national horseplayers championship | Horse Racing Free Tips

Monmouth Park Racetrack's $2,000 Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge will return for its fifth renewal on Saturday, July 25 and will take place online through TVG and Xpressbet.

The popular handicapping contest – which hosted 222 on-site entries in 2019 – will offer 18 seats to the 2021 National Horseplayers Championship, four seats to the 2020 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, and $65,000 in cash based on an estimated 200 entries.

“In a year that has seen a lot of plans change, we're thrilled to be able to offer our $2,000 Pick Your Prize Challenge online this Saturday,” said Brian Skirka, Monmouth Park's marketing manager and tournament director. “We already have players from 18 different states registered and I look forward to a continued rush of sign-ups. I'd like to thank the teams at TVG and Xpressbet, as well as Sportech, Amtote, and the Breeders' Cup, for all of their hard work and support leading up to what I know will be a great contest on Saturday.”

Boasting a unique format, the Pick Your Prize Challenge allows top finishers to select their prize(s) from a prize board. To accommodate this year's online event, a “prize selection conference call” will be set up amongst top finishers.

To register, all players must contact Skirka by Friday, July 24, at noon at bskirka@monmouthpark.com or by calling 732-571-6595. Participants across the country can only play through TVG or Xpressbet, while New Jersey residents are required to participate via 4NJBets – which is operated by TVG.

The Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge has a buy-in of $2,000. Players start with a bankroll of $1,000 with wagering on Monmouth Park races only. Players must bet $100 or more on at least 10 races. Only win, place, show and exacta wagers are permitted.

Based on 200 entries, the top four contest finishers will receive two selections from the prize board. Finishers five through 25 will receive one selection. All prizes and selection procedures are based on the final number of entries.

“In 2019, the 27^th-place finisher at Pick Your Prize won an NHC seat,” Skirka said. “To me, that makes this contest a player's best opportunity of the year to qualify for Vegas.”

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Steve Byk, host of the acclaimed Thoroughbred radio news magazine “At the Races” on Sirius XM, is once again partnering with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) to send one NHC Tour member to Las Vegas to compete in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) next year.

The “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will run from July 18-Sept. 6. During that promotional period, Byk will pick a horse in one stakes race each Saturday and Sunday and listeners will be encouraged to log in to https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/ where they will either use Byk's selection to win the featured race or try to beat Byk by selecting another horse.

All who correctly select the winning horse in each round advance to a September 12 NHC online qualifier limited to winning participants from the weekly promotions. Participants may qualify once into the September online qualifier during the promotional period. The winner of the “Beat Byk” Online Qualifier in September will then represent “At the Races” at the 2021 NHC.

Points will be calculated for alternate prizes in the “Beat Byk” Challenge. Participants will receive 100 points if they beat Byk and 50 points if they bet with Byk to win the featured race. The top 5 point leaders will receive HorsePlayers.com credits as prizes (1st place – $500 HP credit, 2nd place -$200 HP credit, 3rd place – $200 HP credit, 4th place – $200 HP credit, 5th place – $200 HP credit).

NHC Tour membership is required to compete in the September online qualifier. In addition, any participant who “Beats Byk” in any of the weekly contests and is not already a Tour member will be able to join the NHC Tour for a special offer of only $4.99 for the remainder of the 2020 NHC Tour. Those who “Bet with Byk” and win a spot in the NHC online qualifier by picking the winner will be required to join the Tour ($50 annual membership good through January 31, 2021) to be eligible to win the NHC spot.

Participants in the September qualifier must be NHC Tour members in order to be eligible to win the NHC berth. A secondary prize of $250 cash will be available to the overall winner if he or she is not an NHC Tour member.

“At the Races with Steve Byk” is Thoroughbred racing's only national daily news and talk show. The show also streams live on stevebyk.com.

The post ‘Beat Byk NHC Challenge’ To Award One Seat At 2021 National Horseplayers Championship appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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