Local handicapping events scheduled for next week

Handicapping tournaments will inundate the calendar next week in Las Vegas. Anyone can enter if you have the cash and time to play.

Red Rock will host the "Last Chance" qualifier Wednesday. The top five finishers will get a berth in the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship on Jan. 25 and 26, also at Red Rock.

Santa Anita and Golden Gate, oddly enough, will be dark Wednesday, so their races won't be involved. The Last Chance entry fee is $500, with a 10 a.m. sign-up deadline. The NHC is limited to those who already qualified.

The Horseplayer World Series will be at the Orleans from Jan. 24 to 26. The entry fee of $1,000 is kind of stiff. My advice: Now is a good time to find out who your real friends are, if you catch my drift.

Seldom in betting on horse racing do you have a chance to win nearly $400,000. That will be the first prize in the HWS. So while it's a high risk investment, potential exists for a life-changing reward.

What I like about the HWS prize structure is Coast Casinos will pay down to 80th place. For years, I have lobbied that it is bad policy for tournaments to have winner- take-all formats or pay minor awards that truly are minor. Players need the opportunity to win back their entry fees, expenses and then some.

The most overlooked theory in handicapping tournaments is playing to a number. That means looking up the previous winning scores and, unless rules have been changed, you'll know where you need to end up. Obey this, and you won't be affected mentally when a guy near you hits an $80 winner. Stick to your own game plan, and you'll be fine.

• SANTA ANITA -- Now that Santa Anita has announced a plan to resolve its synthetic surface woes, what do we call it?

Cushion track is the surface there now. Pro Ride polymers will be mixed in to allow the track to drain properly. So is it Cushion track or Pro Ride or a mix of the two, like Pro Ride-Cushion track?

Just pray that the mixture will drain adequately the next time it rains at Santa Anita.

• NHC TOUR -- The NTRA and DRF announced the creation of the NHC Tour for horseplayers. It's a yearlong tour of qualifiers leading to the 2009 NHC. There will be a registration fee of $125. Fans can go to www.ntra.com/nhctour beginning Feb. 15 to register.

If you're a tournament player, you have to love the idea. The top 50 finishers on Tour will win cash prizes. First prize will be $100,000. If the same player finishes first on Tour and wins the 2009 NHC, he'll get a $2 million bonus.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.