David Wolff and Lucas Van Zandt took the first two legs of the 2023 Tourney Triple. The road to the third and final leg in the series—the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown here August 5-6—kicks off this weekend with qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday to the summertime event that test players’ mettle at Saratoga and Del Mar.
Speaking of Del Mar, a week prior to the Spa & Surf Showdown that track will host its annual Del Mar Summer Challenge (on July 29-30). Your first opportunity to earn a $6,000 seat to the high-end contest—plus a $500 travel stipend—takes place this Saturday.
Saturday and Sunday will be busy days at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers with nine features each day. Friday isn’t exactly a quiet day either. There are seven marquee games on that day’s menu.
Your last chance to earn a cut-rate entry to the Keeneland Grade One Gamble comes on…Keeneland Grade One Gamble eve! One of every 20 entrants, at $207 per entry, gets a $3,500 berth in the next day’s tournament, and you can play that entry either on track or at Xpressbet.
Friday’s HT Tour competition is our $15,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. The entry fee is $190.
On each day of the weekend, you can compete for a $1,000 spot in the Golden Gate Gold Rush Challenge on April 29th and a $3,000 entry in the Kentucky Derby Challenge the following Saturday.
Friday’s Gold Rush play-in is a $118 Pick & Pray, with one of every 15 advancing to the 29th.
The Kentucky Derby Challenge qualifier takes the form of a $177 Pick & Pray with a winning ratio of 1-per-20.
On June 3rd, you can play the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge…either on-track or (where else?) at Xpressbet. We have a Friday Pick & Pray qualifier to the “PYP”. It costs $156 to enter and one in 15 pick up a $2,000 entry for June 3rd.
At HorsePlayers, there will be chances to qualify for both the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
The NHC tourney is a $75 NHC qualifier that guarantees two spots for next March. The winning ratio is 1-per-143. There will also be plentiful 2023 NHC Tour points available for those who finish in the top 10 percent of the field. Remember—you must be a paid-up member of the 2023 NHC Tour in order to win this or any other NHC qualifier. If you’re not a member, you can become one quickly and easily for $50 at NTRA.com.
The BCBC game is a $500 Low Ratio Pick & Pray. One $10,000 berth is certain to be headed out the door, and the winning ratio is 1-per-23.
The Friday featured-tourney races are the 5th through 8th from Aqueduct; the 7th and 8th at Tampa Bay Downs; and the 7th through 10th from Keeneland—10 in all. Two of the four Keeneland races are stakes, including the Grade I Maker’s Mark Mile.
On Saturday, your first shot at the Spa & Surf Showdown is part of the schedule.
If you like playing Saratoga and Del Mar, then you’ll love the Spa & Surf Showdown, where we make you play every race from both tracks for two days. Saturday’s Showdown qualifier is a Live-format affair with one of every 20 participants picking up a $2,500 entry to the $400,000 Guaranteed all-cash event.
Another Saturday “first chance” is that for the Del Mar Summer Challenge. The Del Mar tournament is an on-track-only contest with an entry fee of $6,000. If you win Saturday’s Live-format, 1-per-20 play-in, you’ll receive an entry plus an extra $500 to get yourself to Del Mar.
Saturday’s HT Tour battle is a $20,000 Guaranteed, Live-format tourney. The price to enter is $350.
Another important Saturday cash game is our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks Pick & Pray. Entries are $1,150 each. The winner receives 70 percent of the net pool, the runner up gets 20 percent, and the third-place finisher picks up the remaining 10 percent. Entries are capped at 20, and if we reach that figure, the total purse will exceed $20,000.
On Saturday, we host a qualifier to the April 22 Lone Star Spring Betting Challenge. One of every 15 contestants, at $79 per entry, will earn a $1,000 seat for the on-track-only tournament in a week’s time down in Texas.
As mentioned earlier, there will again be a qualifier on Saturday for the April 29 Golden Gate Gold Rush Challenge ($118 entry fee) and the May 6 Kentucky Derby Challenge ($177).
For the second straight day, HorsePlayers plays host to both NHC and Breeders’s Cup Betting Challenge qualifiers.
The NHC qualifying opportunity is a Live-format, $165 game that assures that 2 seats will be awarded. The winning ratio for this one is 1-in-65.
The same winning ratio applies to Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier. An upfront investment of $179 is required in order to participate in the Live-format tourney. One seat is guaranteed here.
The 12 Saturday, featured-tourney contest races are: the 5th through 9th from Aqueduct; the 8th and 10th (both stakes) at Laurel; and the 7th through 11th (including 3 stakes) from Keeneland. Closing time is slated for approximately 3:28 pm ET.
Another nine features come your way on Sunday.
It’s never too early to qualify for the Spa & Surf Showdown. The second such play-in takes place on Sunday with the same parameters as Saturday’s: Live format, $147 entry fee, and a winning ratio of 1-per-20. Winners get a $2,500 entry for August 5-6.
Cash gamers will be attracted to the day’s $20,000 Guaranteed, Live-format game. You can get a seat at the cyber-table for $250.
Another big-money game is Sunday’s Big Bucks tourney. On Sundays, it is always a Live-format test. The purse guarantee is $7,000, and entries cost $1,150. Payouts go strictly to the top three finishers on a 70/20/10 basis.
The Sunday NHC qualifying opportunity is here at HorseTourneys. It’s a $165 “two seater” with a winning ratio of 1-per-65. The format, as per the custom of the day, is Live.
As noted above, qualifiers to the Golden Gate Gold Rush Challenge and the Kentucky Derby Challenge will be offered for a third consecutive day on Sunday.
For a second consecutive day, a play-in to the Lone Star Spring Betting Challenge is on the schedule…as time winds down to qualify for the April 22 on-track contest.
After a one-day hiatus, a qualifier to the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge is back on the featured-tourney menu. Sunday’s game will be run in Live-format.
The lone Sunday feature at HorsePlayers is tied to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
It’s a $500, Low-Ratio, Live-format qualifier. The winning ratio is 1-per-23; and at least one $10,000 seat is guaranteed to be won even if only you and your dog sign up.
Good luck to everyone this weekend—and especially to those who will be representing HorseTourneys as competitors in the always-exciting Keeneland Grade One Gamble on Saturday. We hope you have an enjoyable—and, yes, profitable—weekend ahead.