WHT contest in the spotlight

The World Horseplayers’ Tour/Santa Anita Preakness contest is this weekend, and entries can be purchased through the middle of the day Saturday at Santa Anita. The contest has a purse of more than $165,000, all of which is added money. Entries cost $5,000, with that entire amount acting as a live bankroll.

The first day will follow a typical live-bankroll event with players placing a minimum five bets of at least $1,000 on the live Santa Anita card, plus three selected stakes at Pimlico. There are no maximum bets – players can go “allin” at any time.

One important wrinkle to note: Only one entry is allowed per player, with one re-buy. To re-buy, a player’s first card must be zeroed out, and second entries will cost $6,000, with that extra $1,000 contributing directly to the prize pool.

At the conclusion of the first day of play, the players with the eight highest bankrolls will advance to a final table for Day 2. At that point, all players keep whatever amount is left on their bankrolls. The final table players will have their money converted to mythical money – just like the chips in a poker tournament. On Sunday, those eight will continue to play the full card at Santa Anita with an escalating series of minimum bets – think blinds – until there is a winner. Betting at the final table will be win only, and again there will be no maximum bet.

Additionally, strict anticollusion rules will be enforced. Contest families are encouraged to participate, friends may help each other out, but players are not allowed to coordinate the races they select, the amounts they bet, or the horses they play. All players’ wagers will be made public after the contest.

Sunday also will feature a $1,500 consolation tournament, as well as the continuation of a special “churn” contest, awarding cash back to the players who bet the most – inside and outside the contests – over the course of the two days.

The contest will be filmed as a TV pilot, which will be edited in the weeks following the event. The hope is that the pilot will be ready for screening by the Saratoga meet, with a planned screening at Equestricon in Louisville on Breeders’ Cup week as well.

Players interested in signing up for the WHT/Santa Anita Preakness contest should contact Nate Newby at nate. newby@santaanita.com or call (626) 407-5161.

Big day for DRF Tournaments

Saturday also is a big day for contests at DRF Tournaments, with three featured games.

First up is the World Championship of Handicapping, DRF’s online contest with no takeout in the finals. Assuming full participation of 200 entries, the purse will be $1 million. On Saturday, players who put up $580 will have a one-in-10 chance to win their $5,000 buyins to the event.

There’s also a qualifier for the upcoming Belmont Stakes Challenge. For that one, entries cost $410, and one in 30 will win packages worth $10,500 that include the full entry fee for Belmont and $500 in travel.

Last but not least is a qualifier for the Del Mar Challenge. Buy-in for the qualifier is $495, with one in 20 winning their $8,000 buy-in plus $500 in travel.

All three contests will utilize the live format, in which picks can be changed until the scheduled post time of each contest race.

Go to tournaments.drf.com for a full list of all the games happening this weekend.