At the end of 2023, Ed Peters was crowned HT Tour champ (and we’ll learn how he got that done in this space tomorrow). The 2022 winner was Travis Pearson, and last weekend he reminded us that you don’t achieve such a distinction without being a really good player.

On Sunday, Pearson made an early bid to bolster his 2024 HT Tour resume.

The day’s HT Tour game was our $20,000 Guaranteed tourney, which wound up with a purse of an even $28,000. Pearson got $12,600 of that by picking 3 winners and 3 runners up that included a pair of victorious 11-1 shots late—the somewhat appropriately named Eyes Eleven ($24.20, $9.20) in the 9th at Laurel and Swiss Slang ($25.20, $14.20) in the final contest race, the 11th at Gulfstream.

Pearson pocketed another $4,900 in Sunday’s slightly-overlaid Big Bucks tourney, which had a purse guaranteed at $7,000. This was no copy-and-paste job, however.

In fact, only three of Pearson’s 12 selections were common from one Live-format game to the other. Fortunately for Pearson, one of the horses he did go “all in” on was Eyes Eleven.

Pearson’s victories represented two of what were a whopping 36 featured tourneys between Wednesday and Monday. Eleven of those games were either Flo-Cal Faceoff or NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifiers—and players came out in droves for them. The qualifiers to this weekend’s $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Faceoff generated 32 winners of $1,500 entries. The play-ins to the NHC Last Chance/First Chance on NHC Eve, meanwhile, produced a remarkable 45 winners of $500 seats. 

Before I go on with the rest of the recaps…a few words about the NHC Last Chance/First Chance contest: Will this be the first year that the number of entries in the Last Chance exceeds the entry count in the NHC itself? Things are certainly trending in that direction. In 2022, the NHC Last Chance attracted 532 entries. Last year, it was 752—just 27 fewer than the number of entries for the following day’s NHC. The growth in this prelude (or “appetizer” if you will) has been pretty incredible, and it certainly speaks to the popularity of both the NHC and the NHC Tour (of which the NHC Last Chance/First Chance event is a very important early component given the number of points at stake in it).

Now…back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The featured-tourney week began on Wednesday, when there were…what else?…Flo-Cal Faceoff and NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifiers.

Geoffrey Schutt and Brett Wiener got the first two Flo-Cal berths of the week, although there were supposed to be three seats awarded. What happened? Shawn Turner and Anthony Mastropietro played the exact same 10 selections and finished tied for third. So that meant they each received $750 in HorseTourneys site credit in lieu of one of them getting that third seat. 

There were seven seat winners in the NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifier.

They were 2007 NHC champ Stanley Bavlish (5 winners in a row), Flo-Cal seat winner Brett Wiener, Ciaran Thornton, the aforementioned Shawn Turner, Ron Tang, Mark Wilgard and Mark Stillmock. For Thornton and Stillmock, it would be the first of two NHC Last Chance seats earned during the week.

Even if it seems like Flo-Cal and NHC Last Chance qualifiers are crowding out our other offerings, we are still offering our full complement of cash games—and that made Geoffrey Schutt happy on Wednesday.

The first-place finisher in Wednesday’s Flo-Cal qualifier, Schutt used the same selections in this Live-format, $5,000 Guaranteed game. His 5 collections (3 wins, 2 places) came consecutively in mid-tourney and included Epic Luck ($57.20, $14.00) in the 8th at Tampa. The run led to a payday for Schutt of $3,266 in a game that paid out a total of $7,258.

Edward Chambers had just two winners on Thursday, but they were both big long shots at Aqueduct.

Chambers smoked out Morethanafeeling ($47.20, $21.60) in race 5 at the Big A and Mysaria ($74.00, $28.00) in race 8. That got Chambers the grand prize of $4,043 in Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed with a final purse of $8,986.

Chambers was also one of four players who prospered during the second of six straight days of Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifying. 

Congratulations to Travis “Subaru” Forrister (3 wins, 1 place) who had the high score of the day with a tally of $142.00. The other $1,500 berths went to Steve “The Admiral” Nemetz (3W, 1P), Pete Acocella (2W, 1P) and Chambers.

Unlike on Thursday, long prices were in short supply on Friday. In Friday’s HT Tour event, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, Scott Pulcini (3 firsts, 2 seconds) got the biggest return of the day in the final contest race with Thought ($13.80, $5.40) in the 9th at Tampa.

Actually, Pulcini’s $17.20 place collection with Simply Striking in the 8th at Gulfstream represented the second-highest-yielding horse.

It all added up to a victory worth $9,650 in a tourney that had a final prize pool of $21,446.

Jim Meeks (4 wins, 4 places), Shane Kruse (6W, 1P) and Michael Koblenz (4W, 2P) all thought Thought would win.

They were the three seat winners in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Joseph Rich (2 wins, 3 places) also hit Thought at the end, though Jose Giron (3W, 3P) did not.

For Giron, it didn’t matter. He and Rich will see each other again in the Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity contest next month. 

Nine players earned $500 NHC Last Chance/First Chance entries on Friday.

Terrence Frank swept the final four races to finish with 5 firsts and 1 second and lead the way. His fellow seat winners were Keith Simon, Jim Herron, 2022 NHC Tour champ Jay Johns, Michelle “Sermon on the” Mount, Jeffrey Banks, Scott Fitzgerald, Kirk Rockwell and Tampa entry winner Jose Giron.

Jay Johns (4 wins, 2 places) and Jim Videtic (3W, 3P) each earned $6,500 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship packages on Friday.

Johns had a good Thought at the end. Videtic’s best return came in the first contest race with Lady Lancer ($9.60, $4.40) in race 6 at Tampa.

Videtic was also one of five to pick up a Flo-Cal Faceoff spot on Friday.

Hayden Leibrock finished first with 4 winners (including Thought) and 1 place. The other happy contestants were Jimmie O’Nail (4W,3P), Rudolph Hardin (5W, 0P), Videtic and Michael Schultz (4W, 1P).

The richest tourney of the week, Saturday’s $25,000 Guaranteed game, was captured by Matthew Trommer.

Trommer had a pair of 8-1 winners at Santa Anita among his 7 firsts and 2 seconds. He collected $14,691 in this HT Tour event that closed with a final pot of $32,648.

David Mullin (4 wins, 3 places) and Matthew White (5W, 0P) emerged with the coveted $6,500 packages in Saturday’s play-in to the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship.

White finished fast to get second place, nailing the last three winners, including Jamming Eddy ($18.60, $7.60) in race 6 at Santa Anita.

Martin Scaminaci (3 wins, 1 places) and Bob Gianquitti (4W, 3P) came away with the $1,000 bankrolls in Saturday’s qualifier to the January 27 Houston Racing Festival Handicapping Contest at Sam Houston.

They both made hay with Abrumar in the 8th at Gulfstream. That horse yielded the biggest return of the day ($23.60, $8.60).

Abrumar was also common to the scorecards of Lawrence Kahlden (4 wins, 3 places) and Paul Buonagura (3W, 4P).

Kahlden and Buonagura were the two players to eclipse the $70 plateau in Saturday’s Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity qualifier, thus earning themselves the two available $1,000 seats.

Rafael Lopez’s big horse was Jamming Eddy.

In all, Lopez posted 3 winners and 1 runner up on the way to a triumph worth $7,836 in Saturday’s $7,000 Gtd. Big Bucks Pick & Pray, which closed with a purse of $11,195.

Eight players punched their tickets on Saturday for the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Faceoff.

The 2022 Flo-Cal Faceoff champion David Snyder showed the way in this one thanks to Abrumar plus 3 other winners and a runner up. Other $1,500 seat recipients were Jason Phillips, Cara Yarusso, Joseph Brocato, James Cosenza, Howard Blumberg, Bernard Reilly and The People’s CFO, Joe “JK” Koury.

Ten more earned their way on Saturday into the NHC Last Chance/First Chance convention.

Congratulations to Mario St. Pierre (7 firsts, 2 seconds), Martin Scaminaci, Bronson Cambra, Mickey Hopkins, Mike Caposio, Kevin Willett, Robin Buser, Chris Cox, Ron Tang and Mike McIntyre.

One of those 10 $500 seat winners had a Saturday victory at HorsePlayers that was worth 20 times as much.

That would be Mike Caposio, whose 2 wins and 2 places included Abrumar. Caposio snagged the $10,000 seat in Saturday’s $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier.

The other Saturday feature at HorsePlayers was a $165 NHC play-in.

Carolyn Stovall secured the top spot here after recording 3 winners (including Abrumar) and 2 places. Runner up Bryan Grace (5W, 2P) got the other berth, rallying with the final three contest-race winners. He and Stovall both connected with Jamming Eddy.

We already know that Travis Pearson dominated the Sunday cash games, but there were eight qualifiers on the featured menu as well. One was a play-in to the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship.

Steven Burnite landed the $6,500 package in this one after selecting 2 winners and 4 runners up. His picks were topped by Eyes Eleven, who won race 9 at Laurel at odds of (appropriately enough) 11-1.

A different 11-1 winner proved key for Chris “Hoss” Inman.

Inman nailed Swiss Slang ($25.20, $14.20) in the final contest race, the 10th at Gulfstream, to finish out a 4-win, 1-place day and take home the $1,000 bankroll in Sunday’s Houston Racing Festival Handicapping Contest qualifier.

There were 11 winners in Sunday’s NHC Last Chance/First Chance play-in and 7 first-prize earners in the same day’s Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifier. The player who finished first in both of them was Dave “Gambling Actuary” Nichols.

Nichols came up with both of Sunday’s 11-1 winners—Eyes Eleven and Swiss Slang—and he posted the day’s top score of $146.90. Joining Nichols in the intimate NHC Eve gathering will be Kevin Engelhard, Ciaran Thornton, Don Allen, John Behnke, Gary Wright, Traci Richards, Gary Johnson, Greg Knepper and Geoffrey Schutt.

In the Flo-Cal game…

…Nichols topped a happy group that also included Michael Marlaire, Thomas Kolchowsky, Sammy Toups, Anthony “ATM” Mattera, John Hawkins and Matthew Thomas.

David Long blasted out of the Sunday starting gate with 5 winners and a runner up from the first 6 contest races.

Long added two more winners over the final six races en route to capturing the $1,000 entry in Sunday’s qualifier to the Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity contest. His big horse was Chick’s Shadow ($18.60, $7.40) in the 8th at Gulfstream.

Sunday was a busy day at HorsePlayers with three featured events. 

Frank “Plaster of” Paros (3 firsts, 3 seconds) hit Swiss Slang at the end to grab the $10,000 seat in Sunday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio play-in.

The 2016 NHC hero Paul Matties Jr. will bid to become the first two-time winner of the event after topping Sunday’s $210 qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Matties (6 wins, 2 places) and runner up Paul “Morning” Kloeker (1W, 6P) both scored nicely with Eyes Eleven ($24.20, $9.20) in the 9th at Laurel. In fact, Eyes Eleven was Kloeker’s only winner of the day.

The other Sunday feature at HorsePlayers was a $165 NHC qualifier that was restricted to those who had yet to earn a 2024 seat. It had a rather crazy result that really put the august body of HorseTourneys stewards to the test.

The key horse in this tourney turned out to be Dangerous Ride, who ran in the 9th at Gulfstream and finished…3rd (!). That’s because Gilson “Fancy” Fontz and Dan Fischer each had a score of $100.20 comprised of the same 2 winners and 2 runners up. So the tiebreaker came down to number of show finishers. Fontz had Dangerous Ride, while Fischer had no trifecta completers.

It was a bitter pill for Fischer, and venting just a little bit on social media was completely understandable. 

Kudos to Fischer, actually, for keeping it clean. And, for the record, he was referring to the open, $210 NHC qualifier in which the two seat winners had scores of $99.60, and $82.30, respectively. 

We had six featured events—all at HorseTourneys—on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What was supposed to be a two-track, 10-race slate became an all-Santa Anita, 7-race schedule due to the Parx cancellation. For the second straight afternoon, the day’s biggest price came in the day’s final race—and this time, it was a capper.

Kevin Cox had it—Thirsty Thursday ($59.80, $24.60) in the 9th and final at Santa Anita. It was the third of three Monday winners for Cox, and he got the $7,556 grand prize in Monday’s HT Tour competition, a $10,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray, which had a final purse of $16,791.

As things played out, Thirsty Thursday was almost (but not quite) a prerequisite for Monday success. 

Anthony Mattera got a $6,500 Pegasus Package on Monday—to go along with the Flo-Cal Faceoff entry he secured a day prior. Thirsty Thursday was Mattera’s last of four winners.

Lawrence Kahlden (3 winners) also quenched his thirst for Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity seats with Thirsty Thursday.

Kahlden now has a pair of Tampa entries, having already won one for finishing first in the Saturday qualifier.

Kirk Tesar (2 wins, 0 places) and Kris Andaur (1W, 3P) were the two beneficiaries in Monday’s Houston Racing Festival Handicapping Contest qualifier.

Yep, they both picked Thirsty Thursday.

Six players on Monday earned places in the starting gate for this Saturday and Sunday’s $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff.

With three winners, Gary Blair placed first. He was followed by fellow $1,500 seat grabbers Stephen McNatton, Steven Meier, Paul Sadler, Christian Orscher and, via tiebreaker, Jimmie O’Nail, who got it done despite not selecting Thirsty Thursday.

Mark Stillmock (3 wins, 0 places), Mike Steindler, Michael “Copa” Kavana, Kevin Engelhard, Joseph Rich, Michael Hawes, Brian Kubik, Curtis Meyer, Ellis Starr and Michael Foster reeled in $500 entries on Monday for the NHC Last Chance/First Chance battle.

The first seven of those counted Thirsty Thursday among their collections. Meyer, Starr and Foster did not.

Thanks to all of you for filling up so many featured tourneys last week. In case you’re wondering, we’ll continue to offer Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifiers right through Friday. We can do that easily because it’s our event. No middlemen!

Again, we’ll be back with another blog in this space tomorrow, when we’ll get to know 2023 HorseTourneys Tour champion Ed Peters. So give your eyes a brief rest and, if you can, come back here tomorrow.