We all know that the NHC Last Chance qualifying tournament at Horseshoe Las Vegas is a big deal. Now there’s another big deal—the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) Last Chance qualifier on Breeders’ Cup Eve, Thursday, October 31, at HorseTourneys.

Saratoga opened last week, which means that summer racing has begun in earnest. Before we had Saratoga, though, we had Saratoga eve—and that was a good day for John Schulist.

Thanks largely to the Indiana Derby Day card at Horseshoe Indianapolis, big prices were in high supply on Saturday—despite the fact that we offered just nine contest races due to a late and somewhat surprising heat cancellation at Delaware. (We say “surprising” because Delaware ran during similarly hot conditions the previous two weekends…and also just 24 hours later on Sunday, July 7.)

At any rate, two players who did an excellent job of ferreting out the Saturday prices that remained out there were Andy Asaro and Mark Wilgard.

In some respects, the week gone by ended the same way it began—with triumphs by Jim Cuzzupe.

If, at this time last week, you had offered to bet me that there wouldn’t be a single heat-related cancellation last week, I would have taken all the action you wanted to give me. I’m glad you didn’t.

It’s always a special feat to win a featured tourney on more than one day in a given week. Obviously, it’s especially rewarding when your victories come in some of our most lucrative events. Just ask Gary Blair.

Despite lots and lots of Pick & Prays, there were very few people who won multiple grand prizes during Belmont Stakes week…only three to be exact. The long list of the week’s happy—and skillful—featured-tourney winners began, as per usual, on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the two biggest prices hiding out there amid our 12 featured-tourney contest races were Miuccia ($30.80, $8.00) and Prins Fire ($28.80, $7.40) in the final contest heat, the 12th at Monmouth.

Andy Asaro had both of the longshots, and that meant—to paraphrase Jay Trotter—that he was having a very good day.

Every Friday, HorsePlayers offers a $75 NHC qualifier with 2 seats guaranteed, and on Memorial Day, they hosted a $125 NHC play-in with 5 spots certain.

These low-cost qualifiers are very popular—both for the promise of a cheap ticket to the big dance in Vegas and for the chance to earn NHC Tour points…which could also result in an NHC berth.

Saturday may have been D. Wayne Lukas’s day, but Sunday belonged to “Battlin’” William Smith.

All eight of Sunday’s featured tourneys were Live-format games, but Smith played them—five of them anyway—as though they were Pick & Prays. If you know, you know, I guess, and on Sunday, Smith knew.