When Evan Trommer has a good day, he tends to have a really good day. That was again the case on Sunday.

Unlike the norm for the Las Vegas Raiders this year, Trommer came out firing on all cylinders on Sunday. In the day’s first contest race, the 7th at Aqueduct, he scored big on a bomb—Heavens Lee ($83.54, $33.68).

Trommer added 3 more winners and 1 runner up thereafter, and he pocketed the $10,237 top prize in Sunday’s HT Tour skirmish, our $20,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray, which closed with a final purse of $22,750.

Since Sunday was a Pick & Pray day around here, Trommer copied and pasted his selections in a few other featured tourneys. One of them was Sunday’s $165 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. 

Again, Trommer landed in first place. However, he is already double-qualified to the big dance in March. That meant that he got the most possible NHC Tour points. It also meant that the two available Vegas packages went to 2nd- and 3rd-place finishers Norma Mendoza (3 wins, 4 places) and Craig “Home Sweet” Hom (3W, 1P). Mendoza’s biggest hit came with Broderick ($47.94, $12.30) in the 8th at Aqueduct. Like Trommer, Hom scored with Heavens Lee.

Trommer also reeled in a $3,000 seat to the November 29 Del Mar Fall Challenge.

So did Michael Caposio (3 wins, followed by 3 places), who finished second to Trommer here. Caposio was another of the Sunday quick starters who were off and running early with Heavens Lee. 

Trommer and Caposio also ran one-two in Sunday’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge Low Ratio qualifier at HorsePlayers.

There was only one full, $10,000 seat on offer in this one, and that went to Trommer. Caposio had to settle for a $5,000 partial entry. 

Happily for Caposio, he didn’t have to do any settling in Sunday’s play-in to the $250,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray Classic here on December 6-7.

Joining Caposio in the field for the final leg of the 2025 HT Champions Series will be William “23” Sadoo (4 wins, 2 places) and Jimmie O’Nail (3W, 2P). Sadoo and O’Nail both connected with Broderick.

We mentioned a handful of paragraphs ago that Craig Hom picked up an NHC seat for finishing third behind Evan Trommer and Norma Mendoza on Sunday. Hom also enjoyed a productive start to the featured-tourney week on Wednesday.

Having Sagitarrius ($17.00, $6.80) in the 5th at Horseshoe Indianapolis was a good sign that Hom would do well in Wednesday’s Pick & Pray Classic qualifier. In the end, Hom finished with 4 winners…and the $1,500 berth for December 6-7.

Wednesday’s cash feature, our $5,000 Guaranteed cash tourney went off with a takeout to players of 6.9%.

The winner was Michael Herrington (5 firsts, 1 second). Herrington’s top return en route the $2,500 payday was Electric Melody ($11.40, $4.60) in race 8 at Mahoning Valley.

Dale Hatfield won the feud in Thursday’s $6,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray.

Hatfield’s best shot among 4 firsts and 2 seconds came with Vino Samara ($10.16, $4.16) in the 9th race on the opening day card of the “Aqueduct at Aqueduct” meet. Hatfield made off with $2,799 from what was a final pot of $6,221.

Friday’s cash-game here was Anthony Mastropietro (3 firsts, 2 seconds).

Mastropietro pocketed $8,229, for taking Friday’s HT Tour event, our $15,000 Gtd, Pick & Pray, which was ultimately worth a total of $18,287. His big horse was Bay of Bengal ($28.92, $20.02) in the 10th at Aqueduct.

NHC Hall of Famer Sally Goodall (3 wins, 2 places), Gene Cahalan (3W, 1P) and Alex DeVito (4W, 1P) all came up with Bay of Bengal.

Goodall, Cahalan and DeVito were the three seat winners in Friday’s $75 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. For Goodall, it was her second seat to the March 2026 blowout in Vegas. It was entry number one for Cahalan and DeVito.

Nick “48 Hrs.” Noce also did some fine detective work in uncovering Bay of Bengal.

Noce (2 wins, 3 places) got the $10,000 seat in Friday’s Low Ratio qualifier to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. (This was the first qualifier to the 2026 BCBC—now just a mere 51 weeks away!) Frank “Plaster of” Paros finished second—good for a $5,000 partial entry.

The two winners in Friday’s Pick & Pray Classic qualifier were Steven Meier (3 wins, 0 places) and this year’s Spa & Surf Showdown champion John “The Clocker” Nichols (5W, 1P).

Meier’s best pick was Bay of Bengal. The top return for Nichols came with Map of the Moon ($23.74, $10.02) in the 9th at Aqueduct. Nichols’s bid for a Pick & Pray Classic seat would have cratered, however, had he not selected Lady K Westfall ($4.80, $2.80) who held on by a desperate nose in the final contest race, the 8th at Del Mar. The 7-5 winner got Nichols up for 2nd by a scant 94 cents over an unfortunate Michael “Copa” Kavana.

When it came to a Pick & Pray Classic seat, however, Kavana just wouldn’t be denied.

Kavana (2 wins, 3 places) secured the third and final $1,500 seat available in Saturday’s Pick & Pray Classic qualifier. The two who finished above him were Dr. Ronald Tang (2W, 3P) and Charles Welch (2W, 5P). Tang’s most lucrative pick was Princess Mocha ($40.80, $26.00) in race 5 at Del Mar. Welch’s score was most bolstered by Alluring Angel ($17.82, $10.16) in the 10th at Aqueduct. Kavana’s biggest strength was Brawn ($34.20, $15.20) in the 11th at Gulfstream.

Using the same Saturday selections, Ronald Tang also obtained a $3,000 Del Mar Fall Challenge entry.

Tang bested all except Craig Kaufman, whose four Saturday winners were highlighted by Princess Mocha.

Dave Duncan and Steven Schmidt were also Princess Mocha fans.

In between visits to the mound, Duncan recorded 4 wins and 2 place to show the way in Saturday’s $210 NHC qualifier at HorsePlayers. Schmidt put up 3 wins and 2 places to reel in the other available package.

Jim Trepinski had Princess Mocha plus one other winner and three runners up.

Trepinski bagged $13,167 for prevailing in our richest tourney of the week, our $25,000 Gtd. Pick & Pray (an HT Tour battle), which closed with a final purse of $29,260. 

Saturday’s highest scorer with a total of $145.78 was Gary Steichele. 

Princess Mocha was among the 6 firsts and 1 second that Steichele put up in capturing Saturday’s $179 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Howard Welsh (2 wins, 2 places) took home the $5,699 grand prize in Saturday’s $8,142 Big Bucks Pick & Pray.

Brawn supplied Welsh’s heftiest return.

The one Sunday feature that didn’t involve either Evan Trommer or Michael Caposio was the NHC Low Ratio qualifier at HorsePlayers.

Ken Jordan had the last two contest-race winners to finish the day with 5 firsts and 2 seconds. His biggest winner in the course of vanquishing 15 rivals came courtesy of Maniae ($11.80, $7.00) in race 4 at Del Mar.

During the week ahead, we will be offering our first qualifiers to the January 24 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship and the December 26 Santa Anita Opening Day Challenge. You can read the recaps of those and other feature tourneys of the coming week right here in this space next Monday. Thanks to all for playing (and/or reading)!