This Saturday, March 13, Lone Star Park will host the first of three free qualifiers for the Third Annual Lone Star Park Handicapping Championship Series. The maximum number of contestants, 450, are entered and will be competing to earn a spot in the Lone Star Park Handicapping Championship to be held on Saturday, October 16.

The series, which is exclusive to Star Player Rewards members, will determine 150 qualifiers for the Lone Star Park Championship in October. The top six finishers from that Championship will win an all-expenses paid trip to the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas in January 2011. In addition, there is $25,000 in potential prize money from Lone Star Park.

In Qualifier # 1, the top 50 finishers will earn an entry into the finals in October. Also, there will be a $1,000 total purse (prize pool) for the top five finishers. In each of the two subsequent Qualifiers, 50 new finalists will be determined for October and the purses increase.

Following are the purses for the three Lone Star Park Handicapping Championship Series Qualifiers:

The purse for each Qualifier will be distributed to the top five finishers as follows:

1st Place – 60% of Purse
2nd Place – 20% of Purse
3rd Place – 11% of Purse
4th Place – 6% of Purse
5th Place – 3% of Purse

Each event will feature $1,140 in mythical wagers on 10 races that can be made only on designated racetracks with a limit of one mythical wager per race. The designated wagers are:

Two (2) $50 Win, Place, Show on one (1) horse = $300
Two (2) $10 Exacta Box with three (3) horses = $120
Two (2) $20 Exacta Box with three (3) horses = $240
Two (2) $5 Trifecta Box with four (4) horses = $240
Two (2) $1 Superfecta Box with five (5) horses = $240

The designated racetracks for this Saturday, March 13 are Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds, Aqueduct, Oaklawn Park and Santa Anita. The highest final bankrolls will determine the order of finish for each event.

Free sign-ups for Qualifier # 2 on June 19, 2010 begin this Saturday, March 13 and must be submitted by close of business on Monday, June 14. Entry forms are available at the tournament registration tables, at Racing Information or the Gift Shop in the Post Time Pavilion, and online at LoneStarPark.com. Complete rules for the Third Annual Lone Star Park Handicapping Championship Series are also available at the same locations.

The third qualifier is scheduled for Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Applications for the Star Player Rewards program, which is free to join, are available at Lone Star Park, the Post Time Pavilion Gift Shop and online at LoneStarPark.com.