We know this is one of those extremely rare weekends when there is a chance you may actually be paying attention to races that are not part of our HorseTourneys menu. We’re okay with that!
To help you have your cake and eat it too, most of our featured weekend events (including all 12 on Friday and Saturday) are Pick & Prays. We hope that helps you to more effectively multitask during what figures to be a busy couple of days.
On Friday, we offer six marquee Pick & Prays, including a final opportunity to get into the Kentucky Derby Challenge.
The Kentucky Derby Challenge play-in is a $177 Pick & Pray with a winning ratio of 1-per-20. Winners get a $3,000 entry into Saturday’s contest at Xpressbet.
On each day of the weekend, you can compete for a $2,000 spot in the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge on June 3 and a $2,500 berth in the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown here on August 5th and 6th.
The Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge qualifier costs $156 to play. and one in 15 will earn a $2,000 berth into the popular June 3 tilt.
The Spa & Surf Showdown is a $400,000 Guaranteed, all-cash blockbuster that serves as the final leg of the 2023 Tourney Triple. You can secure a $2,500 seat to it in Friday’s $147 Pick & Pray. One of every 20 entrants will succeed in doing just that.
We haven’t forgotten you cash-game partisans. Friday’s HT Tour skirmish is our $15,000 Guaranteed, No Limit Pick & Pray. The cost to play is $190.
Meanwhile over at HorsePlayers, our two Friday staples occupy their usual places in the starting lineup.
One of those staples is the ever-popular $75 NHC qualifier, which guarantees two seats for next March. The winning ratio is 1-per-143. 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 yet a 2023 member, you can become one quickly and easily for $50 at NTRA.com.
The other Friday feature at HorsePlayers is a $500 Low Ratio Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Pick & Pray. One $10,000 berth is certain to be won in this 1-per-23 affair.
The Friday featured-tourney races are the 5th through 9th from Belmont; the 7th and 8th at Tampa Bay Downs; and the first three races on the Friday program at Santa Anita—10 races in all.
On the first Saturday in May, we present to you…six more Pick & Prays!
Saturday’s HT Tour event will be a $20,000 Pick & Pray. It carries an entry fee of $350.
You can qualify for the NHC here at HorseTourneys on Saturday—via a $165 Pick & Pray. The winning ratio is 1-per-65, and two Vegas berths are guaranteed regardless of participation.
For the second straight day, we’ll have qualifiers to the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge and the Spa & Surf Showdown. The price points and winning ratios are the same as those on Friday, and once again they will be Pick & Prays.
Another Saturday Pick & Pray is our $10,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks tourney. Entries are $1,150 each, with the winner earning 70 percent of the net pool, the runner up getting 20 percent, and the third-place taking home the remaining 10 percent. Entries are capped at 20, and if we reach that number, the total purse will exceed $20,000.
A berth in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge is the objective in the lone Saturday feature at HorsePlayers.
It’s $179 Pick & Pray. At least one $10,000 seat will be awarded no matter what in this 1-per-65 get together.
Saturday’s featured-tourney contest races are the 8th, 9th and 11th (including two stakes) from Belmont; the 9th through 11th at Gulfstream; and the 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th from Santa Anita. Closing time is scheduled to be 4:19 pm ET.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—if you want to increase your chances for success in tourney play, a day like Sunday is a great time for that given that so many other top players will be traveling or otherwise experiencing a “horse racing hangover.” On Sunday, there are eight opportunities to catch the opposition napping (or recuperating).
An upfront investment of $250 will gain you admittance into Sunday’s $20,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray—which is the day’s HT Tour competition.
One of the weekend’s rare Live-format tourneys is Sunday’s $7,000 Big Bucks game. Entries go for $1,150, and payouts go just to the top three finishers on a 70/20/10 basis. A maximum of 20 entries will be accepted.
This week, the weekly qualifier for the Lone Star Million Betting Challenge Shifts to Sunday. One of every 15 entrants, at $196 per entry, will advance to the finals in Texas on Memorial Day.
The Del Mar Summer Challenge qualifier also goes on Sunday this week. The entry fee is $384, and one of every 20 will earn a $6,500 package ($6,000 entry fee plus $500 travel stipend).
For the third consecutive day, we’ll host Pick & Pray qualifiers to the Monmouth Pick Your Prize Challenge and the Spa & Surf Showdown.
At HorsePlayers, there are Sunday qualifiers to the NHC and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. One is a Pick & Pray, and the other will be run in Live format.
The NHC qualifier is the Pick & Pray. It carries an entry fee of $210, which works out to a 1-per-50 winning ratio. Two packages for next March are guaranteed.
The BCBC play-in is a $500, Low-Ratio game that will be contested in Live format. The winning ratio is 1-per-23; and at least one $10,000 seat will be on the line even if just you and your neighbor show up.
Safe travels to those who will be heading to Kentucky. Whether you’ll be spending the weekend at the track or on your couch, we hope you enjoy the Derby…and our tourneys too!