There is a new path to qualify for the World Championship of Handicapping, a specially priced, last-chance event scheduled for Friday, Feb. 2, the day before the big event starts. The qualifier will use the all-in format, meaning all picks must be in before the scheduled post time of the contest’s first race. There will be a special edition of the DRF Players’ Podcast, with a live video stream, that will accompany the start of the last-chance qualifier. That show will preview the weekend of racing, including several races that are part of the WCH. Strategy for the WCH will be discussed on the live show, which will be archived in all the usual places (iTunes, SoundCloud), like a typical podcast. The qualifier will cost $225 to play, the lowest price offered to qualify for a WCH seat. One in 26 entries will win their $5,000 buy-ins to the WCH over the Feb. 3-4 weekend. Those entries will compete for a prize pool that is expected to be between $500,000 and $1 million, depending on final participation. Feeders are open now for the last-chance qualifier. For $26, you can finish in the top 10 percent of the field to receive your $225 last-chance buy-in. Alternatively, you can put up $52, and the top 20 percent of the field will move forward. As for the WCH itself, on Saturday, Feb. 3, participants will play 15 mandatory races in the live-format, mythical $2 win-place contest. Players in the top half of the standings will advance to Day 2 on Feb. 4, where bankrolls will carry forward. In the event of ties, both entries advance. If there is an odd number of entries, the “extra” one will advance, too (i.e., if there are 149 entries, 75 will move on to Day 2). On Feb. 4, there will be two segments. In the first, all remaining participants will play eight races, with 50 percent of the field advancing to the finals (the same rules for ties and odd entries apply). Bankrolls will once again be carried over to the final seven-race segment, where a champion will be crowned. The races will be chosen by DRF and announced approximately 48 hours in advance (Thursday afternoon for Saturday, and Friday for Sunday). The tracks used will depend on weather forecasts and the quality of races, but it seems logical to expect Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Oaklawn, and Santa Anita to be in the mix. Entries for the WCH, which are limited to three per player, are on sale now at https://shop.drf.com/wch-entry. For more information, go to tournaments.drf.com.