Parx 10-26-26 | First HorseTourneys Contest, Late P4/P5 Hits & A Few Questions
 

I played my first HorseTourneys Pick & Pray contest yesterday at Parx, using RDSS and BRIS PPs. Finished 26th out of 160 entries with $38.70 in mythical W/P returns. Three winners and one place from eight contest races.

I didn't post my selections beforehand, so this is strictly a post-race review, not claiming any publicly posted winners.

My locked selections for R2 through R9 were **5-1-2-5-8-7-4-8**.

The good news was the late horizontal wagering. I hit the 50-cent Pick 5 (5-8-4-4-1), returning $650.05, and the 50-cent Pick 4 (8-4-4-1), returning $237.70. Total gross return of $887.75.

Looking back, all eight winners were within the top-five BL/BL contenders on the original RDSS screens, but I didn't make the best single-horse tournament selections.

Three races especially caught my attention:

**R3:** #4 Quick to Judge was third BL/BL and won at 8.5-1 after dropping in class.

**R4:** #5 Bonafide was below the BL/BL leaders but had the obvious early-speed advantage. Won easily at 2/5.

**R7:** #4 Great Composer was my alternate, second in BL/BL, and won at 7.7-1. My primary #7 Vancougar finished second after the DQ.

A few questions:

1. When BL/BL or Rx clearly favors a short-priced horse, how do you decide whether the second or third contender offers better W/P tournament value?
2. How much weight do you give a clear pace advantage or class drop when it conflicts with the BL/BL ordering?
3. Do you approach paceline selection differently for a Pick & Pray tournament versus regular win betting or horizontal wagers?

I'm new to the NHC Tour and working on improving the transition from identifying contenders to selecting one horse per race.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jimmy