Last chance to qualify for Belmont Stakes Challenge

The Belmont Stakes Challenge takes center stage this weekend on DRF Tournaments with a last-chance qualifier on Sunday. Players can compete in first-round events this week for $90, and one in five will win into Sunday’s contest, or they can buy in directly on Sunday for $410. From Sunday’s contest, one in 30 players will receive their full $10,000 entries for Belmont plus $500 in travel.

Players can sign up at tournaments.drf.com.

Belmont’s live-bankroll contest for its signature day debuted last year and was successful right out of the gate. This year’s running is expected to be even bigger, with players coming in from all over the country to play, including last year’s champion, Chicagoan Garett Skiba. Also flying in will be respected tournament veteran Chris Larmey, from Washington state, and Kevin McFarland, the recent winner of the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge, who will make his way to Big Sandy from San Diego.

Of particular interest to McFarland is the $1 million bonus attached to the Belmont contest should the winner go on to win the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge this fall at McFarland’s home track, Del Mar. “The best tournaments take place on racing’s biggest days,” he said, “and any time there’s a chance to win a million dollars, that gets my attention.”

The Belmont contest itself will be held Friday and Saturday next week. Of the $10,000 buy-in for Belmont Day, $7,500 acts as a live bankroll to be wagered in the win, place, show, exacta, and trifecta pools over the two days, culminating with the Belmont Stakes. The remaining $2,500 will fund the prize pool, which will be paid back 100 percent to players in the form of cash and seats to major tourneys. In 2016, Skiba won a prize package worth more than $115,000.

“The Belmont Stakes Challenge has quickly become one of the premier live-money tournaments in the industry,” said Lynn LaRocca, the New York Racing Association’s senior vice president and chief experience officer. “Our goal is always to provide the best hospitality and tournament experiences for horseplayers, and the Belmont Stakes Challenge is central to those efforts.”

Also this weekend on DRFT, players can win their way into the Belmont Day Grade 1 qualifier for the World Championship of Handicapping. Plenty of overlap is expected between Belmont’s live-bankroll event and DRFT’s online contest. To win into the Grade 1 qualifier, players put up $95, and one in seven will advance to the Grade 1 qualifier. Players can also buy into the Grade 1 for $580. From there, one in 10 will win their $5,000 seats to the no-takeout, $1 million finals, to be held online Jan. 27-28.

For more on all the action on DRFT, including a list of matchups, credit-builders, and feeders, go to tournaments.drf.com.