Laurel Park start (Jim McCue)
Laurel Park to host hybrid on-site and online contest on Saturday, September 27
Cash prizes offered as well as NHC/BCBC seats
Dan Illman/Laurel Park
LAUREL, Md. – The new Maryland Jockey Club is proud to host the Laurel Park Autumn Handicapping Challenge, a one-day hybrid on-site or online handicapping contest taking place on Saturday, September 27 at Laurel Park or through Xpressbet and TVG/4NJBETS.
The $500 contest ($250 entry fee, $250 bankroll) offers Win, Place, Show, Exacta, and/or Daily Double wagering on the entire card of live races at Laurel Park. Contestants must play a minimum of five (5) contest races with a $50 minimum bet per race.
The Laurel Park Autumn Handicapping Challenge comes on the heels of the successful Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge on April 19. Well behind the leader and down to her last bet, Joanne Zielinski made a colossal score on the last race at Laurel Park to wrest the Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge from front-running Brendan Fay. Playing off-site through the TVG platform, Zielinski wagered $400 to win on Southern District (4-1) and played a $50 exacta of Southern District over Formal Order (12-1). The winner paid $10.60; the exacta returned $92.60. With the $4,435 score, Zielinski claimed the $10,038 top prize. There were 240 players in the Preakness Preview Day Handicapping Challenge.
Based on 120 entries, the total prize pool is $25,000, including one (1) full seat to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge ($10,000 value) and two (2) National Handicapping Championship Prize Packs ($5,350 value, including $400 flight voucher and hotel stay).
In addition, the top five finishers split $9,300 in cash with $4,650 to the winner, $1,860 to the runner-up, $1,395 to the third-place entrant, $930 to fourth, and $465 to the fifth-place finisher.
All entry fees are returned as prizes. The prizes listed are approximations and the exact prizes will be determined by the final number of participants.
After the contest, the Top Three (3) finishers, in order of finish, will select their seat (BCBC or NHC).
Contest players at Laurel Park can register only via walk-up registration on Saturday, September 27, from 11 am to 1 pm. The registration table is located on the first floor of the Clubhouse. Cash-only transactions will be accepted. The $500 contest buy-in is non-refundable, and the contest entry includes a live program. Contestants are assigned a betting card pre-loaded with a $250 bankroll for play at any self-service wagering machines at Laurel Park using the card’s PIN.
All TVG/4NJBETS online players must pre-register with Brian Skirka (bskirka@monmouthpark.com) before 3 pm ET on Friday, September 26. All Xpressbet online players may pre-register with Brian Skirka or directly through Xpressbet until the first post time on Saturday, September 27.
All online players must declare their tournament ADW (Xpressbet, TVG, or 4NJBETS) at registration time. Players must have an existing ADW account to participate in the Laurel Park Autumn Handicapping Challenge.
Each online player will be assigned a temporary online handicapping contest account through Xpressbet, TVG, or 4NJBETS. Players will be provided login credentials to access their accounts. Those online accounts will be pre-loaded with the $250 bankroll. All contest wagers are placed through a temporary contest account. It is a player’s responsibility to distinguish between contest and personal accounts. After the contest, the remaining contest bankroll is transferred to the player’s personal account.
There will be two $125,000 stakes races at Laurel Park on Saturday, September 27. The Selima Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, and the Laurel Futurity for 2-year-old males will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
Past winners of the Laurel Futurity include Count Fleet, Citation, Secretariat, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, and Barbaro.
Click here for complete rules for the Laurel Park Autumn Handicapping Challenge.
