The beautiful Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is the setting for another intense handicappers' tournament. The $6,000 entry proves too rich for newcomer Matt Bernier, but that doesn't prevent him from learning a valuable lesson in sunny California. The rest of the crew are in town as well as everyone continues to gun for a slot in the national championship tournament. Christian Hellmers sizes up his competition and decides to go for broke. Meanwhile, Team Rotondo's plan to avoid horse racing on their family vacation doesn't hold up.