Malone turns $12 into $5,000

Last weekend at the Horse Player World Series, John Malone demonstrated how it’s supposed to work. A few weeks ago, he played in a $12 feeder on DRF Tournaments, and he ended up leaving the Orleans with more than $5,000.

“I’d been playing credit builders and saw that one contest up for the Horse Player World Series and thought I’d give it a shot,” said Malone, a 64-yearold project manager for Panel Truss who lives in Henderson, Texas.

He headed out to Las Vegas feeling like he was already a big winner. “I was on y’all’s dime, so I felt like I was $2,500 to the good before I walked into the tournament,” he said.

The town where Malone went to school is small – 989 people – and he lived on the outskirts of that town, “So you can tell how country I am,” he said.

Malone had played in a few live tournaments before, but always in small fields where he knew at least a few people. The contest room at the Orleans was another world. “I was a little intimidated,” he said. “It seemed like everybody else knew each other. I was like the kid at the birthday party who only got invited because he was in third grade, too.”

Malone studied hard for Day 1 and went in brimming with confidence. “I felt like I was South Carolina at the Final Four,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to be there, but now that I was, why not have some fun?”

At Malone’s table, people were immediately friendly, and by the tournament’s end, he had made a bunch of new friends at his table and beyond. “They were all horseplayers just like I was,” he said. “We stayed up at night talking horses and keeping it loose.”

Day 1 didn’t go as planned, so he took a more relaxed approach to his study on Day 2 – less handicapping, more nickel keno – and lo and behold, it worked. He shot up the leaderboard and ended up cashing for $3,100 in day money.

He kept that pattern going for Friday, going to see Ron White instead of studying, and he had a good Saturday as well. In the end, he finished 29th for another $1,700. Of course, he wouldn’t be a horseplayer without a “what if” element to his tale. He had a tip on a horse at Oaklawn whom he bet with real money, but in the contest, he mistakenly punched his ticket for Fair Grounds instead. “That’s the only time in my life I ever cashed for $1,800 and still felt sick to my stomach,” he said.

He estimates that had he bet the horse in the contest like he’d meant to, he’d have ended up fourth for considerably more money, but that didn’t diminish the experience one bit.

“I’ve played horses for 30 years, and this was a highlight,” he said. “Whether or not I qualify, I’m going back next year without a doubt.”

Three birds with one stone

Want to put up $110 for a chance to win $10,500? That opportunity is being offered on DRF Tournaments on Saturday in the Triple Play first-round qualifier. The top 10 percent of finishers will advance to Round 2 on Sunday, April 16, where they will have their chance to win entries in the three biggest live-bankroll contests of the spring: Keeneland’s Grade One Gamble, Santa Anita’s Preakness Challenge, and the Monmouth Pick Your Prize contest.

For folks who want to get started for even less money, that’s an option as well. Play in a Triple Play feeder for $25, finish in the top 25 percent, and you can advance to Round 1 without having to buy in directly.

Also on Saturday, there is one of the final chances to win into the Keeneland Grade One Gamble. The buy-in is $162, and one in 25 entries will win $3,000 Keeneland seats and $500 in travel.

Sunday’s featured events on DRFT are aimed at livebankroll players in Southern California and beyond. The first is a qualifier for the Del Mar Handicapping Challenge in July. Contestants must put up $400, and one in 22 will win a $7,000 Del Mar seat plus $500 in travel.

Also on Sunday, there’s a $225 buy-in Santa Anita Preakness qualifier. The prize package is worth $5,000 between the seat and travel money. Please note that this contest will need 23 entries to go. If there are not 23 entries, players will receive refunds, and an e-mail will be sent at post time of the first contest race.

For more information, including the full slate of contests, go to tournaments.drf.com.