One of the most popular events of each New Year returns Saturday, Jan. 2, when the rich $60k Beat the Host tournament begins with Xpressbet’s Jeremy Plonk as the host to whip in a usual leadoff spot. Previously, players have had their way with Plonk, but the experienced pro promises this year will be different. (BTW…We’ve heard that before.) Don’t blow your shot at Plonk and a chance to qualify for the BTH Championship right out of the gate.

Each Saturday, Beat the Host delivers a fun, challenging and affordable shot at a potential payday. The versatile tournament serves double duty—as an affordable entry-level experience and a spot where veteran tourney players can hunt big-game prizes and lucrative seats.

Beat the Host basics remain: Register for the tournament once--FREE at Xpressbet.com (one entry per account holder)--and play each Saturday in January and February (9 dates) by making a ‘live’ $5 win wager on one horse in each of 10 competition races ($50 total). Beat the Host’s total once to qualify for the BTH Championship (March 13, maximum one seat per qualifier). There are weekly prizes--$1k to first, $750 to second and $250 to third—and players may win multiple weekly prizes throughout the season.

This year, qualifiers to the Beat the Host Championship will vie for 7 attractive prizes that include 1 seat in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship ($6k value) and 6 seats to either Florida Derby (March 27, 2021) or Santa Anita Derby (April 3, 2021) tournaments.

Beat the Host seasonal cumulative earnings leaders now can earn 2 valuable seats to the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship ($6k value each) or 3 spots to the Ultimate Betting Challenge (Saturday, March 6, 2021 and $3k value each).

A new wrinkle in Beat the Host 2021 will increasingly challenge players in quests to outscore hosts. While weekly competition races will continue to be posted Fridays by 5 pm ET, host selections for each race will not be exposed until post time for each race. This new procedure will discourage players from gaining an early lead on the host and then merely matching host selections the rest of the way for an easy ‘W.’ The alteration also figures to make the chase for a $6K Sweep the Host bonus much more interesting. If no one claims that top prize, there is a $2k Sweep the Host consolation prize for the last player to lose to the host.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Beat the Host is that the tournament features ‘live’ wagers. That means players keep what they win! A nice payoff or two along the way can turn a profit for the day—whether a player’s total earns a weekly prize or not!

This season’s host roster includes a formidable collection of handicappers/media personalities from the 1/ST family.

Jan. 2: Jeremy Plonk (Xpressbet.com)
Jan. 9: Millie Ball (Santa Anita & XBTV.com)
Jan. 16: Jon White (Santa Anita & Xpressbet.com)
Jan. 23: Jeff Siegel (Xpressbet & XBTV.com)
Jan. 30: Jason Blewitt (Gulfstream Park)
Feb. 6: Ron Nicoletti (Gulfstream Park)
Feb. 13: Tom Quigley (Santa Anita)
Feb. 20: Acacia Courtney (Gulfstream Park)
Feb 27: Eddie Olczyk (Xpressbet.com & NBC Sports)

Pick your poison! Which host can you beat to qualify for the Beat the Host Challenge? Better yet, compete in all nine weeks to, hopefully, pocket some coin and possibly parlay a tournament seat prize into a major score.

Remember, you gotta be in it to win it and playing Beat the Host this Saturday is the right way to start this much-anticipated New Year.

Race On!

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