Champions Series
February 1-2 // April 5-6 // June 6-7 // August 2025 // November 2025
Current Champions Series Standings: here.
The HorseTourneys Champions Series is a special year-long HorseTourneys.com handicapping series consisting of four of the year's biggest events - the Flo-Cal Faceoff, the Players Championship, the New York New York Challenge, the Spa & Surf Showdown, and the new Pick & Pray® Classic.
Prizes will be awarded to the points leaders at the end of the series.
Leg 1 - February 1-2, Flo-Cal Faceoff, $250,000 GTD
The Flo-Cal Faceoff is a two-day tourney in which contestants make a mythical $2.00 win and place selection on every race of the Gulfstream and Santa Anita cards on both Saturday and Sunday.
Earlier this year, reigning HorseTourneys Handicapper of the Year Eric Boyd won the Flo-Cal Faceoff and earned $144,519 from a total cash pool of $377,996.
Leg 2 - April 5-6, Players Championship, $350,000 GTD
The Players Championship is a two-day, Saturday-Sunday competition requiring entrants to make 15 mythical $2.00 win and place picks each day from among 30 designated races at selected racetracks across the country, including (subject to change) Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Keeneland and Santa Anita.
This spring, Brian Graziano won $131,250 from a total cash pool of $350,000
Leg 3 - June 6-7, New York New York Challenge, $250,000 GTD
The Inaugural New York New York Challenge will be comprised of the full cards from Saratoga Race Course on Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7. Last year's Belmont Stakes Eve and Belmont Stakes Day programs at Saratoga consisted of a total of 26 races—13 of them graded stakes. Like the Pick & Pray® Classic, the New York, New York Challenge will be will be contested in HorseTourneys' popular Pick & Pray® format, which requires players to enter all of their selections each day prior to that day's first contest race.
Leg 4 - August 2025 (Date TBD), Spa & Surf Showdown
The Spa & Surf Showdown is perhaps the most anticipated HorseTourneys event on the calendar. This year's renewal is set for August 2025 and will again call on players to make win and place selections on each race of the Saratoga and Del Mar programs on those two days.
Joseph Zuer won the 2024 Spa & Surf Showdown and took home $187,425 from a prize pool of $521,411.
Leg 5 - November 2025 (Date TBD), Pick & Pray® Classic
Unlike the Live-format Flo-Cal Faceoff and Spa & Surf Showdown and the All Optional Live-format Players Championship, the Pick & Pray® Classic will be contested entirely in HorseTourneys' popular Pick & Pray® format, which requires players to enter all of their selections each day prior to the day's first contest race.
Mark Stillmock put a bow on the end of his 2024 at the Pick & Pray® Classic, winning the $411,997 event to take home $158,331 and win the 2024 HorseTourneys Grand Slam.
QUALIFYING
Qualifying contests for the next Champions Series event is underway at HorseTourneys.com. Head to the site to check the upcoming schedule of qualifiers.
SCORING
Players will receive Champions Series points at the conclusion of each leg of the series. The points formula will award 100 points for a first-place finish, 99 points for second, 98 points for third, down to 1 point for a 100th-place finish.
These points will be tallied together after the conclusion of the 2025 Pick & Pray® Classic and final positions will be sorted based on players' aggregate points totals.
Full Champions Series Points can be found here.
PRIZES
1st place: The overall points leader at the end of the HorseTourneys Champions Series will receive a complimentary entry to all five (5) HorseTourneys Champions Series events in 2026.
2nd place: The runner up will receive entries to three (3) HorseTourneys Champions Series events of his or her choosing in 2026.
3rd place: The third-place finisher will receive an entry to one (1) HorseTourneys Champions Series event of his or her choice in 2026.
QUESTIONS
Questions should be directed to McKay Smith, President of HorseTourneys.com. Email: support@horsetourneys.com
