,000 Guaranteed exotic tourney here on December 3-4.
At HorsePlayers on Friday, we once more host Pick & Pray qualifiers for the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
Friday’s NHC tourney is a $75 Pick & Pray with two seats guaranteed 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 battle is a $500 Low Ratio Pick & Pray. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and at least one $10,000 entry is certain to be awarded regardless of how many (or few) sign up.
The Friday 10-race schedule is the 5th through 8th from Woodbine; the 7th through 9th at Pimlico; and the 7th through 9th from the “Belmont at Aqueduct” card—which will be contested in Ozone Park, N.Y. (i.e. Aqueduct). The preceding factoid has been provided as a public service for those who put stock in horses for courses.
On Saturday, the highlight, of course will be Day 1 of The BIG One.
If you are in the field—or contemplating buying your way into it—the 30 contest races for The BIG One will be the full, 11-race card at “Belmont at Aqueduct”, the complete 12-race card on Woodbine Mile Day at (where else?) Woodbine, and races 6-12 at Monmouth. Remember, though, you just make 12 mythical win-and-place plays, so choose your races wisely!
Most of our other features on Saturday will be traditional, 12-race, Live-format affairs.
Saturday’s other HT Tour event (in addition to The BIG One) is our $30,000 Guaranteed tourney. It’s $350 to play.
An exception to the Live-format custom on Saturday is our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks game—which is always set up as 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.
On Saturday, we’ll try, try again to fill a qualifier for the Santa Anita Opening Weekend Challenge…playable on-track on October 1-2 or at Xpressbet. An investment of $236 purchases you a 1-in-20 chance at a $4,000 seat.
As mentioned earlier, we’ll host Saturday qualifiers to the Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge and the $50,000 Guaranteed Exacta Extravaganza. Both will be in Live-format with the same price points as on Friday (and Sunday). Note again, though, that the Exacta Extravaganza game will be waged in three-horse-exacta-box mode…not $2 win-and-place.
For you NHC-or-bust players, your shot at the 2023 big dance takes place here at HorseTourneys on Saturday. It’s a “regular,” $165 Live-format qualifier with a winning ratio of 1-in-65 and two spots guaranteed.
Over at HorsePlayers, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge has the featured-tourney stage to itself.
A $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge seat will be yours for November 4-5 if you win Saturday’s $179 qualifier. It’s a Live-format get-together with one seat guaranteed. The winning ratio is 1-per-65.
Saturday’s 12 contest races (for all tourneys other than The BIG One) are the 8th through 11th from Monmouth; the 7th and 8th at “Belmont at Aqueduct”; and races 7 through 12 on the Woodbine Mile card. Closing time will be approximately 3:29 pm ET.
On Sunday, we will crown the latest champion of The BIG One—but we also have seven other stand-alone features that day that are certainly worth considering as well.
Again on Sunday, we’ll offer Live-format qualifiers to the the Keeneland Fall BCBC/NHC Challenge and the $50,000 Guaranteed Exacta Extravaganza. Once again the Keeneland game will cost $206 to play, while the Exacta Extravaganza one requires $89.
Another play-in to the Santa Anita Opening Weekend Challenge is part of the lineup again on Sunday. It’s $236 to take part, and the winning ratio is 1-per–20. Winners get a $4,000 entry for October 1-2. You can play it on-track or at Xpressbet.
Sunday’s HT Tour event is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit game. You can play this Live-format tilt for an entry fee of $250.
Sunday’s Big Bucks game is always run in Live format. It’s an up-to-$20,000 tourney with a purse guaranteed this week at $7,000. Total entries will again be limited to 20, and payouts go only to the top three finishers.
There are co-features on Sunday at HorsePlayers.
One is for the NHC. It’s a $165, Live-format test with a winning ratio of 1-per-65 and 2 spots guaranteed.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier will also be contested in Live format. It’s a Low-Ratio, 1-per-23 play-in with an entry fee of $500. One $10,000 BCBC entry is guaranteed here.
Excitement abounds this weekend. We wish you the best of luck in picking your spots…and picking your horses. Good luck to all!