Featured-tourney action really heats up this week with 23 marquee games—and that doesn’t even include Monday (whose schedule has yet to be determined). Suffice it to say, you may very well want to block out some time in between NFL Playoff games to take part.

Two new choices are among the six options on the Friday featured bill of fare.

Almost as big—in terms of participants—as the NHC itself, the NHC First Chance/Last Chance contest offers Horseshoe Las Vegas players an NHC Eve opportunity to grab a late 2024 seat or an early 2025 berth. For $59, you can get a 1-in-10 chance on Friday to win a $500 NHC FC/LC seat. We’ll have one of these qualifiers every day of the upcoming weekend. By the way, if the NHC Tour is your thing, a good showing in the NHC First Chance/Last Chance battle can really give one a leg up in the NHC Tour since the field is big, and since it is considered an “on-track” contest.

The first NHC First Chance/Last Chance play-in was on Wednesday, so Friday’s qualifier is not quite the first to it. What IS a very-first qualifying offering on Friday is that for the Tampa Bay Downs First Chance/Final Opportunity Contest. This two-day tournament on Feb. 16-17 carries a $1,000 entry fee if you buy your way in. You can get an entry to it for $80, though, in Friday’s 1-per-20 qualifier. As of now, Friday is the only day in which a Tampa qualifier is scheduled, but don’t be surprised to see another one or two popped into the schedule later on.

A play-in that you will definitely find offered on each day of the weekend is one for the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Faceoff on Jan. 20-21. That makes this weekend the final weekend in which to qualify for the first leg of the new 2024 HorseTourneys Grand Slam. The Flo-Cal qualifiers cost $118 to play and are 1-per-15 affairs with the objective being a $1,500 entry.

Also featured on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are play-ins to the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship. One of every 20 entrants, at $384 per entry, will get a $6,000 entry plus $500 for travel (though players may also opt to play the Pegasus at Xpressbet).

For you cash-gamers, there’s Friday’s $15,000 Gtd., No Limit Pick & Pray, which is the day’s HT Tour event. An upfront investment of $190 will get you in the door.

A $75 NHC Pick & Pray is the top attraction on Friday at HorsePlayers. 

Two seats to the March 2024 NHC are guaranteed to be distributed in this one where the winning ratio is 1-per-143. Entries are limited to three per person. Remember—you must be a 2023 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 10 contest races on Friday are the 6th, 8th and 9th from Tampa Bay Downs; the 7th through 9th at Gulfstream; races 6 and 8 from Aqueduct; the 1st and 2nd at Santa Anita. 

Eight features are on the Saturday agenda.

The most lucrative game of the week is Saturday’s $25,000 Guaranteed, No Limit tourney—an HT Tour game. It’s a Live-format engagement this week, and the price tag is $350.

Saturday’s other big cash game (and one of the day’s two Pick & Prays) is our $7,000 Guaranteed Big Bucks tourney. The cost of admission here is $1,150. No more than 20 entries will be accepted for this test, with the winner getting 70 percent of the net pool, the runner up pocketing 20 percent, and the third-place contestant leaving with the remaining 10 percent. If we reach the maximum entry count of 20, the total purse will exceed $20,000.

There are additional qualifiers on Saturday for the Pegasus World Cup Betting Challenge Package, the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Face-off and the Houston Racing Festival Handicapping Contest. All the same price points and winning ratios as on Friday apply here. Note, however, that these will all be Live-format games, rather than Pick & Prays. 

One repeat tourney that retains its Pick & Pray status from the day before is Saturday qualifier to the NHC First Chance Last Chance contest on March 14 (NHC Eve) at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and the NHC share the featured-tourney spotlight on Saturday at HorsePlayers.

At least one $10,000 seat will be at stake in Saturday’s $179 BCBC play-in. The winning ratio for this Live-format tilt is 1-per-65.

The NHC game is a “regular,” $165 NHC qualifier with 2 spots certain. The winning ratio is 1-per-65 and the format is Live here as well.

The dozen contest races on Saturday are the 7th through 9th from Aqueduct; the 7th and 9th at Tampa Bay Downs; races 8, 10 and 11 from Gulfstream; and the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th at Santa Anita. Closing time is expected to be 3:18 pm ET. 

Sunday is our busiest day of the week with nine headlining competitions.

Three of the nine are above-referenced qualifiers to Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship, the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Face-off and the NHC First Chance/Last Chance contest. The first two will be in Live format; the latter is a Pick & Pray.

For the the second straight day, we’ll host a $79, Live-format qualifier for the Jan. 27 Houston Racing Festival Handicapping Contest. The winning ratio will again be 1-per-23.

The other two Sunday features at HorsePlayers are cash games. One is the day’s HT Tour event, our $20,000 Guaranteed, No Limit tourney. You can play if you make an investment of $250.

The other Sunday cash feature is a Live-format, $7,000 Gtd. Big Bucks tourney. Once again, the price of admission is $1,150, and entries are limited to 20, with the top three finishers garnering payouts.

Three marquee games are on tap Sunday at HorsePlayers.  

The day’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier is a Low Ratio game in which one of every 23 entrants, at $500 per pop, will nail down a $10,000 seat for November. The winning ratio is 1-per-23, and one grand prize is guaranteed, regardless of participation.

There’s a pair of NHC qualifiers on the Sunday schedule of events. Open to all is a $210, Live-format play-in with two March seats guaranteed. The winning ratio works out to 1-in-50.

For those who have yet to earn a 2024 NHC seat, there’s also a $165, 1-per-65 qualifier with one spot certain. Since this is a restricted game, No NHC Tour points will be distributed here.

As stated at the top, the Monday, MLK-Day schedule is still being figured out…but it’s bound to be something good. Check back to the HorseTourneys.com home page for the latest updates.

I’ll be back in this space on Tuesday to recap the holiday-weekend featured-tourney action. Until then, good luck!