This week, the big room at Horseshoe Las Vegas might be as crowded on Thursday as it is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The final two direct, online qualifiers for the March 10-12 NHC will take place this Friday and Saturday at HorsePlayers. After that, the only remaining opportunity to get into the big dance will be through the First Chance/Last Chance qualifier next Thursday—and we’ll have a bunch of qualifiers for that event as well this weekend.

It was a re-peat three-peat for Dr. Ron Tang. One week after enjoying three triumphs spread out over two different days, the Southern California oncologist did the exact same thing this past week.

Typically we alternate from week to week between Pick & Pray and Live formats being the predominant mode on Saturdays and Sundays. Every now and then, we mix in the “All Optional Live” format, and this is one of those weekends.

With daily qualifiers to the NHC First Chance/Last Chance contest yielding 27 winners of $500 berths last week, there were plenty of goodies to go around. Brett Wiener and Dr. Ron Tang were among the 27…though they didn’t limit themselves to First Chance/Last Chance seats…and they didn’t stop at one day of largesse.

On March 4, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Xpressbet will collectively play host to the 1/ST Ultimate Betting Challenge, offering cash and spots to the NHC and Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Entries will set you back $3,500 each if you buy in to the contest, but starting on Friday, you can earn one for $207 if you succeed in one of our 1-per-20 Pick & Prays this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Multi-day success is always trumpeted in this space, and this week the trumpets are out for Michael Somich.

Last weekend we offered an impromptu qualifier on Sunday to the Monmouth Pick Your Prize tournament. This weekend, we shift things into high gear, hosting a Monmouth play-in on Friday, Saturday and Super Bowl Sunday. 

This coming Sunday is Super Sunday for most. This past Sunday was Super Sunday for Evan Trommer.

Even though a cold snap is hitting much of the country (knocking out Friday and Saturday Aqueduct racing in the process), you know spring can’t be far off once we start talking about the Keeneland Grade One Gamble—and that’s what we’re doing now.