DRF Tournaments adds three new tournament partners

Daily Racing Form announced three new tournament partnerships this week. DRF Tournaments is running feeders for the Horse Player World Series, the Wynn Handicapping Challenge, and the Del Mar Handicapping Challenge.

“We’re excited to be partnering with three of the events that serious contest players circle at the start of the year,” said Ken Kirchner, senior vice president of DRF Tournaments. “Players can win into all of these contests, with their prize pools of hundreds of thousands of dollars, for as little as $10.”

The Horse Player World Series and the Wynn contest are significant in that they are two of only four contests throughout 2017 guaranteed to offer a six-figure sum to the winner.

The first of the three new contests in the DRF Tournaments portfolio is the Horse Player World Series, presented by Boyd Gaming, a three-day event that takes place March 30-April 1 at the Orleans Las Vegas. The entry fee is $1,500. A field of 750 players is expected, which would make the Horse Player World Series a $1 million event.

The Del Mar Handicapping Challenge annually attracts a deep field of horseplayer talent. Recent National Handicapping Championship winner Ray Arsenault qualified at Del Mar on the way to his $800,000 score.

The Wynn Challenge, which takes place Aug. 4-5, is renowned for featuring weekend cards from Del Mar and Saratoga, a boon to contest players who focus on that time of year. As the name suggests, it takes place at the Wynn Las Vegas. Entries can be purchased for $2,000.

Kirchner also is pleased to be able to offer competitive takeout rates for the feeders and qualifiers for all three events.

“Takeout rates are between 8.3 percent and 10 percent in the feeders, and 12.3 percent in the qualifiers,” he said. “These are the lowest rates available to all players for these tournaments.”

On Saturday, players can put up $110 in a live format contest to win their $2,500 entries to the Wynn contest (a $2,500 entry, plus $500 in travel). One prize package will be awarded for every 26 entries.

On Sunday, the Horse Player World Series takes center stage with an all-in event that has a $90 entry and gives players a shot at a $1,500 seat (no travel money is being offered for this weekend’s Horse Player World Series contests but it will be in future events). One Horse Player World Series entry will be awarded for every 19 entries.

Every day of contest action, players can feed into all three qualifiers, including the Feb. 11 one-day Del Mar contest, where $400 gets you a shot at a $7,500 Del Mar package ($7,000 entry, plus $500 in travel). Players also can fund their contest play via credit builders and match-up contests, available on Wednesday through Sunday most weeks.

For more information, go to the DRF Tournaments website, which can be found at tournaments.drf.com.