11/21: TS.com Vegas Qualifier -- 'Herk' lands World Series slot!
 

25 seats available..15 to the big dance 300.00 to enter. 12 mandatory races
2 win place..im gonna try it and see if i can get in..im curious what is the format at the hwc. For those that have gotten in and went before what advice do you have.

thanks hooves

Hooves-

The top 15 spots go to the NHC and you probably know the format for it already.

16-25 go to the Horseplayer World Series at the Orleans. It is a 3 day tournament made up completely of optional races. You have 11 plays per day and they are mythical $20 WP wagers. Full track odds are paid on the first two dollars no matter the payoff and the remaining part of the $20 WP is capped at 20-1 on win and 10-1 on place wagers.

They give you 8 tracks to choose from in the HPWS (Aqu, GP, Tam, FG, OP, SA, Lrl, GG) and its held in the three upstairs ballrooms at the Orleans. It's open to the public with a buy-in of $1000 and this year is the first where people can buy multiple entries (up to 3 I think).

It's tough to compare both of the tournaments because they're different. The NHC has a great feel because it's in the Red Rock racebook, everyone is close together and the roar as the field turns for home in a mandatory race is like being in the grandstand. In the HPWS everyone is more spread out and you only get updated standings at the end of the day (as opposed to a digital tracker in the racebook on the final day of the NHC).

The biggest drawback of this Twinspires contest is that they keep a huge portion of the money paid in for tournament entries and what not. I think they're paying back a total of around 43k but 650 entries at 300 apiece works out to 195k, so there's definitely some money left over at the end. Hopefully it's used to sponsor Rick Hammerle's segment on ATR.:)

NT

thanks for the info

Nick--I am almost certain that Twinspires pays back 100% of entry fees when you consider the cost of the 25 seats (50k for the NHC seats and 10k for the HPWS) plus travel and prize money.

I have already qualified this year but will still be playing in the Twin Spires contest as it is a good deal for the players.

Paul

I'm sure you're right Paul as I've been told that the NTRA fee for 3 seats to the NHC has gotten a bit pricy.

NT

ITS A GOOD DEAL, GOT MY MONEY BACK LAST YEAR. SO WILL TAKE A SHOT AND HAVE SIGNED UP ALREADY. NOW ALL I HAVE TO DO IS PRAY.....:tro:

It costs a host ten thousand dollars to get three spots in the NHC plus they have to cover travel and hotel. For fifteen slots, that is probably at least seventy grand, probably more.

Paul

wtf nyra takes the 4th off the turf..the first contest race..

Now down to 21 entries left before closing out:
http://www.twinspires.com/php/fw/vegas/1.0/Index/home

As Paul points out, several pre-qualified players are participating which means that if they finish in top 15, the qualifiers will push further down the leaderboard.

This is an unbeatable opportunity to get to Vegas... And if you aren't a Twin Spires member yet, sign up and get the $100 sign-up bonus, thereby decreasing your buy-in investment further.

Here are the 12 races... Good luck to those going after it!

Aqueduct #4 - 1:52
Fair Grounds #2 - 1:59
Calder #5 - 2:07
Churchill Downs #5 - 2:36
Fair Grounds #4 - 2:57
Aqueduct #7 - 3:16
Calder #8 - 3:25
Hollywood Park #1 - 3:30
Golden Gate Fields #2 - 4:18
Churchill Downs #9 - 4:37
Hawthorne #6 - 4:45
Hawthorne #7 - 5:14

Steve- I thought it was open to 650 people.

As far as the first contest race, it's probably more competitive on dirt as it seemed like there were precious few possible winners on the turf.

NT

you're surprised?

Maybe... Can't remember now...

22nd with one race to go. I know nothing about Hawthorne.

Never FEAR Scav is HERE!! Give me a couple minutes

thanks scav, right now I'm on the 4

A lot of the people in front of you are gonna shoot the moon and try to win. If I were you I'd take the 4 at 5-1 or so and try to move up enough to get into the NHC.

NT

If I was in your spot, I would lean between the 5 and 7. 5 has some good dirt form and getting bet right now, but should drift up. The 7 is also a horse that will finish for you, and has been working well on the dirt.

It really depends on how close you are to the 15th spot, if you are $14 off then the 7 is the safe play, if you want the gusto the 5 is a good play...

right now I'm less than 4.00 from 15th

'
The aggressive you want the cash play is the 5, but the safe play is the 7 IMO.

Youbet is offering 3 more seats in NHC and 3 seats in HPWS. Entry is free but you will be using your own money to make the bets. $10 W/P on Exactly 10 races at Aqu or Hollywood.