As of this writing, we’re nine days away from the start of the first leg of the 2023 Tourney Triple, the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff here on January 14-15. Already, the number of confirmed entries has the pot nearing its guarantee—which means that the pot could significantly exceed $250,000 by the time we see the puck dropped for the Faceoff.
If you’ve already secured a place or two for the Flo-Cal, congratulations. If not, the upcoming weekend marks the final weekend of qualifying for one of the richest and most anticipated online events of the year. We’ll have a multi-track qualifier to the Faceoff on each day of the weekend, plus some full-card, single-track direct qualifiers sprinkled in as well.
The first of the multi-track Flo-Cal Faceoff play-ins is part of the Friday featured schedule.
The Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifiers are all $118, 1-per-15 competitions, with Friday’s being a Pick & Pray. Winners will secure a $1,500 entry for January 14-15.
The 2023 HT Tour is underway. Friday marks our second such tourney of the young year—a $15,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. The entry fee is $190.
There will be a qualifier on each day of the weekend for the January 28th Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship and the February 10-11 Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers Contest (also an on-track-only tournament).
Winners of our $384, 1-per-20 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship qualifiers get not just a $6,000 Pegasus entry, but an additional $500 for travel to Florida (just in case they decide to play on-track at Gulfstream rather than at Xpressbet). Friday’s Pegasus play-in is a Pick & Pray.
The Tampa Bay High Rollers Contest will be held over two days in 2023. The dates are Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11. Those who succeed in Friday’s $80, 1-per-15 Pick & Pray will secure a $1,000 entry to play on-track at the picturesque Oldsmar, Fla., oval.
The lone Friday feature at HorsePlayers is the ever-popular $75 NHC qualifier.
Two seats are guaranteed in this Pick & Pray, which has a winning ratio of 1-per-143 and also offers beaucoup de NHC Tour points as an added bonus. 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.
Contest races for the Friday featured tourneys at both HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers are the 6th through 9th from Gulfstream; the 6th through 9th at Laurel; and the 6th and 8th from Tampa Bay Downs—10 races in all.
On Saturday, you can compete in the very first qualifier to the NHC First Chance/Last Chance contest to be held on NHC Eve at Horseshoe Las Vegas (formerly known as Bally’s).
It’s a “Last Chance” because if you don’t have one entry (or two) for the next day’s big dance, you can win one. It’s a “First Chance” because if you are already dual qualified for 2023, you can grab an early 2024 berth instead. It’ll cost you $500 to play if you walk up and plunk down your money at Horseshoe. Here, however…starting on Saturday…you can garner a $500 entry for $59 by winning one of our 1-per-10 qualifiers. Saturday’s will be run as a Pick & Pray.
The richest cash game of the weekend is our $30,000 Guaranteed No Limit Pick & Pray, which serves as the day’s HT Tour event. You may participate in exchange for $350.
Saturday’s other important cash game, our Big Bucks tourney, always goes as a Pick & Pray, and it operates with a $10,000 purse guarantee. It’s an “up-to-$20,000” get together. Entries—at $1,150 each—are limited to 20, and payouts go just to the top three finishers. The winner collects 70 percent of the net pool, the runner up gets 20 percent, and the third-place finisher picks up the remaining 10 percent.
For the second straight day, we’ll have qualifiers to the Flo-Cal Faceoff, the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship and the Tampa Bay High Rollers Contest. The same price points that were in place Friday will be in effect for Saturday, and all three will again be Pick & Prays.
Also on the Saturday menu is a play-in to the NHC qualifier on January 28 at Sam Houston Race Park. One of every 15 entries—at $79 per entry—will earn a $1,000 seat for the on-track-only contest.
The following day (January 29), there’s a $500 on-track NHC qualifier at venerable Hialeah Racetrack. You can get a seat to it for $59 in this Saturday’s 1-per-10 Pick & Pray.
Over at HorsePlayers, there will be not one, not two, but three featured tourneys. All will be run in Live format.
Two of the three are NHC qualifiers. One is a $165 tilt restricted to those who have yet to win a 2023 spot. One seat is guaranteed and no NHC Tour points will be awarded due the restricted nature of the game.
The other is open to all. It’s a $210 play-in with a winning ratio of 1-per-50 and two spots certain.
On the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge side of the street, there’s a 1-per-65 qualifier that you can play for $179. At least one $10,000 BCBC seat is guaranteed to be headed out the door.
Saturday features will be decided based on the results of 12 races. They are the 6th through 8th from Tampa; the 7th through 10th at Gulfstream; the 8th through 10th from Aqueduct and races 4 and 6 at Santa Anita. Closing time is scheduled to be 3:05 pm ET.
We bring the first full weekend of 2023 to a close with 10 marquee games on Sunday.
The major cash tourney of the day is our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. You can take part for $250.
The other featured cash game on Sunday is the Big Bucks tourney—an up-to-$20,000 battle with a purse guaranteed at $7,000. Total entries in this Live-format battle are limited to 20 (at $1,150 per entry), and payouts go just to the top three scorers.
We’ll also present our third consecutive day of Pick & Pray qualifiers for the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff, the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship and the two-day Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers Contest.
Your second chance at the NHC First Chance/Last Chance takes place Sunday…if you take the chance. The doorman will ask you for $59 upon entry.
If you want to qualify for the NHC sooner rather than later, you can invest $165 in Sunday’s NHC Pick & Pray qualifier right here at HorseTourneys. Two spots to the March 2023 extravaganza are guaranteed.
For an upfront stake of $59, you can compete in Sunday’s Hialeah qualifier. One of every 10 entrants will receive a $500 entry for the on-track tourney on the day after the Pegasus World Cup.
There will also be another Sam Houston qualifier on Sunday. Once again, it’s a Pick & Pray with an entry fee of $79. One of every 15 entrants will earn a $1,000 spot in the on-track contest on January 28…the same day as the Pegasus.
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge has the featured-tourney spotlight to itself at HorsePlayers on Sunday.
The tourney in question is a Live-format, Low Ratio BCBC qualifier with one $10,000 seat guaranteed, a $500 entry fee and a winning ratio of 1-per-23.
Good luck in all of your cash-game and/or qualifying pursuits. Win or lose, we hope you enjoy the action and competition.