Breeders Cup Handicapping Challenge?
 

Anyone have the results. How did our fellow posters do?

https://www.breederscup.com/sites/de...-standings.pdf

The results are here. I had very few good opinions this BC and finished with zero. For the third year in a row, I bet my whole bankroll on Flat Out.

For anyone thinking about playing, this is by far the best contest out there.

It is not cheap. But, you get great treatment. We had a table in the Trophy room ( a few tables over from John Elway) a great buffet, a box on the finish line for Friday and reserved seats Saturday, plus more.

Tim Schram does a great job and you will be well taken care of. I can't recommend it enough.

Paul

Thanks Paul..Glad you had a great time..

I can't believe someone caught and passed McFarland after he hit 2 different races for 50K trifecta's.

Paul, any details on the what races and wagers they hit the big scores on?

When I saw that on the feed, I was shocked. I'm guessing it had something to do with Juv Fillies, but I can't remember when I saw it on the feed.

It was a crazy ending. The leader going into the last race bet $29,000 on the Classic and lost. The guy in second bet $4,000 and lost but still ended up winning because he bet small. From what I was told, he has one winner the whole contest. He bet $3,000 to win and had the exacta with the Engelhart horse who paid $66. Without the DQ, he ends up with nothing.

There is no possible way that McFarland should have lost. He is partners with Christian Helmers. Helmers had two entries (one in his own name and one in his mothers). The second entry had more than $65,000 half way through and finished with almost nothing.

They are very big bettors. In the end, I guess they couldn't help themselves and gave away the contest. In that situation, you have to make the people behind you come and beat you. You can't beat yourself.

Of course, it is easy for me to say since I was nowhere in this contest so I didn't have any tough choices to make...

Paul

Wow..
I just couldn't believe that McFarland could possibly lose after the lead he built up early.

I performed awfully in the tournament. I was out early on Saturday. Luckily I had some success starting with the Magician race and continuing through the classic.

On a side note, the tournament organizers do a nice job except for one thing. You would think that they could have better food offerings for the players. To borrow a famous line, it was low-grade dog food. An embarrassment to the BC challenge. With vendors like Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay on the grounds, this should not be to hard to execute. No, no..it's not sour grapes related to my lack of tournament success. Most everyone in that room had the same sentiment.

Players were in multiple rooms. Next year, just ask for a better seating area. We sat in the Trophy Room and the food was great.

Paul

Tim Schram is awesome no doubt. For what it's worth he said Saturday he's working on putting together more qualifiers next year to grow this further.

HRTV had Helmers on the set between races and he said he is going to be very aggressive. I laughed when he said bettors need to have balls to win these contests..Apparently he got to the bottom of his....

He's 100% right. If you are afraid to go to zero you shouldn't bother to play them

Would anyone that has qualified in the past care to share your general strategy in the qualifiers (realizing there are a limited number of spots and you may not care to do so)?

Do you enter the contests that have a prelim and final or the one day event? What's your general philosophy?

Relatively new to the contest concept but this one definitely sounds worth it.

Thanks in advance.

The whole thing has been watered down. I think it is silly to pay money to qualify for Vegas and not be playing for prize money in the process. It used to be you had to win or place in contests where real money was to be won. That venue then put up your entry fee. Now people sit there and play online qualifiers to get to Vegas which offers nothing more than a chance and a bigger pot to play at....I won't play a contest if there is no money in it right then and there. And all contests you play should be returning 100% of the entry fees in the prize money.

I agree with this in principle. But, you should reach a point where zero is no longer an option. I am not afraid to make a big bet but I can assure you that if I was sitting on $65,00 with four races left, there is no way I end up with zero.

Paul

I agree with Randall in general. The NHC used to be the main event. Very few serious tournament players think of it as such anymore. It has grown from less than 200 the first year I qualified to 500 players now (if they can sell that many spots).

My best advice is to be an educated consumer. Look for contests with small or no takeout, good location, and prize money. These contests are always worth playing. The Breeder's Cup, Wynn, anything run by NYRA or Keeneland all fit this bill.

Avoid contests with huge takeout and no prize money other than an NHC spot. These are a bad proposition over time.

Paul

That is true as well.

Very true. I've played in the NHC and BCBC. No comparison, the BCBC is superior. Great contest.

BCBC winner Peter Behr on ATR today. Criminal Attorney from London, ON.