Elizabeth Huffman Tops Beat The Host Week 1; Millie Ball Next Up

Last Saturday, 54% of players in the 20th annual Xpressbet Beat the Host handicapping contest were able to top Gulfstream Park track announcer Pete Aiello, led by Elizabeth Huffman’s $173 in mutuel returns – good for the $2,000 weekly first prize.

Week 2 of the 8-week tourney returns Saturday with Santa Anita and XBTV racing analyst Millie Ball the new target. Beat her wagering total for Santa Anita & Gulfstream races to earn your share of $67,500 in weekly and seasonal prizes.

Register here.

Huffman was joined in the Week 1 prize pool by Lawrence Wise, whose $158.50 mutuel total netted the $750 second-place prize. Cindy Kinsley earned $250 with her $146 mutuel total. Aiello posted 2 winners in the 10 contest races for an $18 mutuel total.

Beat the Host encompasses 10 races each contest Saturday, split between the final 5 Gulfstream Park races and first 5 from Santa Anita. Contestants place $5 win bets on the Xpressbet platform for each of the 10 Beat the Host races, earning their parimutuel winnings as well as rising up the leaderboard and potentially topping the experts.

Beat the host’s total once to qualify for the March 8 BTH Championship (maximum 2 seats per qualifier). Weekly prizes include $1,000 to the contestant with the highest accumulated dollar total, as well as $750 to second and $250 to third. The BTH Championship will pit all weekly winning players against one another in pursuit of seats in the lucrative Pegasus World Cup Betting Challenge, Xpressbet Santa Anita Derby Challenge and Xpressbet Florida Derby Challenge tournaments.

A sweep the host bonus ($6,500) and season leaderboard champion (Pegasus World Cup Betting Challenge, 1/ST Ultimate Betting Challenge seats) also are in prize play. Through the first week, 264 players remain eligible in the sweep the host bonus chase.

The host lineup for the season:

Jan. 4—Pete Aiello (Gulfstream Park)
Jan. 11--Millie Ball (Santa Anita & XBTV)
Jan. 18-- Tom Quigley (Santa Anita)
Jan. 25--Jeff Siegel (1/ST BET & XBTV)
Feb. 1--Brian Nadeau (Gulfstream Park)
Feb. 8--Frank Mirahmadi (Santa Anita)
Feb. 1--Jeremy Plonk (1/ST BET)
Feb 22--Ron Nicoletti (Gulfstream Park)

Registration is open: sign up today and play Saturday.

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