How great is Bob Baffert? Two of the most exciting things I’ve seen in racing over the past 30 years are American Pharoah’s 2015 Triple Crown after 37 years of waiting and Justify’s shattering of the Apollo Curse last Saturday. I don’t mean to equate the two achievements—American Pharoah’s is obviously far greater—but I’ve always felt extra excitement at events that end historic droughts…no matter what the sport.
It’s a sinking feeling when a bomb wins a contest race, and you don’t have it. There were no such feelings in featured tourney action at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers this weekend—because no bombs won!
It’s hardly your typical featured schedule at HorseTourneys this weekend. We’ll have plenty of action on Saturday—Derby Day—but since we don’t have the ability to use Churchill Downs races in our tourneys, and since the Derby card is (understandably) what the majority of people will be following on Saturday, we will be offering our top featured events only on Friday and (primarily) Sunday this week so that no one misses out on important tourneys they would otherwise want to play.
A couple of weeks ago a player won an NHC seat in one of those gigantic free qualifiers by picking the number 5 horse in each race. Occasionally, you’ll see someone actually put up money for a tourney and then just pick the same number in every race.
On a weekend with predominantly live-format featured tourneys, there were no double winners. So the “wealth” was very nicely spread during a three-day period that began with a newly-enriched Friday contest.
Saratoga and Del Mar. To many horseplayers, the two tracks go hand-in-hand due to their similar positions on the racing calendar. They also go hand in hand with respect to this weekend’s featured schedule at HorseTourneys because they take important new positions on our bill of fare.
We have updates to share with you regarding four of our regular tourneys. We think they are all positive developments, so we are eager to get them onto your radar screen.
Stephen Thompson is known in contest circles as “The Undertaker.” That’s primarily because he is the owner/operator of Thompson Funeral Home, Inc., in Lebanon, Penn. The moniker took on a double meaning this weekend at HorseTourneys, however, when he left a great many of his opponents for dead.
With a couple of exceptions, this weekend will focus on Pick & Pray tourneys, and while you’ll recognize most of your old favorites on the Friday-Saturday-Sunday menu, there are also a couple of new offerings to tempt your handicapping palate.
(Courtesy of Keeneland)
John Kimove of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, made a big move in the 9th and final race on Keeneland’s Sunday card, cashing $1,058 Win and $400 Win/Place wagers on Ironclad, and a $420 Exacta 4/8 and $5 trifecta 4/8/9 for total winnings of $17,963 on one race. His total of $19,963 nipped second place finisher Ross Szlasa of Mooresville, NC, who also hit big on the last race to post a total of $17,710.
HorseTourneys.com Blog 