10k Breeders' Cup Handicapping Tournament
 

You thought seats were expensive? The Breeders' Cup will host its inaugural 10k handicapping tournament which will offer 6 seats to the NHC.

http://drf.com/news/article/105492.html

I'm collecting donations now to go and will happily represent DT.

NT

Is the cost just $2,500 but you need to put up $10,000 to enter? Anywho, you'll need a Euro input.

yeah let me get 0.00001% of ya, and i want to have even input in all OUR selections or else its a no go.

just in case you didn't see, it is only limited to the first 100 players, so you should probably get there early to gurantee your spot

-bt-

I'll see if I can make a dent in the $10k. I'm off to look for a CoinStar machine now.

No offense, but I think we'd all rather be represented by the Best Handicapper Evah...


















PG1985.

They are eliminating the chance to really find the best handicapper with that kind of entry fee....

This is a pretty good deal, IMO, especially if you have handicapping skills and understand tournament strategy. (I mean the tournament itself is a good deal, not necessarily backing NTamm!)

They are giving out $15,000 more prize money than the entry fees. (The effective entry fee is $2500. Total entry fee collected is 100 * $2500 = $250,000. Total prize money is $265,000.). This is $150/person for the BC tournament.

Every entrant gets 2 days of tickets to the BC plus free food and drink. How much you value this is a matter of judgement.

The top 6 finishers get a free entry into the January National Handicapping Tournament in Las Vegas. With prize money of $500K and 227 entrants, that tournament appears to offer equity of $2200/entrant, plus they are giving $1000 for travel to Las Vegas. Since 6 spots will come from the BC tournament, that adds $19,200 to the equity of the BC tournament. That's $192/person in additional equity.

So, there is something like $342/person of equity in the tournament, plus the value of 2 days of free BC admissions and free food and drink.

Tournament skill will be more important than handicapping skill in this kind of tournament. You would need to make bets that would put you among the leaders rather than bets you think have the biggest % edge. You would want to know what kind of final bankroll is typically necessary to finish in the top few of a tournament like this, and that would be your target. Even if you are a winning capper, you will probably have to make some negative EV bets to achieve the goal. But the equity should cover much or all of the cost.

If you are a better than average tournament player (and have some capping skill, too) then this is a reasonably attractive tournament, especially if you were considering attending (and betting) the BC anyway.

--Dunbar

Are there books are articles any of you seasoned tournament players can recommend to a person like myself that has never played a tournament?

I have always been curious but frankly i have been scared.

Stanford Wong has an excellent book, "Casino Tournament Strategy". The book covers various kinds of tournaments, and there is a section on horseracing tournaments. Many aspects of tournament strategy are the same whether it's a capping tournament, a blackjack tournament, or a craps tournament.

http://bj21.com/ads/cts1.html.

The bj21.com price is $30 +$5 s&h. You can find used/discounted copies at Amazon.com for as little as $14 +$4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...7689158&sr=1-1

--Dunbar

So the winner has to put up $10,000 to get a measly 15-1 payoff and how about the horrific 5-1 the runnerup gets? Just when you think those in power in horse racing couldn't be any more stupid, they outdo themselves.

Yeah, really stupid. They give back 106% of the (effective) entry fees in prize money, offer two days of free Breeder's Cup tickets + free food/drink for every entrant, and toss in 6 chances to make a limited-entry $500K tournament and an extra $1000 for expenses to that tournament. Who's going to fall for a lousy deal like that?!

Look, this tournament is clearly not for everyone. If you are a $10 bettor, forget about it. But if you have good tournament skills, then you have a big edge on the average entrant who will over-emphasize capping and under-emphasize the need to score big. A person with both tournament and capping skills should have a very big edge.

The perfect entrant for this BC tourny would be someone who routinely bets hundreds on exactas and tri's (or more accurately, routinely bets in a way that would produce a profit in the thousands), has excellent tournament skills, can cap well, is willing to go to the Las Vegas tournament if he/she gets a free entry, and wants to see the BC live anyway. The closer anyone is to having those attributes, the better this tournament fits.

--Dunbar

We had a guy on the board (a few times) that fits this to a tee. :rolleyes: Still waiting to hear back from DRF about resident capper position.

On a serious note, I think a handful of people on this board could give one of these a go and hold their own.

Maybe we could put together 2500 here to send one person from this board to the contest(s).

don't bother, i've got a pevious committment that weekend

-bt-

Why would a big bettor waste their time in this tournament when there is so much informed money in the regular pools on BC day? Makes no sense.

As always, thanks Dunbar.

You thinking about entering?

can anyone hopefully answer the following questions or at worst steer me in the right direction(damn doing my own work...:rolleyes:)


1. - Rules on wager Deadlines?? (i.e- 12Noon vs. post time(or a few prior) of each race )

2. - Wager Limits ?? - can i bet my 7.5k (or current bank) ALL IN on a single wager or are there limits/setAmounts of say $500 per race


I did read in the article about the Wager Type restrictions which actually are fairly free (win, place, show, exacta, and trifecta)

What makes you think "there is so much informed money in the regular pools on BC day"? My assumption is there is more than the usual amount of civilian money in those pools.

Even with everything else equal, a big bettor wants big pools so that his/her bets have minimal impact on the payoffs.

--Dunbar

Not seriously. If I was planning on going to the BC, I'd definitely enter the tournament. If I was an expert at tournament play, I'd also consider going, but I'm not. Given those negatives, there are other advantage-play opportunities that I'd rather focus on in the fall.

--Dunbar

Good questions. I found the answers at the Santa Anita website:

http://www.santaanita.com/content/20...ting-challenge

and here's the official rules:
http://www.santaanita.com/sites/defa...al%20Rules.pdf

I thought this part was amusing: "The event will be part of the Breeders’ Cup Simulcast Show, which is broadcast in over 20 countries and at over 1,500 wagering outlets in North America. ESPN will highlight coverage during their Friday and Saturday telecasts. We will also provide players with a number of additional benefits including: ticket for the two-day Championships; a private, players-only room on-track with buffet each day; ticket to Breeders’ Cup events like the VIP media party, press conferences, hospitality rooms; reduced hotel rates; Steuben trophy and other items."

Here are some other highlights, including answers to your questions.

1. You start with a wagering card with your $7500 on it.
2. You bet at regular self-service machines before each race.
3. You must bet at least $600 on each of 5 races on Friday and at least $900 on each of 5 races on Saturday. (for one thing, that guarantees that you will have bet through your $7500 starting bankroll at least once.)
4. You can get a maximum of two entries per person.
5. You can secure a spot with a non-refundable $500 deposit. The remaining $9500 has to be paid by Nov 1.
6. There will be AT LEAST $25000 in added prize money. (The list of payouts suggested $15,000 added, so there will be some other prize money that's not listed. These could be booby prizes or daily winner prizes or whatever.)
7. You can bet as much as you want in any race. No upper limit.
8. If one or more of the top 6 finishers has already qualified for the Nat'l Handicapping Championship, then the next highest finisher(s) will get the spot.
9. If there are less than 100 entries, then prize money will be adjusted downward. BUT, the prize money will always equal the sum of the $2500 entry fees PLUS $25,000 added by Santa Anita. Also, there was this line:
"Oak Tree and Breeders’ Cup are seeking to secure additional prize money via sponsorships and other sources. "

One other correction to something I wrote earlier. The January Nat'l Handicapping Championship will have $1 million in prize money, not $500K. I don't know how many entrants will be in that tournament. (I think there were 227 last year.)

--Dunbar