In what was our richest tourney ever, Anthony Laurino of Clayton, N.C., recorded four winners—including three of the last four among the 15 contest races—to claim the top prize of $40,594 in Saturday’s live-format contest that closed with a total pot of $101,487.
The BIG One, to be contested on September 22-23, 2018 at Laurel Park, has already gotten bigger for this year’s renewal—thanks to the addition of two Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge entries to the 2018 prize pool (bringing the total number of BCBC spots up for grabs to 10, along with the usual 10 NHC seats and 10 Horseplayer World Series entries).
Now The BIG One bonus – payable should the winner of The BIG One go on to win the 2019 NHC – has gotten bigger, and better, as well.
While some are excited about baseball’s Opening Day…or the Final Four…we tournament players know the true excitement is right here. That’s because, on Florida Derby Day, HorseTourneys hosts its richest tourney ever—an up-to-$150,000 live-format event with $100,000 Guaranteed. Someone could walk away from it $60,000 richer. That would buy a whole lot of peanuts and Cracker Jacks.
It’s sometimes easy to think that the supply of future contest players has been fully tapped. Happily, this is not the case. Justin Dew is just one of many longtime horseplayers I know who just recently—about a year and a half ago—started getting involved in tournament play.
There were a lot of Pick & Pray tourneys scheduled last weekend, and that meant good things for those who a) had a good day and b) played more than one event.
It may just be March, but it’s time to start thinking about Saratoga. That’s because our very first qualifier for the 2018 Saratoga Challenge (to be held for the first time on a Friday-Saturday) is this Sunday. This is by far the earliest that we’ve ever offered Saratoga qualifiers, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s never too early to begin thinking “Spa.”
Triple Crown prep season is always one of the most exciting times on the racing calendar—and this year, even more so as the time coincides with several new contests and developments here at HorseTourneys. With so much new going on over a relatively short period of time, it seems like a good time to run it all down for you.
We’re back in the saddle after a post-Horseplayer World Series week of R&R. Though, having spent that week primarily in Las Vegas, it was actually more a week of B&B—betting and beveraging.
Last weekend’s top players at HorseTourneys were obviously more focused on the horses than on March Madness or St. Patrick’s Day frivolity (though we know that many are more than capable of multitasking).
Riding the strength of a great third day–and fighting off the weakness of a cold that had sapped his energy–Bob Montgomery won the 2018 Horseplayer World Series (HPWS) crown. The victory over his 427 opponents was worth $231,120, plus a Day 3 bonus of $3,852 for his second-best-of-all Saturday score.
After a tournament-best Day 1 total of 1526 points, Roberto Ruiz added a more modest total of 428 points on Day 2–but that was sufficient for the North Middletown, N.J., resident to retain first place after two days of the three-day Horseplayer World Series (HPWS) at The Orleans hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
