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Dateline: 09/18/02
The Breeders' Cup Challenge, an Internet and e-mail based sweepstakes
to promote the October 26th Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at
Arlington Park, was launched today at ntra.com. The promotion offers
participants the opportunity to win a guaranteed, $10,000 grand prize
for selecting the most correct winners among the eight Breeders' Cup
races. Four berths to next January's Daily Racing Form/NTRA National
Handicapping Championship will also be awarded through a special
"Head2Head" competition that will be contested over a four-week period.
More than 50 additional prizes will be awarded to fans at other levels
of game success, based on the number of winners they select.
For the "Head2Head" phase of the competition, users will be presented
with a series of "Match-up" style wagers, whereby two horses are
isolated and matched-up against one another within selected televised
races. The competition is intended to educate consumers on the new
"Head2Head" wager that will be part of the wagering menu for all eight
of this year's Breeders' Cup races. For each race, users select which
horse they think will finish better than the other in that given race.
There will be approximately 20 "Head2Head" races in this phase of the
competition, beginning the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 21, and running
through Sunday, October 13th. Users accrue points based on their "Head2Head"
selections, with one point awarded for each correct selection. The top
four finishers at the end of the competition will be sent to Las Vegas
to compete against the best handicappers in the country and over
$200,000 in prize money in the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National
Handicapping Championship.
Shortly after the October 23rd post-position draw for the World Thoroughbred
Championships, the "Pick Eight" phase of the contest will begin. Users
then must make one win selection in each of the eight Breeders' Cup
races by 1:00 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, October 26. The individual making
the most correct selections will receive $10,000, with tiebreakers
utilized in the event of a tie.
Registrants will also receive a series of customized e-mail messages
about the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. The e-mails,
to be written by ESPN horseracing reporter Jeannine Edwards, will
include previews and recaps of key "Road to the World Thoroughbred
Championships" races, TV schedules and other pertinent information. Two
live chats-featuring ESPN horseracing analyst Randy Moss and Daily
Racing Form national handicapper Mike Watchmaker-will be conducted in
October and available only to Breeders' Cup Challenge registrants.
"The Breeders' Cup Challenge is designed to engage potential new fans,
enrich the Breeders' Cup experience for existing fans, introduce the new
Head2Head wager and further build our growing database of horseracing's
customers," said Keith Chamblin, the NTRA's senior vice
president-marketing and industry relations. "We're particularly
delighted this year to give away a guaranteed cash prize and provide
four people with the chance to be crowned Handicapper of the Year."
From an NTRA press release. Graphic courtesy of Breeders' Cup.
More Breeders' Cup info:
