Many ways to play at DRFT

Saturday is a good day for contest players to get involved on DRF Tournaments. There is an array of options for tournament players, regardless of your bankroll or level of experience.

At the top of the pyramid is the $580 Grade 1 qualifier for the World Championship of Handicapping, a $1 million, no-takeout, online event scheduled to take place early next year. From Saturday’s Grade 1 qualifier, one in 10 entries will win their $5,000 buy-ins for the finals.

Players looking to play in the WCH for whom the $580 price point is a bit much can look to feed in to the next Grade 1 qualifier through a Round 1 contest for $95. One in seven players advance from the Round 1’s to the Grade 1 qualifiers.

Also on Saturday, there is a $3,000 credit-builder that costs just $50 to play. Assuming a full field of 70, $1,200 in credit will be available to the winner. There is no better way to fund your upcoming contest play than by winning your entry fees. The credit-builder allows an opportunity to do just that.

One of the most frequently asked questions in contest play is, What’s the best way to get started? The DRF Tournaments matchup contests is the answer to this query. These events run every operating day on DRFT using the all-in format, meaning all picks must be in before the scheduled post time of the first contest race. As the name suggests, in a matchup, you’re competing against only one other player. This means your strike rate will be higher (you’ll win more often) and it’s fun to play because it’s easy to follow along with all the possible permutations of the contest (once the first race is off, the contestants can see each other’s picks). On a typical day there will be match-up contests at the $55 (to win $100) and $110 (to win $200) price points.

Players looking for an even lower point of entry can check out the winner-take-all events. These contests start at just $5, and typically allow between five and 14 entries depending on the buy-in. As you might have guessed, there is no secondplace prize in these contests; the winner gets all the spoils.

For a complete look at the DRFT lineup, including lowcost feeders into upcoming live-bank contests at Santa Anita and Keeneland, go to tournaments.drf.com.