Preps on tap for Spa, Keeneland

Preliminaries for contests at two of racing’s most storied ovals, Saratoga and Keeneland, take center stage on DRF Tournaments on Saturday. These offer tournament players a great chance to get involved and win a significant prize.

The biggest prize is entry to each of the two contests that comprise these year’s Saratoga Betting Challenge – a $1,000 live-bank contest on Friday, Aug. 10, and the $2,000 Fourstardave Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 11. Players put up $410 to play, and winners receive entries to both events as well as $500 in travel. This is the first year that Saratoga has ever held its big contest on a weekend, and interest is expected to be very strong.

There’s also an important feeder for the Keeneland Challenge on Sunday, Oct. 14, a $3,000 live-bank contest. Saturday’s feeder costs $95, and one in five entries will advance to the Saturday, June 30, qualifier. That favorable ratio of prizes to entries increases the chance of a player advancing based on picking winners as opposed to worrying about picking prices.

Also on Saturday, there’s a Round 1 contest for the World Championship of Handicapping, DRF’s online contest with big money on the line and no takeout in the finals. On Saturday, players put up $95, and one in seven will win their $580 entry into the WCH qualifier on Saturday, July 7.

On Sunday, there also is a qualifier for NYRA’s Stars and Stripes Challenge, a one-day live-bank event also to be held July 7. That game costs $60 to play, and one in 10 entries will receive their $500 entry for the Stars and Stripes Challenge. Recently, Karen Carey used one of NYRA’s $500 live-bank contests as a springboard to a six-figure score in the Belmont Challenge.

Other options this weekend include a full slate of match-up contests, where you compete against just one other player, as well as winner-take-all events, where five players compete for a pot. There also will be feeders for upcoming qualifiers for the Del Mar Challenge, another of the summer’s most important contests.

For all the games happening on DRFT this weekend, check out tournaments.drf.com.