Dylan Donnelly has qualified for the NHC each of the past six years. In the five most recent renewals, he has played two entries. That will again be the case in 2026. This year, however, he is bidding for an NHC Tour championship.

Fourth in the standings heading into last week’s play, Donnelly sat fourth in the standings behind Paul Shurman, Jill Matzat and Jeff VanDrie. After Friday, Donnelly figures to be movin’ on up.

The already-double-qualified Californian was playing for points in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers, and maximum points is what he got. The seats, meanwhile, went to 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-place finishers Bronson Cambra (also in the top 10 of the NHC Tour standings), Rob Ramirez and Robert Little. The Friday “Fab Four” all connected with Scudetto ($24.00, $10.60) in race 6 at Monmouth.

Dylan Donnelly was back in action on Saturday. Why rest when you’re running good? He did change things up a little bit, though. He went for birds in the hand rather than ones in the bush.

Donnelly (2 wins, 5 places) grabbed a hefty, $4,000 seat for leading the way in Saturday’s Del Mar Pacific Classic Challenge qualifier. He will be joined at the August 30 contest by runner up Craig Rowe (4W, 1P), who was the other player to score in the 90s. They both hit the horse that was most central to Saturday success—Willow Case ($56.00, $15.20) in the 8th at Gulfstream.

Saturday’s featured tourneys were mainly waged in Live format, so there was opportunity for players to make adjustments from one race to the next—and from one entry to another. Donnelly lost one of his place collections on his Spa & Surf Showdown entry…but that didn’t stop him from winning a seat in that one as well.

In this “three-seater,” Donnelly (2 wins, 4 places) finished behind only Bruce Dagostini (3W, 4P) and Terry Bollom (2W, 3P). Willow Case was common to all of their scorecards, and they all got $2,500 spots in the $400,000 Guaranteed event here the weekend after next.

While Donnelly had two big days last week, Mike Lazarus concentrated his winning on Sunday.

Lazarus recorded 5 firsts and 2 seconds en route to capturing the $12,304 top prize in Sunday’s HT Tour battle, our $20,000 Guaranteed tourney, which closed with a final purse of $27,343. His best pick was The Craftsman ($31.20, $16.60) in race 6 at Saratoga, and he closed out his victory with an $8.20 place collection from Del Mar race 4 runner up Special Club.

A funny thing happened to Lazarus, though, when he entered that final selection. Maybe he cut the timing too close. Maybe he just plain forgot. But in any event, Lazarus failed to enter a final-race pick in Sunday’s two-seat Spa & Surf Showdown qualifier—on either of his two entries!

The miscue did not cost Lazarus. In fact, he had the same 12…err, 11…picks on both of his entries and they wound up finishing tied for 1st, bringing him both of the available $2,500 seats. Now THERE’S a mistake that’s easy to laugh off!

Buck Waller didn’t make any mistakes in the final race of Wednesday’s $5,000 Guaranteed cash game.

Waller (3 firsts, 4 seconds) hit Ce La Vi Charli ($49.60, $16.00) in that 8th from Horseshoe Indianapolis. The windfall shot Waller from 13th place to 1st and delivered him a different kind of windfall—$3,141—in a game that was worth a total of $6,981.

Jimmie O’Nail also nailed Ce La Vi Charli.

O’Nail (4 firsts, 5 seconds) exited with the $2,500 seat at the conclusion of Wednesday’s multi-track Spa & Surf Showdown qualifier.

There was also a Spa & Surf Showdown qualifier on Wednesday that was contested on just the full card from Saratoga. In this game, too, a big price (42-1) won the final race.

No one had it, though. So the $2,500 berth went to Rob Henie, whose three Wednesday winners were topped by Jackie the Joker ($24.00, $8.30) in race 3.

Thomas Michael Abinanti bagged the $3,500 entry in Wednesday’s qualifier to the October 11 Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge.

Abinanti’s 3 wins and 1 place were highlighted by Gran Mirrela ($15.80, $6.00) in the 5th at the Shelbyville, Ind., oval.

On Thursday, there was a $125 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers.

The lone seat up for grabs went to Jonathan Thome (3 wins, 2 places), who went deep with Pop Idol ($37.60, $13.60) in race 7, the Galway Stakes, at Saratoga. (The race is named for a town in Saratoga County…not the city in Ireland.)

Pop Idol was the star of the show for Mark “El” Kapitan (2 firsts, 3 seconds). 

Kapitan showed his leadership skills in winning Thursday’s full-card, Saratoga-only qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown by a comfy $38.50.

Thursday’s cash-game idol was Darren Rudnick (3 wins, 1 place).

Rudnick hit Pop Idol plus La Scaloneta ($22.80, $8.40) in the final contest race (the 8th at Del Mar) to squeak out a 20-cent triumph over Gary Gristick. In a $6,000 Guaranteed tourney that was worth a total $10,507, Rudnick took home $4,202. Gristick had to settle for $1,681.

Thursday’s multi-track Spa & Surf Showdown play-in went to Michael Somich (2 wins, 1 place).

Somich’s two winners were Pop Idol and Stars and Strides ($20.60, $11.60) in the 9th at the Spa.

Two days later, Somich added an $800 Monmouth/Saratoga Contest entry to his holdings.

Somich (2 wins, 3 places) finished behind 2018 The BIG One champion Joe Pettit (3W, 4P) and ahead of fellow seat winner Mike Martin (2W, 3P). They were the three players to top the $80.00 mark, and they all collected with 27-1 Willow Case.

For Martin, the Monmouth entry was his second seat win of the week.

A day earlier, on Friday, Martin (2 wins, 5 places) finished second behind William McMillan (3W, 2P) in a two-seat Spa & Surf Showdown qualifier. The top return for each came via Scudetto ($24.00, $10.60) in the 6th at Monmouth.

Last year’s HT Tour champion Eric “Skeet” Boyd also had Scudetto.

Boyd (3 firsts, 3 seconds) bolstered his case for a repeat HT Tour title in 2025 by taking Friday’s HT Tour tilt, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed its doors with $20,781 in the kitty. Boyd’s share of that came to $9,351.

Another Scudetto supporter was Lawrence Kahlden (3 firsts, 2 seconds). 

Kahlden received a coveted Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge seat by capturing Friday’s Low Ratio qualifier at HorsePlayers. Max Schnepf earned a $5,000 partial BCBC entry for reporting home in second place.

David May’s most lucrative selection on Friday was Three B’s ($11.40, $3.80) in the 8th at Saratoga.

May (5 firsts, 1 second) snagged the $2,000 berth in Friday’s qualifier to the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Pick & Pray tourney, a $300,000 Guaranteed competition here on October 31-November 1.

Tom O’Connor said “Yes” to first-time starter Aye Eye ($55.00, $18.80) in race 6 at Saratoga.

O’Connor secured himself the $2,500 entry in Friday’s full-card, Saratoga-only qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown—now just 12 days away.

Ryan Tyreman (5 firsts, 3 seconds) scored with Favorable Scenario ($9.20, $3.40) in the final contest heat, race 10 at Saratoga.

The 7-2 win created a favorable result for Tyreman—a victory worth a $3,500 seat in Friday’s Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge qualifier.

The three players to exceed the $50.00 mark were the three to pick up $800 entries in Friday’s qualifier to the August 23 Monmouth/Saratoga Contest at Monmouth/Xpressbet.

Congratulations to Frank “Plaster of” Paros (3 wins, 4 places), Tim Darnell (3W, 3P) and Edward “Wright Stuff” Wright (2W, 3P). Paros and Wright shared a love for Scudetto. The apple of Darnell’s eye was Three B’s.

If Frank Paros liked the seat he won on Friday, he had to love the one he earned on Saturday.

Paros put up 7 winners and 3 runners up from 12 races to bag an NHC seat in Saturday’s $210 qualifier at HorsePlayers. His frequent collections—led by Limes Don’t Lie ($12.40, $4.80) in the 11th at Saratoga—got him ahead of everybody except Joe Pettit and 2016 NHC Tour champion Cheryl McIntyre (4 wins, 1 place). Pettit was already double-qualified, however, so that left the two available Vegas packages to McIntyre (who hit 27-1 Willow Case) and Paros. 

There was also a $500 Low Ratio NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers on Saturday.

Nate Newby (4 firsts, 1 second) had Willow Case…but he needed an 8-5 win in the final contest race (the 9th at Del Mar) to get himself up for a 40-cent victory over Joseph Muzio.

The other Saturday feature at HorsePlayers was a $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier.

Wayne Atwell counted Willow Case among his 5 wins and 3 places, and he emerged with the $10,000 seat—playable on Halloween and the day after.

Our richest tourney of the week was Saturday’s $25,000 Guaranteed game (an HT Tour battle), which ultimately paid out a total of $33,264.

Barbara Small came up big in this one, reeling off 7 winners, including the biggest price of the day in Willow Case. Small received $14,968 for her considerable efforts.

Willow Case was one of four winners for 2023 Spa & Surf Showdown champion Anthony Spinazzola.

Spinazzola’s victorious quartet propelled him to a $2,000 Breeders’ Cup Pick & Pray tourney seat.

Zach Hinkle (2 wins, 2 places) was the only player to show a flat-bet in Saturday’s $5,088 Big Bucks Pick & Pray.

Hinkle’s heavy lifter on the way to the $3,562 payday was Limes Don’t Lie ($12.40, $4.80) in race 11 at Saratoga.

Craig Siedler (3 firsts, 2 seconds) departed with the $3,500 seat in his pocket when Saturday’s Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge qualifier was said and done.

His best return came from Innovative ($11.00, $4.80) in the 5th at Del Mar.

Phil Ciprello (4 wins, 4 places) earned a place in the Spa & Surf Showdown starting gate by prevailing in Saturday’s full-card, Saratoga-only qualifier to the $400,000 Guaranteed skirmish. 

Ciprello made a satisfying and comforting choice when he selected Pancake House ($22.40, $8.70) off the race 4 menu.

The Saratoga-only Spa & Surf Showdown play-in on Sunday went to James Lisowsky.

Lisowsky’s 3 winners were headlined by The Craftsman ($31.20, $16.60) in race 6 at Saratoga.

(When I was young, a name like “The Craftsman” would conjure up images of woodworking or the like. Today, a much wider variety of things are billed as being “handcrafted”—hamburgers, cocktails, you name it. I’m not sure this is wise. When I think of a stranger dipping his hands in my my drink or my ground beef, it somehow makes me want it less. I guess I’m not the intended audience for these ads.)

We’re not sure if Jay Johns played Pancake House on Saturday, but the former IHOP exec came up with five handcrafted winners on Sunday.

Chief among them was The Craftsman, and Johns earned the $2,000 seat in Sunday’s BC Pick & Pray tourney qualifier.

The Craftsman was Michael Caposio’s only winner of the day on Sunday.

That hit plus a place collection was enough, however, for Temecula, Calif., car dealer to drive off the lot with a $3,500 scholarship in Sunday’s Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Challenge qualifier.

There were four $800 seat winners in Sunday’s Monmouth/Saratoga Contest qualifier.

Congratulations to Joe Perry (6 wins, 2 places), Michael Guadagno (3W, 3P), William Holobowski (4W, 1P) and Darren Yarwood (2W, 1P). The latter three all scored nicely with The Craftsman. Perry’s highest yielder was Dream On Cara ($22.60, $7.00) in race 7 at Saratoga.

Kevin Willett uncovered 4 winners on the way to victory in Sunday’s Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge qualifier.

Willett was 100% good with his selection in race 10 at Saratoga—No Bien Ni Mal ($19.20, $7.70).

Braden Selvig (4 firsts, 1 second) smoked out both The Craftsman and Dream On Cara.

Selvig landed the $4,000 seat in Sunday’s Del Mar Pacific Classic Challenge qualifier.

Over at HorsePlayers, Dave “I am the Warrior” Smyth (4 wins, 1 place) also went bang-bang with the The Craftsman-Dream On Cara “double.”

Smyth topped the leaderboard in Sunday Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio play-in. Ken Shaw came in second and got a $5,000 partial BCBC seat.

Jose Cortez profited from The Craftsman, Dream On Cara plus two other winners and two runners up.

Cortez conquered Sunday’s $165 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Matthew “The Craftsman” Nixon (3 wins, 1 place) finished second to obtain the other available Vegas berth.

We alternate back to Pick & Prays for our featured tourneys next weekend (the final one in which to qualify for the Spa & Surf Showdown and also the Monmouth/Saratoga Contest). We sincerely appreciate your participation in last week’s activities, and we hope you are able to stop by again sometime in the week ahead.