Last week, Jeff Siegel put out the fire in the 20th annual Xpressbet Beat the Host handicapping contest, posting 4 winners and a $60.50 bankroll total that only 14 players eclipsed en route to Championship Round berths. Gulfstream Park’s Brian Nadeau will be the host to beat this Saturday as players try to earn their share of $67,500 in weekly and seasonal prizes.
Gary Flynn was the top player in Week 4 with a $146.50 bankroll that earned him the $1000 weekly prize. Runner-up William Epp ($131 mutuel total) earned an additional $750 in prize money, while James Hall ($126 mutuel total) finished third and added another $250. Glenn Gulden, winner of Weeks 2 and 3 of the competition, continues to top the seasonal leaderboard with $401.55, a whopping $53 ahead of the next-closest player.
So far, 418 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 fourth week, 22 players remain eligible in the sweep the host bonus chase (88 fell by the wayside during Week 4).
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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