With just a couple of weeks left before the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown here on August 5-6, qualifying is really starting to heat up, with 101 spots already accounted for. Given that there’s so much money on the line on the first weekend in August, many want two $2,500 seats in the Showdown, not just one.

It’s Opening Weekend at Del Mar…and Haskell Day on Saturday at Monmouth. Those two developments, by themselves, set an exciting table for weekend fun. Throw in the fact, though, that the clock is running out on chances to qualify for important contests at both tracks, and a delicious measure of pressure suddenly gets added to the mix.

“Darrr-rrryl…Darrr-rrryl…”

Unlike in the 1986 World Series, it was the Darryls doing the taunting this time around—especially Darryl Lacy.

Not only is it opening weekend at the Spa…we’re also currently offering a 12% deposit bonus up until midnight Eastern tonight (Thursday). So what better time to load up your account and enjoy great contest action on top-quality racing?

The previous “Weekly Recap” covered our Fourth of July featured tourneys. That day, Chris Cupples not only earned $10,108 for winning the day’s $15,000 Guaranteed cash game, he took home an NHC seat in a special $125 qualifier.

There will be no shortage of opportunities this weekend to qualify for big events. We have 25 featured tourneys this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and all but one or two each day are games that can land you a spot in lucrative tournaments down the road.

If the Fourth of July wasn’t a “year-maker” for Dylan Donnelly, then it was at least a “summer-maker”.

Three NHC seats will be up for grabs on the first day of July (Saturday) when HorsePlayers hosts its latest free qualifier. If you are a 2023 NHC Tour member, it’s free to play. If you are not one, you can become one quickly and easily at NTRA.com in exchange for a $50 membership fee. 

Last week’s 26 features tourneys were predominantly Live-format affairs, including the first one of the week on Wednesday, a $5,000 Guaranteed cash tourney won by Peter Osella.

If other sports were like horse racing contests, then the NFL would conclude with the Super Challenge and the climax of baseball season would be the World Challenge. Well, there are now two more Challenges to add to the ever-growing list: the August 12 Saratoga Challenge (playable on-track or at NYRABets) and the July 22 Haskell Challenge (playable online only at either Xpressbet or 4NJBETS).