Mark Stillmock won more than $30,000 in cash and seats last Saturday. We would call the day a “year-maker” for the Omaha resident. However, the windfall was not Stillmock’s biggest of the past year—or even of the past month.

Barely over two weeks ago, the 65-year-old project engineer collected $158,331 for capturing the first-ever Pick & Pray Classic here on November 23-24. Stillmock’s most recent score may not have been of the six-figure variety, but he showed that one need not wait for one of our “majors” to enjoy a truly lucrative day.

The biggest component to Stillmock’s latest such afternoon was our richest tourney of the week, Saturday’s $25,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which was ultimately worth a total of $27,106.

The biggest component of Stillmock’s scoring total of $99.10 was—by far—Lord Eddard Stark ($123.00, $23.40) in the day’s final contest race, the 11th from Gulfstream. The cap horse delivered Stillmock (3 wins, 2 places on the day) a payday of $12,196.

The concept of multi-tabling is nothing new around here. In Pick & Prays, it very often involves using the exact same picks in each of the various tourneys entered. That is not Stillmock’s style, though. In Saturday’s $9,159 Big Bucks Pick & Pray, Lord Eddard Stark was Stillmock’s one and only winner.

The bomb—along with three earlier place collections—added another $6,411 to the well-stuffed Stillmock coffers.

The Nebraskan saved his very best work for Saturday’s $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Pick & Pray.

Here, Stillmock racked up 3 firsts and 3 seconds, adding up to a day-best total of $115.80—and a $10,000 seat for next November.

Stillmock’s least impressive work came in Saturday’s Flo-Cal Faceoff qualifier…but he achieved his objective in that one too.

Stillmock (3 wins, 3 places) did not have capper Lord Eddard Stark here, but he still managed a total of $73.90, thanks in part to Chaplin ($18.20, $9.80) in the 10th at Gulfstream. That score was good for second-place in what was a three-seat event. The other two $1,500 entries went to Kevin Engelhard (6 wins, 2 places) and third-place contestant Jeff Sandler (4W, 3P). The top horse for both Engelhard and Sandler was Mrs. Worldwide ($13.40, $6.40) in the 8th at Tampa Bay Downs.

For Engelhard, the winning wasn’t confined to Saturday.

Engelhard stayed hot on Sunday, hitting Forward Deployed ($26.20, $9.60) in the 7th at Gulfstream, plus three other winners and two runners up to prevail in Sunday’s HT Tour event, our $20,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which ultimately paid out a total of $23,625. Engelhard’s share of that was $10,631.

The first cash game of the featured-tourney week was Wednesday’s $5,000 Guaranteed competition. The horse you really wanted to have that day was Yes Sir Colonel ($63.60, $21.80) in race 8 at Parx.

Crystal Andaur smoked out Yes Sir Colonel along with three other winners, and she took home the up-top money of $2,581 in a tourney that closed with a final purse of $5,737.

It wound up being an extra-nice week for the Andaur family.

On Saturday, Kris Andaur got a Vegas seat in the $500 Low Ratio NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Andaur blanked on the first 10 contest races, but he nailed the last two, including the humongous score at the end with Lord Eddard Stark. Don’t wait so long next time, Kris!

Hopping back to Wednesday, George Novick was another who, like Crystal Andaur, played Yes Sir Colonel.

Novick (2 firsts, 1 second) garnered the $1,500 entry in Wednesday’s qualifier to the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Faceoff here on February 1-2.

Thursday’s Flo-Cal Faceoff play-in went to Ted “Forbidden” Apple.

Apple picked 3 winners and 1 runner up on the way to the winner’s circle. His best return came from Koutoubin ($23.20, $9.20) in the final contest heat, race 10 at Gulfstream.

Another Koutoubin fan was Samdat Bachu (3 firsts, 2 seconds).

Bachu bagged the $2,700 Grand Prize in Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which went off with a takeout to players of 3.9%. Participation in this tourney was likely hampered somewhat by the early-morning cancellation of the Aqueduct card (due to blustery conditions) and the subsequent substitution of races from Mahoning Valley.

Friday was yet another day in which the final contest race was pivotal.

On this day, the final contest race was the 9th at Tampa, which was captured by Fortune Seller ($29.80, $7.80). Brian O’Keefe (4 firsts, 1 second) was sold on the merits of the gelding, and he was rewarded with a fortune of $8,902 at the conclusion of Friday’s HT Tour game, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed its doors with $19,783 in the kitty.

Jim Orban (5 wins, 1 place) and William “23” Sadoo (4W, 3P) each saw the future correctly with their selection of Fortune Seller.

Orban and Sadoo earned $1,500 seats in Friday’s qualifier to the December 26 Santa Anita Opening Day Challenge.

Fortune Seller was the best of four winners unearthed on Friday by Michael Cherello.

Cherello led the way in Friday’s qualifier to the Flo-Cal Faceoff. Getting up for second by a scant 60 cents and also earning a $1,500 Flo-Cal seat was 2023 Spa & Surf Showdown champion Anthony Spinazzola, who is part owner (and was the original sole owner) of recent Grade I winner Sacred Wish. Spinazzola missed out on Fortune Seller. Instead, his heavy lifter was Endless Reign ($17.60, $8.20) in race 5 at Tampa.

 Friday’s highest scorer with a tally of $123.90 was Jimmie O’Nail.

O’Nail amassed 6 winners (including the day’s three biggest) and 1 place in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Also earning a March 2025 package was runner up—and fellow Fortune Seller backer—Joe Tartaglia (5W, 1P).

Saturday was the day of the week’s first qualifier to the January 25 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship.

George “Ki-“ Bosch (5 wins, 1 place) and Bruce Dagostini (2W, 6P) snagged the two hefty $6,500 packages that were available. The top returner for both was Chaplin ($18.20, $9.80) in race 10 at Gulfstream.

Jon Van Niel put forward a pretty unique performance in Saturday’s Santa Anita Opening Day Challenge qualifier.

Van Niel (6 wins, 4 places) swept the first five races, and he made collections in each of the first 10 contest races. (We’ll forgive him, I guess, for getting the final two races wrong.) There were enough entries for a second seat to be awarded, and that one went to Edward Enborg, who recorded 4 winners (including Chaplin) and 2 runners up.

The Sunday Santa Anita Opening Day Challenge qualifier was taken by Jeff Bussan.

Bussan posted 3 wins and 2 place on the road to victory. His highest-yielding selection was Forward Deployed ($26.20, $9.60) in race 7 at Gulfstream.

Bob Jeffrey (5 wins, 2 places) and Kenneth Mollicone (5W, 1P) both came up with Forward Deployed.

Jeffrey—the day’s top scorer with $113.10—and Mollicone were the seat earners in Sunday’s $210 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers.

The second highest scorer of the day on Sunday was Troy Johnson (5 firsts, 2 seconds). 

Johnson romped in Sunday’s Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship qualifier by a whopping $50.00, and he got a $6,000 entry into the January 25th contest, plus another $500 for travel.

Johnson hit Forward Deployed…and so did Gregory Lewis (4 wins, 2 places).

Despite the nice hit in the 7th at Gulfstream, Lewis needed a $13.60 place collection with 19-1 Starship Boeing in the final contest race, the 11th at Gulfstream, in order to finish on top in Sunday’s Low Ratio Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers. Mark Hackworth finished second and earned a $5,000 partial BCBC entry for his efforts.

Last but not least, there were three winners of $1,500 seats in Sunday’s qualifier to the $250,000 Gtd. Flo-Cal Faceoff.

Congratulations to Robert “Bat” Masterton (5 wins, 0 places), Dennis Clark (3W, 5P) and Craig “Home Sweet” Hom (3W, 1P). They took distinctly different paths to their Flo-Cal seats. Masterton’s master stroke was Impetud ($23.00, $9.40) in the 6th at Laurel. Clark’s biggest collection was the $13.60 place payoff supplied by Starship Boeing. Hom, meanwhile, enjoyed his biggest success via Bobby Jean ($19.80, $6.60) in race 7 at Aqueduct.

It has already been a December (and a November) to remember for Mark Stillmock. We hope that the final month of the year has gotten off on the right foot for you as well. If not, there are plenty more featured tourneys on tap before the ball drops in Times Square—starting with the ones this Wednesday. Until next Monday, when I’ll be back here with more recaps, good luck in all your horseplaying pursuits.