In The Money Telegraph
Thursday, July 16, 2026 · By ITM Staff
Four more players punched their tickets last week, Del Mar opens tomorrow, and our feeder is going west with it. Let’s get you in the game.
Congratulations to Our Newest Tour Qualifiers
Four more players came through last Friday’s In the Money HorsePlayers Tour feeder and booked their spots in the ITM Tour Playoffs. Congratulations to Brendan Finn, Bob Montgomery, Julie Loboyko, and John Gaspar — we’ll see you at the end of the season.
Want to be on that list next week? Here’s how it works. The feeder is a $20 Pick & Pray on HorsePlayers.com, and it pays off two different ways. It runs like a standard HorsePlayers.com feeder, so the top 10% advance to Saturday’s direct qualifier on the same site — win that one and you’ve got a $10,000 seat in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. And separately, finish in the top four in any week’s feeder and you’re into the ITM Tour Playoffs, a standalone contest right before the Breeders’ Cup where another $10,000 BCBC seat is awarded at no cost to players. The house cut, meanwhile, goes to Breeders’ Cup Charities.
If that sounds like a long shot, remember what happened two weeks ago: a player turned a $20 feeder entry into a $10,000 BCBC seat. Twenty bucks. That’s the whole pitch.
Friday’s Feeder Goes All Del Mar
The Saratoga-only format has been a hit, but opening day at Del Mar was too good to pass up — so this week’s feeder goes all Del Mar, played over the last eight races on the card. It’s a Pick & Pray: a $2 win/place selection on a single horse in each contest race, with payout caps of 20-1 to win and 10-1 to place, and you can fire up to three entries. Get your picks in before the first contest race goes — once it closes, everything locks.
PTF and Matt Bernier go through the late Pick 5 portion of the sequence race by race — it kicks off with Race 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET and features the Oceanside Stakes, opened up this year after historically being a restricted race. Matt, for what it’s worth, is coming off a week where his top pick returned $55.
▶ Watch the Del Mar opening day preview →
Enter Friday’s ITM Tour feeder →
Del Mar Opens Tomorrow
The card. On The Gallop Out, Ryan Anderson and Jackson Muniz go through the full opening day card — top picks, value plays, and how to attack the sequence. ▶ Watch →
The scene. On The Owner’s Box, Del Mar’s Erin Bailey previews what’s new at the seaside meet — the events, the food, and everything around the racing that makes opening weekend what it is. ▶ Watch →
Saturday: Help Us Sell Out the LRF Cares Contest
Our big goal is still on the board. The 7th Annual LRF Cares Horseplayer Contest runs Saturday, July 18 — a $250 Pick & Pray on HorsePlayers.com over all of Del Mar’s races, awarding one 2027 NHC seat for every 40 entries (two guaranteed), with every dollar going to Thoroughbred aftercare. The more players in, the more seats awarded and the more raised for retired racehorses. You can also win your way in cheap through the $14 feeders on HorsePlayers.com. Let’s pack it.
Deadline Tomorrow: The Haskell Handicapping Challenge
Last reminder on this one, because the clock is real: Monmouth’s $1,000 Haskell Handicapping Challenge goes Saturday with seven-plus BCBC seats, two NHC seats, and cash on the line — and the more players who sign up, the more BCBC seats Monmouth will try to add. If you’re playing through TVG/4NJBets, you must be signed up by 3 p.m. ET tomorrow. Through Xpressbet or TwinSpires, you have until noon Saturday. And if you’re going to be at Monmouth on Haskell day, you have to play through TVG.
Then settle in and watch: Matt Bernier is part of NBC’s Haskell coverage from 5 to 6 p.m. ET Saturday, with the Grade 1 Haskell a “Win and You’re In” to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Sign up for the Haskell Challenge →
Also on Saturday: NYRA Bets Steps Up
Some news close to home: NYRA Bets Contests is the new sponsor of And the Tournament Winner Was and the ITM Contest Newsletter — and they’re backing it up by growing their contest slate. They’re running two games Saturday, and both close before Saratoga’s third race.
The main event. A $300 buy-in ($200 to your bankroll, $100 to the prize pool) with a cash prize pool that NYRA Bets is seeding with an extra $2,500. For scale: last week’s edition drew 115 entries and paid the winner $6,700.
The feeder. An $80 game ($40 bankroll, $40 to the prize pool) awarding one seat per 25 entries into the $1,000 Jim Dandy Challenge on Aug. 1, which offers seats and cash.
John Gaspar goes through it all, plus contest recaps, on this week’s episode. Listen → | See the NYRA Bets contests →
Around the Sport
Money on the table at the Spa. Saratoga is back today after its midweek break, and the roughly $166,000 Pick 6 carryover — stranded when Sunday’s sequence was canceled following a late distance change — starts fresh in Race 4 on today’s card.
ITM Plus
Nick’s Notebook Is Here for Saratoga
Churchill Downs morning-line maker Nick Tammaro brings his Saratoga notebook to ITM Plus — detailed written analysis and a play of the day, every day of the meet, alongside exclusive podcasts and premium selections right through to the Breeders’ Cup.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com, with daily previews on the ITM YouTube channel and premium tips on ITM Plus.
