Contest Veteran Larmey Wins Kentucky Derby Betting Championship Qualifying Tournament
February 19th, 2016
Larmey outlasted 191 other players on TwinSpires.com to earn a VIP trip to the Kentucky Derby that includes travel to Louisville, lodging near Churchill Downs, two tickets to Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the track’s exclusive Gold Room, and—most importantly—a $20,000 buy in to the inaugural Kentucky Derby Betting Championship; $15,000 of that buy in is a live bankroll.
“When I heard about the KDBC I immediately thought this was a contest I wanted to be a part of,” said Larmey, a 10-time qualifier of the National Handicapping Championship who is chairman of the NHC Players’ Committee. “It’s an all-expenses paid trip to Derby weekend, which is the pinnacle of racing in the U.S., and now I’ll have decent seats for a change. Plus I like the contest format for big money. If I have a good day you can make a big score.”
Larmey, 55, last visited the Derby in 1997 and 1998 as a denizen of Churchill’s famed infield scene. This year, he plans to take full advantage of the nicer accommodations to get comfortable and handicap his way to the top prize.
“My goal will be to have a couple good opinions [on Oaks and Derby days] and be right there going into the last race, which is really exciting for this contest, because the last race is the Kentucky Derby,” Larmey said.
TwinSpires.com’s KDBC qualifying tournaments use a mythical win-place format (a la the NHC) whereas the KDBC itself is a live money contest. The balance suits Larmey fine.
“I like all formats of contest play,” Larmey said. “With a live bankroll you can leverage your opinion. With mythical picks, a different strategy is involved.”
Larmey had to employ some of that strategy to secure his TwinSpires.com victory and KDBC, as he led by just $2.20 going into the last race.
“I was thrilled to win but had to sweat it out,” Larmey said. “I thought the favorite was strong but thought others would think I’d play him to block them from using it, so I went with my other pick. The favorite did win, so if either of the two had picked him I’d have lost, but they both used the same horse as I did, so the favorite winning was just as good as my horse winning.”
The second through fifth place finishers each receive a $5,000 buy in to the KDBC.
Larmey joins three other qualifiers from TwinSpires.com, including Rich Nilsen, who like Larmey is a veteran of the contest scene.
"As a long-time tournament director for Brisnet.com and Twinspires.com, I often wanted to play in some of the great contests but, of course, I couldn't,” Nilsen said. “When Churchill announced the biggest buy-in money tournament of the year, coupled with a VIP experience to Kentucky Derby & Oaks, I wanted in. I'm thrilled to be one of the first players qualified into this prestigious event, and I hope to parlay this 'score' into a trip to the NHC or BCBC.”
In addition to cash prizes, the KDBC payout structure includes three entries each to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and NHC.
A new satellite tournament with more opportunities to qualify for the KDBC is already underway at TwinSpires.com. Visit our contest page for more details.
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