The Breeders’ Cup—and, therefore, the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge—begins a week from tomorrow at Del Mar. As some handicappers begin studying the pre-entries released yesterday, others are poring over the PPs of Belmont, Keeneland, Woodbine and Santa Anita. Why? Because those are the tracks that will supply the featured-tourney races this weekend for the seven separate direct qualifiers on offer this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at HorsePlayers.

In the old days, D, Wayne Lukas used to run three-horse coupled entries in races like the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (See 1985.) This year, after the results of this weekend’s tourneys, that may be Eric Kurzhal in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.

With the Breeders’ Cup just a couple of weeks away, Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifiers at HorsePlayers are more popular than ever…so we have five of them (all guaranteed) this weekend.

Of the 25 featured tourneys from last week that we will recap here, there were 39 grand prizes earned. They were won by 37 different people in what was something of a “Share the wealth” week. 

In the next couple of weeks, the Santa Anita Closing Day Challenge (October 31), the first-ever BCBC Last Chance tournament (Thursday, November 4 at Del Mar/Xpressbet) and the popular Treasure Island Wager to Win event (November 5) will all take place. You can take your first crack at winning a seat to one or all of the above tests starting this weekend.

Have you yet to qualify for next January’s NHC? If so, you may want to make plans to play in the special Sunday $165 guaranteed qualifier at HorsePlayers that is restricted to those who have not yet earned a 2022 seat to the big dance. We call them “NHC Maiden Specials”…but if you win one of these, we promise you’ll feel like a graded-stakes winner.

Winning a qualifier is always a rush in itself. There’s nothing like the feeling of playing in a good tournament with “house money”. Jose Giron took that good feeling on Thursday—and kicked it up a notch on Saturday.

It’s opening weekend at Santa Anita, and that doesn’t just mean a Last Chance qualifier for Saturday’s Santa Anita Opening Weekend at Xpressbet…it means an inordinate number of high-quality stakes races as Breeders’ Cup preps start to really kick in.

Jorge Cruz-Aedo was second in the HT Tour standings heading into this past weekend. Look for the Texan to improve his position.

Cruz-Aedo is a fine handicapper any day of the week, but he seems to be especially good on Saturdays! This past Saturday, he won $15,193 for taking the day’s $30,000 Guaranteed Pick & Pray (final pot came to $33,762).

Though the ink is barely dry on Ken Seeman’s $74,000 winner’s check and on the $6,000 Pegasus entry he won for capturing last weekend’s The BIG One, it is time to look forward to HorseTourneys’ next “major” competition, the $250,000 Guaranteed Flo-Cal Faceoff (featuring two days of mandatory, full-card selections on Gulfstream and Santa Anita racing) here on January 8th and 9th.