Eric Moomey, a HorseTourneys qualifier to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge via his third-place finish at The BIG One in September, made an all-in win bet of $8,322 on Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Mendelssohn ($11.60 to win for $2) to leapfrog his way to the top of the leaderboard, and he stayed there the rest of the day to finish Day 1 of the two-day competition with a total of $48,071.40.
It’s Breeders’ Cup weekend and HorseTourneys is ready (HorsePlayers too) with its biggest Breeders’ Cup contest menu ever.
I’m very excited for the Breeders’ Cup this year, and I think it’s simply because the event is visiting a new venue. I miss the days of the “one-off” tracks like Arlington, Lone Star, Monmouth, Woodbine and, yes, even Aqueduct popping in to the rotation. After a long drought of new faces, we got Keeneland a couple of years ago and now we get Del Mar.
Political consultant Michael Beychok, winner of $1 million in the 2012 NHC, has often said that his annual handicapping focus really picks up after November–once the election cycles are complete.
To those of you who have locked up spots for the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge—congratulations! To those who, as of yet, have not—there’s still time…but not much. This is your last weekend to secure a $10,000 entry to racing’s most prestigious live-bankroll tournament. HorsePlayers will offer a total of four guaranteed spots—one each on Friday and Sunday and two on Saturday.
But this weekend is about way more than just the BCBC. In fact, it may offer something of an opportunity.
Not only is Breeders’ Cup Friday and Saturday the best betting weekend of the year, it may very well be the best contest weekend of the year. And that’s not just because of the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
Two weekends ago, Basking Ridge, New Jersey’s Howard Welsh won $40,000 in our $100,000 guaranteed tournament. Last weekend he scored back-to-back victories on in our $25,000 and $15,000 guaranteed games. But the 53-year-old financial planner was “only” 17th best out of 100 in Saturday’s $25,000 tourney. Was his hot streak finally over?
If your post Breeders’ Cup calendar for November looks a little bare, we can help you fill it up. This weekend—Sunday to be precise—we’ll be offering the year’s first qualifiers to both the Aqueduct Challenge on November 8 and the Hawthorne Fall NHC Super Qualifier on November 24-25. Those are just two of 17 featured tourneys slated for this weekend.
By John Gaspar
(John Gaspar was one of 56 contestants at the 2017 renewal of The BIG One at Laurel Park. Shortly after the competition, Gaspar wrote a lengthy recap of his experiences and thought processes during his three days in Maryland. We thought veteran players might enjoy another player’s perspective–and that those unfamiliar with contest play might find it interesting to follow along with John through the great many decisions he was faced with over the two-day contest. What follows is John’s unabridged, 8,000+ word take on The BIG One.)
(By Jim Mulvihill of the NTRA and courtesy of Keeneland)
Tom Maloof, a 59-year-old project management consultant from Middleborough, Mass., cashed big on the first and last races of the card to amass a final bankroll of $13,004 and win Sunday’s BCBC/NHC Challenge, the richest handicapping contest of the meet. In addition to his bankroll winnings, Maloof took home a $21,000 first-place cash prize, plus an all-expenses-paid berth to the $2.9 million (est.) National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) and a paid entry to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC).
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