Time is dwindling for you to earn a $2,500 spot in the $400,000 Guaranteed Spa & Surf Showdown on August 5-6. The upcoming weekend is your last in which to win your way into the final leg of the 2023 Tourney Triple.

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.

Beginning July 1, a new policy took effect regarding “Re-Deposits.”  The term “Re-Deposits” refers to deposits made by players shortly after withdrawing funds from HorseTourneys.  This activity has been commonplace, and has been increasing in frequency as of late.

Why is this an issue for us?  HorseTourneys pays significant transaction fees to financial institutions on all deposits made by players, whether those deposits are made by credit or debit card, PayPal, or ACH.  HorseTourneys does not charge these deposit fees to customers, and instead absorbs these fees within our expense structure.  These deposit fees represent–by far–the largest expense line item on our balance sheet.  

While other horse racing wagering sites (such as major ADW sites) typically charge a minimum of $5 per transaction for a credit, debit or PayPal deposit, HorseTourneys currently only charges a 75 cent transaction fee on those deposits, and does not charge a fee at all on ACH deposits.  Our deposit policies are by far the most customer-friendly in the industry—and HorseTourneys does this while operating on a takeout margin roughly half that of a traditional pari-mutuel wagering outlet.

When players withdraw funds from HorseTourneys, and then re-deposit funds again within 24 hours, HorseTourneys is essentially double-paying deposit fees for those funds. This is unwarranted.

We understand why players may wish to do this, particularly with credit and debit cards.  Many credit and debit cards offer rewards on use of those cards.  The more a player deposits with said cards, the more rewards are earned.  Or, the activity may be simply one of habit, or as a means of bankroll management.  Regardless of the reason, management has determined that we cannot allow this activity to continue as is currently the case.

Beginning July 1, 2023, HorseTourneys is implementing the following policy:

-Players will be allowed a maximum of five (5) “re-deposits”, defined as a deposit made that is equal to or less than a withdrawal that has been requested within the past 24 hours, within a rolling 30-day period

-If a player exceeds this re-deposit threshold within the 30-day rolling period, those re-deposits above the threshold will incur a five (5) percent fee.  In other words, five percent of the requested re-deposit amount will be added to the total of the deposit.  This additional five percent will not be credited to accounts

If applicable, the fee will be included in the deposit summary that is presented to you prior to confirming a deposit.  

Players can easily avoid this fee by simply not depositing an equal or lesser amount of a previous withdrawal within 24 hours.  Entry fees that are intended to be played within 24 hours should be played from an existing account balance.

HorseTourneys strives to be as player-friendly as possible with regard to takeout, fees and other financial issues affecting customers.  If you have questions regarding this change, you may reach out to us at support@horsetourneys.com.

HorseTourneys was greatly disappointed to learn, yesterday afternoon, of the integrity issue at the most recent National Horseplayers Championship (NHC).

Operating tournaments 364 days each year, we believe strongly that it is impossible to succeed if our players do not have a high level of trust in all that we do. We actively monitor for signs of collusion in our tourneys and take punitive action when appropriate.

Upon learning the names today of the three individuals suspended by the NTRA, we have decided to honor that suspension and ban the three from competing in all contests at HorseTourneys and HorsePlayers through the 2025 NHC.

Only one of the three men maintained an account at HorseTourneys/HorsePlayers. That account has now been deactivated.

HorseTourneys Management

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”.