Open borders at Woodbine

There is plenty of action on DRF Tournaments this weekend, including qualifiers for the World Championship of Handicapping and the Fall Classic at Orleans Las Vegas. For all the details, you can check out tournaments.drf.com. But before you head over there, here’s a horseplayer public service announcement.

The Woodbine Mile day contest, now in its third year, is happening next Saturday, Sept. 15. The contest costs $3,500 Canadian (approximately $2,600 US) to play with $2,000 acting as a live bankroll and $1,500 funding the prize pool. Woodbine is known for giving VIP treatment to its customers. There are several players still talking about the surf and turf from last year’s buffet.

Best of all, Woodbine’s tournament is a great opportunity financially for players with two guaranteed seats to the $10,000 buy-in Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, four seats to the National Horseplayers Championship, and $10,000 Canadian in cash. The final ratio of entries to prizes will be determined by participation, but in 2017, the Woodbine Mile day contest offered one of the best ratios around with one seat for every six players.

There’s also a $1 million Canadian bonus should the winner of this contest go on to win the NHC or BCBC. The winner must choose one tournament or the other in which to apply the potential bonus.

There’s also a special bonus for U.S. players only, the handicapping tournament equivalent of a ship-and-win award. The winner is eligible to be flown back to Toronto on a VIP trip for the Canadian International on Oct. 15, including flight, hotel stay, quality food and beverage at the track, and even limo service.

“This ship-in bonus is meant to recognize the time, effort, expense, and the occasional frustration of crossing an international border,” said contest director Mike Eves. “We really appreciate U.S. players making the trip up to Woodbine. The time and expense involved in the travel is not lost on us. And many of them win them - as you know.”

Two last notes: While Pearson, the big International Airport, is nearer to Woodbine, travelers might endure less hassle at Billy Bishop, the city airport, where Porter Airlines flies. Porter is also currently offering sales to Toronto. Players should also consider looking into the events at TIFF, the Toronto Film Festival, going on at the same time.

Walk-ups will be allowed but it’s always a good idea to book in advance. Interested players should contact Mike Eves at (416) 271-3020 or mxe@hpibet.com.