We welcome the voice of Santa Anita, Frank Mirahmadi, as the target for Week 6 of 8 in the 20th annual Xpressbet Beat the Host handicapping contest. Players around the country will try to top Mirahmadi for their share of $67,500 in weekly and seasonal prizes. Mirahmadi follows last Saturday’s host, Brian Nadeau of Gulfstream Park, who posted a pair of winners in the 10 contest races.
Among the contestants, Greg Peterson led the way in Week 5 with a $159 bankroll that earned him the $1000 weekly prize. Runner-up Stephen Wolfson ($147.50 mutuel total) earned an additional $750 in prize money, while two-time weekly champ Glenn Gulden had another big showing in third ($142 mutuel total) and added another $250. Gulden, winner of Weeks 2 and 3 of the competition, continues to top the seasonal leaderboard with $544, an astounding $169.50 more than the next-closest player.
So far, 444 players have qualified for the Beat the Host Championship by winning a weekly head-to-head against the hosts.
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.
Register here.
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 fifth week, 13 players remain eligible in the sweep the host bonus chase (9 fell by the wayside during Week 5).
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.
.svg){kind=logo}
