In The Money Telegraph
Friday, June 26, 2026 · By ITM Staff
It’s a huge betting weekend — and if you want a piece of the contest action, today is the day to lock in your spot.
Last Call: The De Francis Dash Challenge
Saturday is De Francis Dash Day at Laurel Park, and the live-bankroll De Francis Dash Handicap Challenge that goes with it is one of the best value spots of the summer: a $500 buy-in ($250 to your bankroll, $250 to the prize pool), with a full Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) seat, two National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) seats, and cash going to the Top 5. If you want in, the clock is now ticking.
Registration Deadlines
TVG/4NJBETS & HPI: by 3:00 PM ET TODAY (Friday)
Xpressbet: by 12:00 noon ET Saturday
On-site at Laurel: sign up Saturday 11 AM–1 PM (cash only)
A few rules to know: you’ll need to bet at least $50 on at least five Laurel races (win, place, show, exacta or double). Monmouth Park races are also in play, but only Monmouth’s Races 1–7 count — so Laurel’s last race is the last race of the contest.
Full weekend contest rundown →
Today’s Cards: Laurel & Monmouth
Saturday’s De Francis contest spans both Laurel and Monmouth, so today’s cards at the two tracks are a perfect warm-up — and we’ve got both covered. Will Humphrey is back with his Laurel Park Tips and Trips: trip notes, angles and selections, race by race. And Eric Solomon — covering the Jersey Shore for a sixth straight year — has his full-card Monmouth analysis, with A-B-C selections plus the rail-setting and run-style turf data he tracks all meet (the rails are out at 36 feet today). Monmouth’s first post is 2:00 PM ET.
Will’s Laurel tips and trips →
Eric Solomon’s Monmouth full-card analysis →
Our Tour Feeder Runs Today
There’s another way into the championship picture this weekend, and it’s ours. The In the Money HorsePlayers Tour feeder runs today on HorsePlayers.com — a $20 Pick & Pray (free past performances included) with all proceeds benefiting Breeders’ Cup charities. Entries close at 3:00 PM ET, max three per account.
It pays two ways: one entry for every ten advances directly to Saturday’s BCBC qualifier, and the top four finishers earn a spot in our season-ending ITM HorsePlayers Tour Playoffs — where the champ wins a $10,000 BCBC seat on us.
Today’s 10 contest races (first post 3:00 PM ET): Gulfstream Park 6, 7 & 8 · Belmont at the Big A 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 · Los Alamitos 4 & 5. It’s a Pick & Pray, so all your plays lock when the first race goes — $2 win/place on one horse per race, with payout caps of 20-1 to win and 10-1 to place.
▶ Watch PTF & Mike P preview this week’s feeder →
Saturday’s Main Event
The racing centerpiece is at Churchill Downs, where reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty returns for the first time since his 2025 Kentucky Derby win in the $2 million Grade 1 Stephen Foster — a loaded seven-horse field that also draws White Abarrio, Magnitude and Baeza, with a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the line.
It’s also a contest card: TwinSpires runs its $3,500 Stephen Foster Betting Challenge on the same races, with a guaranteed $15,000 pool and seven championship seats. Entries there close at 4:00 PM ET Saturday.
Want a cheaper way in? Churchill runs a $700 Stephen Foster Betting Challenge qualifier on today’s Friday card — finish in the top spots and you’re into Saturday’s big tournament. Mikee P and Chris Cupples preview the Friday Churchill card with spot plays and contest strategy.
▶ Watch the Churchill Friday preview →
On ITM This Weekend
We’ve got you covered going in. Today, PTF and Mike P dig into the ITM HorsePlayers Tour. Saturday, PTF and Dan Illman go through the Laurel contest card, and JK and PTF preview the Stephen Foster. And Colonial Downs rolls on all weekend — Saturday brings the first stakes of the meet and the fan-favorite Corgi Races. Watch on the ITM YouTube channel.
Giving Back: Amplify Horse Racing
One more, off the racetrack. The TDN this week featured three mentors from the Amplify Horse Racing mentorship program, and ITM founder Pete Fornatale was one of them — alongside Leah Alessandroni of Tropical Racing and Jen Roytz. Amplify is a three-month program that gives youth and young adults a structured way into the Thoroughbred industry, pairing them with established pros across the sport.
Pete’s takeaway: he wanted to help bring “new blood and fresh perspectives” to a sport that can be set in its ways, and found the experience doubly rewarding — paying forward the early-career guidance he once got, while ITM gained from his mentee’s contributions. Industry folks can apply to mentor year-round.
Learn about Amplify mentorship →
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Exclusive podcasts, detailed written analysis, and premium selections — including Rob Dove’s private picks — every day, all the way to the Breeders’ Cup.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com, with daily previews on the ITM YouTube channel and premium tips on ITM Plus.
