There was a highly influential cap horse out there on Sunday—Harcyn, who survived a stewards’ inquiry and took race 5 at Del Mar at odds of 40-1. If you had the bomb you had a chance to do well. If you used Harcyn and played in multiple featured tourneys, you had a chance to do very, very well. Several players did just that.

One of them was Sean Nolan.

Nolan used Harcyn plus 3 other winners and 5 places to accumulate the top score of the day ($137.60).

Nolan’s frequent—and frequently gaudy—hits got him the top prize of $13,190 in Sunday’s HT Tour battle, our $20,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which ultimately paid out a total of $29,312.

Nolan has a chance to win even bigger money this coming weekend.

That’s because he led a pack of five $2,500 seat winners in Sunday’s multi-track qualifier to the $400,000 Gtd, Spa & Surf Showdown right here at HorseTourneys. The other four entry-earners were Paul Yaffee (4 wins, 2 places), Peter Rinato (3W, 1P), Jeff VanDrie (5W, 1P) and Dave “Gambling Actuary” Nichols (2W, 1P).

Nolan also now has action lined up for October 11…

…after capturing Sunday’s play-in to the Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge.

Nolan also won an NHC seat in Sunday’s Low Ratio qualifier at HorsePlayers. He edged out current horse racing/hockey commentator and past Stanley Cup champion/U.S. Olympian Eddie Olczyk for the victory.

Some might wonder why Nolan didn’t also play Sunday’s $165 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. It’s because he already had one seat in Vegas for 2026 and the Low Ratio triumph gave him a second.

That left things wide open for Olczyk in the $165 play-in.

Olczyk tallied 4 winners (including his #1 star, Harcyn) and 2 helpers to light the lamp in this one. Also punching his ticket to Vegas here was the only other $100.00+ scorer, the fearsome Jim Brown, who plowed through the first 5 contest races—putting up 4 wins and a place—and tacked on two more winners thereafter. Brown’s top return came not with Harcyn but with The Paddock Pastor ($19.40, $9.10) in the 9th at Saratoga.

As for Olczyk, he also put the biscuit in the basket in Sunday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio qualifier.

Alan Mullins took the runner-up spot and received a $5,000 partial BCBC entry as a lovely parting gift.

Harcyn also made Dave Nichols happy on a number of fronts on Sunday.

We already mentioned that Nichols (2 wins, 1 place) snagged a Spa & Surf Showdown seat for running 5th behind Sean Nolan & co. No one did better than Nichols in Sunday’s Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Challenge qualifier, which had a $2,500 seat for September 6 up for grabs. 

Nichols added a $4,000 seat to his portfolio by finishing a perfectly productive second in Sunday’s Del Mar Pacific Classic Challenge qualifier.

In this “two-seater,” Nichols was only outdone by William Wolf, who counted Harcyn among his 5 Sunday winners.

Nichols was back in first place in Sunday’s five-seat play-in to the Monmouth/Saratoga Contest on August 23 at Monmouth/Xpressbet.

Evan Trommer (5 wins, 3 places and 5W, 2P) got two of the remaining four $800 berths. The other two went to George “Ki-“Bosch (4W, 2P) and Ronald Tang (3W, 2P).

It should be noted that Nichols also tasted success a day earlier on Saturday.

Thanks in part to Cut the Cord ($22.40, $10.60) in race 8, Nichols earned his first of two Spa & Surf Showdown seats during the week in Saturday’s full-card, Saratoga-only play-in.

Who knows? Nichols might have had an even better Saturday…if only Evan Trommer had taken the day off.

Trommer hit Velocity ($72.00, $19.80) in the Del Mar Oaks as part of a 5-win, 3-place day that got him the up-top money of $15,800 in our richest tourney of the week, our $25,000 Gtd Pick & Pray (an HT Tour event), which closed with a final pot of $35,112.

Using the same picks, Trommer also picked up a $4,000 seat in Saturday’s Del Mar Pacific Classic Challenge qualifier.

Runner up Joseph Zuer (6 firsts, 2 seconds) also advanced to August 30. He hit the first 4 winners and 5 of the first 6. His best pick was 10-1 Cut the Cord in race 8 at Saratoga.

Trommer scored a comfy, $44.20 victory in Saturday’s qualifier to the Monmouth/Saratoga Contest.

Blake Courtney (3 wins, 1 place) also reeled in an $800 seat for coming in second, thanks in no small part to Velocity. Fellow Velocity fan Ken Jordan (3W, 2P) dead-heated with himself for 3rd and 4th. One of those placings was worth a seat, and the other got him a $190 breakage payoff.

Trommer also accounted for the one and only available seat in two other Saturday qualifiers.

One was a $3,500 spot in the Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge, and the other came in the form of a $2,000 scholarship to the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Pick & Pray Tourney, a $300,000 Guaranteed affair, here on October 31-November 1.

Trommer also earned some additional cash on Saturday to help pay for future qualifier entry fees.

In Saturday’s $6,106 Big Bucks Pick & Pray, Trommer didn’t have Velocity, but he didn’t need her. Cut the Cord plus 2 other winners and 1 runner up were enough to get the job done and earn himself $4,274. In all, it was a $35,374 day for Trommer.

Glen Gottlieb got his featured-tourney week off to an excellent start on Wednesday.

Gottlieb picked 5 winners—topped by She’s a Whirlwind ($14,20, $5.40) in the 4th at Horseshoe Indianapolis—and he bagged the $3,172 first prize in Wednesday’s $5,000 guaranteed tourney, which closed its doors with $7,050 in the kitty.

Gottlieb also got himself a $2,500 seat for the upcoming Spa & Surf Showdown.

The winner of this qualifier was Tom “Hit ‘em where they” Arndt, whose 4 winners were highlighted by Trail of Gold ($14.40, $6.90) in the 8th at Saratoga. Gottlieb finished second to pick up the other available spot—but his performance here was a tad perplexing.

In the Live-format cash tourney, Gottlieb (and the others) didn’t need to make a pick for the 6th and 8th at Horseshoe Indy because that track canceled its remaining races due to weather after race 5. The Spa & Surf Showdown qualifier, however, was a Pick & Pray. When selections were due for it, Gottlieb couldn’t have known that Horseshoe Indy wasn’t going to finish its card. Yet he didn’t make a pick for races 6 and 8 at Indy…or for race 5 at Indy, for that matter—a race that was, indeed, run. Nonetheless, Gottlieb won his seat, making the mistake a lot easier to laugh off than it otherwise might have been.

Our 2023 Spa & Surf Showdown champion Anthony Spinazzola  (4 wins, 1 place) and Michael Simon (4W, 0P) both got all of their compulsory picks in on Wednesday.

Even better, their picks did well. Spinazzola and Simon earned $800 entries in Wednesday’s Monmouth/Saratoga Contest qualifier. Spinazzola backed Trail of Gold. Simon said “Yes!” after She’s a Whirlwind won.

In Thursday’s Monmouth/Saratoga Contest qualifier, Dave “Gambling Actuary” Nichols chalked up another one.

Nichols chipped up with Ballyvaughan Gig ($28.00, $7.00) in the 5th at Del Mar plus one other winner and one runner up. He secured an $800 seat for this Saturday as did second-place finisher Vito Bucaria (3 wins, 4 places). Bucaria top hit came from Levitating ($14.00, $5.90) in the 8th at Saratoga.

The biggest longshot lurking out there on Thursday was Mia Mac ($42.80, $6.80) in the 4th at Del Mar. Our 2020 Flo-Cal Faceoff champ Thomas Blosser had her (thanks to a fortuitous scratch).

Blosser (3 firsts, 1 second) punched his ticket to Vegas in Thursday’s $125 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Dan Piazza, trying to keep himself sharp for his title defense in seven months, came in second.

Jay Johns (5 wins, 1 place) and Geoffrey Schutt (2W, 4P) both smoked out Mia Mac.

They got the $2,500 berths in Thursday’s multi-track qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown.

Johns, the 2022 NHC Tour champ, used the same picks to capture Thursday’s cash feature.

Johns raided the cash register for $4,634 in Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which had a final prize pool of $10,299.

Thursday’s Saratoga-only qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown went to Thomas “TC” Cassidy.

Cassidy (3 firsts, 2 seconds) got his biggest return from Riyadh Moon ($19.40, $8.50) in race 2 at the Spa.

In Friday’s Monmouth/Saratoga Contest qualifier, there were three winners.

Congratulations to Gregory Lewis (4 wins, 1 place), G.T. Nixon (3W, 0P) and Steve Arrison (3W, 1P). The strongest shot for all three was Glass of Jameson ($23.20, $8.80) in the 4th at Del Mar.

In Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers, Lewis turned his runner up into a winner, and led the way in the massive field of 498.

Lewis was already double-qualified, though. That left the three Vegas packages to Michael Odorisio (4 wins, 1 place), David May (4W, 0P) and—by 30 cents—Gary Bain (5W, 0P). Glass of Jameson made all of them feel good. The 5th- and 6th-place finishers were less happy. Less than a dollar separated 6th place from 3rd place.

Kristopher Gregory (4 wins, 1 place) ordered up Glass of Jameson.

Gregory made off with the up-top money of $10,024 at the conclusion of Friday’s HT Tour test, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed with a final purse of $22,277.

Glass of Jameson made Christian Orscher (4 wins, 1 place), Craig “Home Sweet” Hom (3W, 2P) and Thomas Kolschowsky (3W, 1P) giddy.

They got the $2,500 berths in Friday’s multi-track qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown.

Glass of Jameson also left Nicholas McMurdy with a good taste in his mouth.

McMurdy (3 firsts, 3 seconds) prevailed in Friday’s qualifier to the first-ever Breeders’ Cup Pick & Pray Tourney.

Terrence Frank whiffed on the first 6 contest races on Friday, but he made up for that by connecting on 3 of the final 4, including Glass of Jameson.

Frank exited with the $10,000 seat in Friday’s Low Ratio qualifier to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Sunday hero Sean Nolan perhaps foreshadowed what was to come by ending up in second place—which was good for a $5,000 partial BCBC entry.

For Cal “Frontier” Jestice, the big horse on Friday was Alpha Bella ($11.40, $4.60) in the 4th at Del Mar.

Jestice earned the $3,500 seat in Friday’s qualifier to the Keeneland Fall BCBC-NHC Challenge.

Kenneth Arnerich came away with the $2,500 berth in Friday’s full-card, Saratoga-only qualifier for the Spa & Surf Showdown. 

Arnerich’s best return came courtesy of Strictly Taboo ($9.60, $5.80) in race 4 at the Spa.

There were four winners in Saturday’s multi-track qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown.

Congratulations—and good luck on Saturday and Sunday—to Mark Heider (4 wins, 2 places), Larry Solakis (3W, 2P), Jeffrey Pesot (2W, 2P) and Scott Rubinchik (4W, 1P). All four profited mightily from 35-1 Velocity in the Del Mar Oaks.

Saturday’s highest scorer—thanks to Velocity plus five other winners—was Peter Yan.

Yan scooped up a $10,000 berth in Saturday’s $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers. Not even Evan Trommer could beat Yan. Trommer had to settle for a $5,000 partial entry in this one.

Wade Jones (2 firsts, 4 seconds) moved up the leaderboard with great speed due to Velocity.

Jones secured himself the $2,500 entry in Saturday’s Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Challenge qualifier. 

Jeff Joffrion lacked Velocity but he was quick to Cut the Cord ($22.40, $10.60).

Joffrion (4 firsts, 2 seconds) got himself qualified at HorsePlayers in Saturday’s $210 NHC qualifier—an event restricted to those who had yet to land a 2026 seat.

Most of Sunday’s featured tourneys were covered while summarizing the exploits of Sean Nolan, Eddie Olczyk and Dave Nichols, but there are still a couple more to report.

Austin Herzig recorded 3 wins and 1 place to take home the $2,000 seat in Sunday’s qualifier to the BC Pick & Pray Tourney. His heaviest lifter was The Paddock Pastor ($19.40, $9.10) in race 9 at Saratoga.

Ken Jordan (5 wins, 0 places) and Joseph Calvo (4W, 2P) both got an uplifting message from The Paddock Pastor.

Jordan and Calvo were the two players to score in the 80s, and they were the recipients of the $2,500 entries in Sunday’s Saratoga-only, full-card qualifier to the Spa & Surf Showdown.

Speaking of the Spa & Surf Showdown, it’s taking place this Saturday and Sunday. Players must make selections (Live format) on every race at Saratoga and Del Mar on each day. Qualifiers continue here through Friday, and buy-ins ($2,500 entry fee) will be accepted right up until first post at Saratoga on Saturday. Note that post time at Saratoga on Saturday (Travers Day) is early—11:10 am ET!

Whether you participate in the Showdown or in one of our $1 games, we wish you good luck and good fun this week. We’ll be back next week to take a close look at the latest winner of a HorseTourneys “major”. Maybe it will be you.

***

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 “hand-crafted”—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 hand-crafted 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 my again sometime in the week ahead.