Arsenault Aims for $3 Million Bonus in BCBC
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As the winner of January's National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), Ray Arsenault of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, near Toronto, will play for the largest cash prize ever offered in the handicapping contest world - the $3 million NHC Tour Bonus - at this weekend's Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC).
Add in the estimated $300,000 BCBC grand prize also on the line, as well as the $50,000+ profit from a $10,000 live bankroll that it typically takes to win the BCBC, and Arsenault will be playing for more than $3.3 million in cash.
Arsenault, 65, already took down $800,000 for his NHC triumph, meaning he is now in a position to push his 2017 handicapping contest earnings over the $4 million mark.
"It's pretty thrilling," Arsenault said. "I'm going to take some pops at it. I've been looking at the races and I'm going to get back to studying here in a bit."
The NHC Tour Bonus ties together the two most prestigious handicapping contests - the $1 million BCBC and the $2.7 million (estimated) NHC, set for February 9-11, at Treasure Island Las Vegas. The NHC Tour Bonus is a "rolling double" available to every BCBC and NHC winner as long as they win each contest successively, in either order.
Arsenault earned his first entry to the BCBC at the NHC for being the Day 2 scoring leader.
"I already had the one entry and when I heard I was playing for $3 million I went ahead and bought a second one that I figured I could play my normal way."
Arsenault will play the BCBC from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., near the Canadian's winter home in Delray Beach, Fla. BCBC entrants can play from the Breeders' Cup host racetrack or at satellite venues like Churchill Downs and Gulfstream.