Thomas Guadagno topped 140 players last week in the $10,000-added Xpressbet Fun in the Sun Handicapping Tournament, while the field for the September 2 Final Table grew to 10 after two weeks of play. Week 3 of the 7 qualifying contests returns this Saturday and challenges horseplayers over the final 5 races at Saratoga and first 5 races at Del Mar.

Guadagno posted a season-high $397 bankroll total to pace Week 2 and earn the $1,470 weekly top prize. Joining him in the top 5 and earning Final Table berths were Michael Taran ($374 bankroll) and Dino Sampo ($320 bankroll), who also earned cash prizes of $612.50 and $367.50, respectively. Lance Kawamura ($315 bankroll) and Steven Daniel ($308.50 bankroll) earned Final Table seats.

Fun in the Sun offers its Final Table format for the fifth straight year and the progressive contest jackpot for 2024 stands at $12,032.50 with $10,000 seeded by Xpressbet.

Qualifying Weeks (Saturdays)

July 20, 27
August 3,10,17,24,31

Final Table

September 2 (Monday)

The weekly contest format includes a $100 buy-in and $25 entry fee, which includes the tournament’s 10 weekly $10 win bets from Saratoga (last 5 races) and Del Mar (first 5 races). The Top-5 finishers by earnings each of the seven qualifying weeks earn berths into the Final Table. With 100% of tournament fees paid back to players, weekly prize pools compromise of 70% paid out to the Saturday leaderboard, while 30% rolls over to the Final Table (in addition to the $10,000 seed from Xpressbet).

Last year, Joe Tambasco topped Week 2 of the contest and later earned the $8,911 first prize at the Final Table, which had a prize pool in excess of $16,000.

Fun in the Sun Final Table Winners

2020 Robert Rosen
2021 Wayne Tam
2022 Kevin Saunders
2023 Joe Tambasco