The 22nd annual Dog Days of Summer Handicapping Tournament takes place this Saturday and Sunday. The event dates back to the 90s before handicapping contests were as popular as they have become today. Dog Days is perhaps the first, but most certainly the longest running, live bankroll contest in the country.
In the early years, cash was the main prize. One year the winner received entry to the old World Series of Handicapping at Penn National, at the time one of the most prestigious contests going. The National Horseplayers Championship , sponsored by the NTRA, came along soon after that and since then the coveted NHC seats have been the prize to the top two Dog Days players. A couple of years ago, a $10,000 entry to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge was added to the winning prize.
Here are the details:
$650 Entry of which:
$150 is Entry Fee
$100 to prize pool
$400 for Live Bankroll betting
First prize: $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) entry AND National Horseplayers Championship (NHC*) entry plus 15% of prize pool.
Second prize: NHC* entry plus 35% of prize pool.
*To be eligible to win an NHC berth, entrants must be NHC Tour members. NHC membership is $50
Third: 25% of prize pool
Fourth: 17.5% of prize pool
Fifth: 7.5% of prize pool
The contest rules allow entrants to wager, using the $400 bankroll, on any track and pool offered throughout the day on Saturday. On Sunday, the same rules apply but the contest ends around 5:30 or 6pm. Each entrant must wager at least $200 each day.
The entrants with the largest bankrolls at the conclusion win the prizes.
On Friday, handicappers also have a chance to win one of two NHC entries via the Ultimate NHC Qualifier. Entry fee is $500 of which 4400 is live bankroll. In use is the Ultimate Format where entrants wager at least half of the bankroll in each of six mandatory Canterbury races. All the details can be found here.
Odds and Ends
With just four days of racing remaining, the battle for top thoroughbred trainer could not be any more intense. Mac Robertson, who leads by one with 49, erased a six-win deficit over four days of racing and passed Robertino Diodoro. Both are firing with quality horses the next two days.
The owner title is up for grabs as well. Novogratz Racing Stables, who employs Robertson, has 14 wins. Silva Racing and trainer Miguel Silva has 13. Diodoro trains for Charles Garvey who has 12 wins. One more back are the Butzows.
Orlando Mojica would need to really tear it up to catch Ry Eikleberry in the jockey standings. Ry is 10 in front and would have to go ice cold not to hang on.
Nominations to the four stakes on closing weekend, Sept. 14 and 15, can be found here.
Pigskins & Ponies
PICK 6 CONTEST
Can you pick football winners as well as you do horses? Get in on our Pigskin & Ponies Pick 6!
In this free to enter contest, you can win cash prizes each Sunday from Sept. 9 to Dec. 30.
• First place – $100
• Second place – $75
• Third place – $25
To win, you have to handicap six select races and choose which of two horses will have the better finish. Then, choose the winning team from six select NFL games.
The player making the most overall correct selections will be the winner!
Get your selections in by noon on Sundays to get your dose of football and horse racing action with our Pigskin & Ponies Pick 6!
