Though Kansas City won the Super Bowl, the real Chief on Sunday was Brett Wiener. And his Friday wasn’t too shabby either.

Perhaps the Floridian thought that Friday would turn out to be the highlight of his week after he finished first in qualifiers to both the $350,000 Gtd. Players Championship (where NHC Hall of Famer Paul Shurman also earned a $2,000 berth) and this Friday’s Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity tournament. If so, Wiener underestimated himself.

His most lucrative win of the day—and week—came in Sunday’s $20,000 Guaranteed cash game, an HT Tour event that closed with a pot of $26,250.

The winner’s share for him came out to $11,812—and it is fitting that his biggest return ($31.40 to win, $13.60 to place) came in the 7th at Gulfstream with a horse named Pounce…because that’s what Wiener did in four other Sunday tourneys.

In all, Sunday’s “MVP” earned cash and seats worth a total of $25,312. Adding in the $3,500 in seats he won on Friday (which included an NHC Last Chance seat that I didn’t mention higher up), it was a $28,812 week for him.

It shouldn’t be overlooked that Matthew Blanchet, Steve Arrison, David Nabutovsky, Jayson “Radio City” Rockett, Don Allen, Kevin Engelhard, Terrence Frank and Jeff VanDrie also won $500 NHC Last Chance/First Chance entries for finishing closest behind Wiener on Sunday. In fact, Arrison won two seats for having placed both 3rd and 5th.

It especially shouldn’t be overlooked that 2021 The BIG One champ Ken Seeman won a $2,000 Players Championship seat on Sunday for his runner-up performance on Sunday—because that was just one of many “Seeman successes” last week.

On Saturday, he became the first HorseTourneys player to earn a bulky $6,000 entry to the 1/ST Ultimate Betting Challenge on March 2. The entry is playable at Gulfstream, Santa Anita or Xpressbet.

He also got a $3,500 Keeneland Grade One Gamble seat for checking in second on Saturday behind Ed Reidy. Seeman and Reidy both got a bit of an assist from the Santa Anita stewards when Barristan the Bold ($21.60, $5.00) got moved up from 2nd to 1st in race 6 at The Great Race Place.

For Reidy, it was his second triumph of the week. The first came on Wednesday.

Reidy’s three Wednesday winners paid $33.80, $24.00 and $13.00, and he led a group of five $500 seat recipients in the day’s multi-track NHC Last Chance/First Chance play-in. The others were Peter Rogers, Jayson Rockett, Gregory Lewis and 2018 NHC champ Chris Littlemore.

Another player who secured top prizes on two different days was Hubert Gaffney.

Gaffney’s grand prizes both came in Gulfstream-only, full-card qualifiers to the NHC Last Chance/First Chance brunch. On Thursday, he took second behind Tom Forlin on a podium that included 2022 NHC Tour champion Jay Johns and Steven Meier. On Sunday, the Pounce-loving Gaffney shared the spotlight with Robert Salzano and Matthew Weisenburger.

On Wednesday, the Gulfstream-only NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifier went to Edward “Wright Stuff” Wright, who compiled 3 firsts and 1 second. His best return came with Reef Runner ($33.80, $7.80) in race 8.

Also garnering $500 seats for finishing nearest to Wright were Terry Jerge, Dane Moore and Larry St. Andrie.

Geoffrey Schutt (3 firsts, 3 thirds) also smoked out Reef Runner.

Schutt pocketed $3,794 for taking Wednesday’s $5,000 Guaranteed cash tourney, which ultimately paid out a total of $8,433.

Wednesday’s highest score was posted by Troy Johnson (5 wins, 3 places).

Johnson and Carl Richard Logan were the two to pick up $2,000 entries for the April 6-7 Players Championship, the second leg of the new HorseTourneys Grand Slam. They both hit Reef Runner along with Charles Chrome ($15.80, $9.00) in the final contest race, the 9th at Tampa Bay Downs.

Craig Amundson earned a $3,500 Keeneland Grade One Gamble entry on Wednesday by having faith in Faith.

The race 10 winner at Parx paid $14.00 to win and $6.40 to place. That was Amundson’s best return across 4 winners and 2 runners up.

Bombs were dropping all over the place on Thursday.

Sabrina Smith (no relation to McKay) put up a gaudy score of $140.60 thanks to four winners that included Lunar Rocket ($40.80, $14.00) in the 6th at Gulfstream and Twirling Queen ($64.60, $33.00) in race 8 at the Hallandale Beach oval. She pocketed $3,888 for taking Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed with a final purse of $8,640.

Peter Osella posted a slightly gaudier score (by 20 cents).

Like Smith, Osella racked up four winners. He had Lunar Rocket and also Nosey Power ($70.00, $40.20) in race 5 at Mahoning Valley. Those two rocketed (or powered, if you prefer) Osella to the top of Thursday’s special $125 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Bill “BC” Chenvert also prospered with Lunar Rocket and Nosey Power.

Chenvert led a group of five who snagged $500 ducats in Thursday’s multi-track NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifier. The other four who earned NHC Eve action were Jay Johns (his second such seat of the day), Joe Pettit, Robert Grace and Ken Jordan.

Not long ago, Ed Peters was crowned 2023 HT Tour champion. Last Friday, he took his first significant step towards repeating in 2024.

Peters hit the inappropriately named Hello Sucker ($27.20, $17.40) in the 8th at Tampa plus 3 other winners and a runner up to pocket $10,548 in Friday’s HT Tour game, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which was ultimately worth a total of $23,441.

Hello Sucker was the lone winner among 5 collections for Thomas Michael Abinanti.

Abinanti got the $3,500 spot in Friday’s play-in to the Keeneland Grade One Gamble on April 13.

Hello Sucker was also common to the scorecards of Britton Smith (also no relation to McKay), 2022 NHC Champ David Harrison and Richard Reese.

Smith (3 wins, 2 places), Harrison (3W, 2P) and Reese (2W, 2P) were the three seat winners in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Reese got his seat via tiebreaker by virtue of having one 3rd place finisher…which was one more than unlucky Tarik Kouchtaf had.

Of course, what’s a day around here right now without a couple of NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifiers?

Todd “American” Faro took the Gulfstream-only version with a 2-win, 4-place day that was highlighted by Starship Pioneer ($48.80, $11.40) in race 2. The other two $500 seat winners in this one were Michael Odorisio and Christopher “Liberty and Justice for” Ahl.

No one was saying “Hello Sucker” to Buck Waller on Friday. He had the Tampa longshot.

Waller (4 wins, 1 place) accounted for one of nine NHC Last Chance/First Chance seats in Friday’s multi-track play-in. Curtis Meyer reeled in three of the other eight after he tripled down on his 10 horses. The other five $500 seat earners were Tyler Smith (no relation to McKay), Steve “People are” Stange, 2023 Spa & Surf Showdown winner Anthony Spinazzola, the oft-aforementioned Brett Wiener and Tom O’Connor.

There were several multiple winners on Saturday. You already know that Ken Seeman grabbed 1/ST Ultimate Betting Championship and Keeneland Grade One Gamble seats that day. He also picked up an NHC Last Chance/First Chance entry.

Seeman finished second to Mike Gillum (7 firsts, 2 seconds) in a multi-track game that also saw Joseph Zuer, Michael Ryan, Daniel Kaplan, Terry Jerge, Daniel Fischer and Michael Gallant Jr. firm up their NHC Eve plans.

While the NHC Last Chance/First Chance qualifier triumph was certainly a nice one for Mike Gillum on Saturday, it wasn’t his best one.

Gillum used largely (but not exactly) the same picks in Saturday’s HT Tour event, our $25,000 Guaranteed tourney, which closed its doors with an accumulated pot of $33,880. Gillum cashed in each of the final 7 contest races including one on 9-1, elevated-via-DQ winner Barristan the Bold at Santa Anita. Gillum’s winner’s share came to $15,246.

In Saturday’s Players Championship qualifier, Peter Kovic had two winners at the beginning, two winners in the middle and two winners at the end.

Kovic and his frequent strike rate showed the way here. Behind him came Laura “Prince Thou” Arth (5 wins, 2 places) and “Battlin’” William Smith (4W, 2P).

Smith (no relation to McKay) slashed out the same 4 firsts and 2 seconds to decapitate his foes in Saturday’s $7,000 Gtd. Big Bucks Pick & Pray.

Smith earned $8,549 from what was a final pot of $12,213.

The two players to scale the $90 mark were the two to secure $1,000 seats for this coming weekend in Saturday’s play-in to the Tampa Bay Downs Last Chance/First Opportunity contest (presented by HorseTourneys!).

Congratulations to Jim Videtic (3 wins, 3 places), who made collections in the final three races to get up for the W and to Randy Bauer (4W, 2P).

John “The Clocker” Nichols was first among four winners in Saturday’s Gulfstream-only NHC Last Chance/First Chance play-in. He recorded 5 wins and 3 places topped by Rapture Bay ($13.40, $6.00) in race 6.

The ones who finished a tick or two slower than Nichols but still received favorable reports were Jacob Warden, Joe Pettit and David Browning.

Over at HorsePlayers, Victor Pasquariello (5 wins, 4 places) and Joe Tambasco (4W, 3P) got the seat in Saturday’s $165 NHC qualifier.

Pasquariello and Tambasco were both delighted by the Santa Anita race 6 elevation of Barristan the Bold.

Brian Callaghan was best of 49 in Saturday’s undersold $179 BCBC qualifier.

Callaghan’s best return came in the first contest race (the 8th at Aqueduct) with American Law ($18.20, $8.00).

In Sunday featured tourneys not won by Brett Wiener…

…college administrator Joel Wincowski (5 firsts, 3 seconds) graduated summa cum laude in our $7,000 Gtd. Big Bucks tourney. Thanks in part to a grant from Sakura Blossom ($10.60, $5.40) in the 4th at Santa Anita, he received a merit-based scholarship of $4,986.

Kevin Willett had the day’s priciest winner in Pounce, and he also connected with Diosa Catrina ($25.20, $9.20) in race 9 at Tampa.

In all, Willett racked up 6 wins and 2 places—good for a $3,500 Keeneland Grade One Gamble entry.

Ellis Starr (7 wins, 1 place) and Tom Lenberg (4W, 3P) got Vegas entries in Sunday’s $210 NHC play-in at HorsePlayers.

They each pounced on Pounce…and they also both had Antifona ($22.00, $8.00) in the final contest heat, race 7 at Santa Anita.

Anitfona was both the last and best collection on Sunday for John Fasola.

Fasola came away with the NHC spot in Sunday’s Low Ratio qualifier that was restricted to those who had yet to nail down a 2024 seat.

Congratulations to all of last week’s featured-tourney winners—and sincere thanks to all participants. More marquee-game fun is on the way starting on Wednesday—and more salutes and recaps will be posted the following Tuesday (a day later than usual since Monday the 19th is Presidents Day).