It’s now officially Breeders’ Cup Week—a good time of year to be playing well and with confidence. One person doing just that is NHC Hall of Famer Paul Shurman. 

With a score of $78.98 built on 4 wins and 1 place, Shurman took second place in Saturday’s five-seat qualifier to the $300,000 Gtd. BC Pick & Pray Tourney. Also advancing here to the inaugural edition of the BC Pick & Pray were Vaughn Bair (4W, 4P), 2023 HT Tour champ Ed Peters (3W, 3P), William Blake Jr. (4W, 1P) and the only other player to score in the 70s, Dylan McIntosh (5W, 0P). Bair’s best pick was Valletina ($10.94, $4.72) in the 7th at BAQ. For the other four, it was Pineland ($17.86, $7.52) in the 5th at Keeneland.

Utililizing the same selections in Saturday’s Pick & Pray Classic qualifier, Shurman had the spotlight all to himself.

On Sunday, Shurman enjoyed another 4-win, 1-place day, and he got himself another BC Pick & Pray Tourney entry.

Each of the top four here—Richard Reese (4 wins, 2 places), Shurman, Rocky Hardy (3W, 2P) and Brian “BC” Chenvert (3W, 0P) nailed the day’s big price horse, Wind Dancer ($44.32, 20.08) in race 9 at BAQ.

Just in case Shurman doesn’t fare well this coming weekend, he made sure to land himself a “bird in the hand” in Sunday’s HT Tour battle, our $20,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray.

Shurman pocketed $10,043 in a game that closed with a final total purse of $22,312.

Another player “comin’ in hot” to Breeders’ Cup Week is David Nelson.

Using mainly shorter shots, Nelson racked up 6 wins and 1 place in capturing Saturday NHC qualifier here at HorseTourneys. His highest single return came with Spirit Doll ($9.60, $5.60) in the 9th at Gulfstream.

Jim Lisowsky (3 wins, 2 places) got the other available Vegas package by a margin of just 14 cents over an unfortunate Dave Cichy. Pineland was the star of Lisowsky’s Saturday stable.

The same “high-strike-rate” picks also brought Nelson not one but two seats for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. 

Nelson defeated fellow $10,000 seat winner Kevin Willett (4 wins including Pineland, 1 place) in Saturday’s $1,000 qualifier. It was Craig Spencer who came in second behind Nelson in Saturday’s $500 play-in. That finish was good for a $5,000 partial BCBC entry.

At the beginning of the featured-tourney week, Alan Rorrer had the eye of the tiger.

Rorrer amassed 6 wins and 3 places—topped by Silhoutte Cove ($28.60, $13.00) in race 9 at Parx—and he pocketed the $2,861 first prize in Wednesday’s $5,000 guaranteed cash tourney, which closed with a pot of $6,359.

Rob Henie (4 wins, 1 place) and Peter Rinato (4W, 2P) came away with the $2,000 berths in Wednesday’s qualifier to the BC Pick & Pray Tourney this coming Friday and Saturday.

The high-yielder for both was Helen’s Revenge ($26.36, $10.46) in the 6th at BAQ.

Thursday’s BC Pick & Pray Tourney qualifier was won by Cal “Frontier” Justice (3 wins, 1 place).

Jestice got a $2,000 seat as did second- and third-place finishers “Battlin’” William Smith (2W, 3P) and Nick “529” Fazzolari (2W, 4P). The best winner for Jestice and Smith was My Anticipation ($30.26, $18.08) in the 8th at BAQ. For Fazzolari, it was Neshika ($22.80, $15.20) in race 6 at BAQ.

Stephen Thompson (3 firsts, 3 seconds) also scored nicely with My Anticipation.

Thompson bagged the up-top money of $3,670 in Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which paid out a total of $8,156.

The Lebanon, Pa., resident also led the way in Thursday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio qualifier.

Runner up G.T. Nixon (2 wins, 1 place) will also be in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge field. Neshika was Nixon’s most productive running mate.

My Anticipation was the star of the day for Richard Pearson (2 wins, 3 places) and Michael Smooch (3W, 0P).

Pearson earned a $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge seat for taking Thursday’s $179 qualifier at HorsePlayers, while Somich received a $5,000 “half-entry” for prevailing in the BCBC “Partial” qualifier at the same cyber-venue.

Two Wednesdays ago, Rick Vasquez won $9,196 for emerging victorious in our first-ever Super Survivor tourney. Last Friday, he was back to his winning ways in our more conventional $2 win-and-place events.

Vasquez (2 wins, 2 places) defeated all except Mike Elsass (also 2W, 2P) in Friday’s two-seat Pick & Pray Classic qualifier. They both smoked out Long Legged Queen ($30.92, $11.14) in the 8th at BAQ.

Vasquez also picked up the 5th and final berth that was available in Friday’s BC Pick & Pray Tourney qualifier. 

The other $2,000 seat winners were Mike McIntyre (5 wins, 1 place), Jeff Aldstadt (3W, 1P), Julie Loboyko (3W, 3P) and Rob Henie (4W, 0P). For Henie, it was his second BC Pick & Pray Tourney seat of the week. He also got one on Wednesday.

The BC Pick & Pray qualifier seat was also not the only success of the week for Julie Loboyko. 

Loboyko nailed Piper’s Causeway ($30.60, $10.60) in the final contest race, the 8th at Santa Anita, on the way to victory in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio qualifier. Finishing second for the second straight day in a two-seat BCBC Low Ratio play-in was G.T. Nixon, whose 2 wins and w places included Long Legged Queen.

Robert Bertolotti (3 firsts, 4 seconds) came up with both Long Legged Queen and Piper’s Causeway.

Bertolloti took home the winner’s share of $7,930 in Friday’s HT Tour event, our $15,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed with a final purse of $17,622. 

Britton Smith (no relation to McKay Smith) was another who managed to see the merits in both Long Legged Queen and Piper’s Causeway.

Smith (5 wins, 1 place) topped the leaderboard in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. There were enough entries in this one for three Vegas packages to be awarded. The other two went to Kelly Byrne (4 wins, including the final three, plus 2 places) and Bryan “Big Red Dog” Clifford (5W, 1P). Byrne and Clifford each connected at the end with Piper’s Causeway.

Long Legged Queen was the Friday heroine for Eric Gielata (4W, 2P).

Gielata reeled in the low-cost Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge entry in Friday’s $179 qualifier at HorsePlayers. John Schimpf got a $5,000 partial entry for reporting home in second position.

There was also a $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers on Saturday.

Enough entrants were signed on for two $10,000 seats to go out the door. Those went to David Conniver (5 wins, 4 places) and Mike Thomas (6W, 1P). The heavy lifter for both was Pineland ($17.86, $7.52) early on in race 5 at Keeneland.

Dave “Gambling Actuary” Nichols (4 firsts, 2 seconds) also got an early boost from Pineland in the contest opener.

Nichols enhanced his position in the HT Tour standings—and enhanced his bank account— by taking Saturday’s $25,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray. Nichols collected $12,058 from what was a final prize pool of $26,796.

Dylan Kelley swept the final three contest heats—including a hit with Spirit Doll ($9.60, $5.60) in the 9th at Gulfstream—to finish Saturday with 6 firsts and 3 seconds.

Kelley secured himself a $3,000 berth in Saturday’s qualifier to the November 29 Del Mar Fall Challenge. 

On Sunday, the horse you really wanted to have was Wind Dancer ($44.32, $20.08) in the 9th at BAQ. Stephen Diaz had Wind Dancer.

Diaz (3 firsts, 1 second) made off with the package in Sunday’s NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers—a competition restricted to those who had yet to earn a 2026 seat.

Another Wind Dancer fan was Jose Sahagun (2 firsts, 2 seconds).

Sahagun merited the $1,500 scholarship in Sunday’s full-card, “BAQ-only” entrance exam to the $250,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray Classic here on December 6-7.

David Browning (4 wins, 2 places) used Wind Dancer as a springboard to success in Sunday’s $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers.

John Beckford finished second to Browning and was given a $5,000 partial BCBC entry for his efforts.

Corbin Blumberg (3 firsts, 1 second) had Wind Dancer, but he needed a $3.60 place collection in the final contest race, the 10th at Gulfstream, to defeat Peter Rotondo by 14 cents in Sunday’s $1,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Blumberg picked up a $10,000 entry for this weekend. Rotondo had to settle for a $5,000 partial spot.

Popstyle was the best of three winners on the day for Robert Dolan.

To those three winners, Dolan added a pair of sizable place collections, and he finished first in Sunday’s Low Ratio Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers. There were enough entries for second place to also be worth a $10,000 entry, and that spot went to Thomas Grout (4 wins, 3 places). By a small margin, Grout’s best return of the day was provided by Gratefully ($14.04, $7.46) in the 8th at BAQ.

Popstyle was also the high returner among three Sunday winners selected by Jeff Higgins.

Higgins came away with the $1,500 entry at the conclusion of Sunday’s qualifier to the Pick & Pray Classic, the December 6-7 final leg of the 2025 HT Champions Series. 

Thanks to all for helping make last week another fun one around here. The week ahead, though, promises to be significantly more exciting. Sincere best wishes to all of the HorseTourneys/HorsePlayers qualifiers who will be competing in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and/or the brand new BC Pick & Pray Tourney right here at HorseTourneys. Buy-ins to the latter ($2,000 each) will remain available right up until first post at Del Mar on Friday. In the meantime, we’ll be offering $156 qualifiers right though Thursday.

May your Breeders’ Cup Week be a profitable one. Good luck!