Revised: May 12, 2011

 

 

These are the Official Tour Rules ("Official Rules") for the 2011 Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship Tour ("NHC Tour"). By signing up and paying the registration fee, participants ("Player") hereby agree to and acknowledge compliance with all Official Rules.

 

 

 

The Tour Membership fee is $45 per individual annually and is limited to one (1) membership per player. Tour Members will receive the following:

 

1. Eligibility to compete for a seat at the January 2012 NHC in Las Vegas, where the purse is estimated to be $2-million with $1-million to the winner;

 

2. Free online tourneys offering 15 seats to the 2012 NHC (the first tournament on January 2, 2011, will offer five (5) berths in the 2012 NHC);

 

3. $125,000 in prize money to Tour points leaders based on the top five aggregate scores compiled during the 2011 calendar year;

 

4. Twice monthly e-newsletter featuring photos and recaps of previously held tourneys, schedules and links to upcoming tournaments, tourney tips from previous NHC Champions and qualifiers, etc.;

 

5. Special offers from Daily Racing Form, including the following:

a. - 10% discount on the purchase of any DRF.com past performances plan -- good for new and existing DRF.com members

b. - 20% discount on a single DRF Press order at check-out

 

6. Tour Membership Card containing NHC Tour account information;

 

7. Season-ending, online tourney for top 100 Tour points leaders, offering 15 seats to the 2012 or 2013 NHC;

 

8. Top 10 Tour points leaders not already qualified to the NHC will earn berths in the 2012 NHC;

 

9. Mentoring program, whereby veteran NHC Tour players and past Champions will provide tips and insights on tournament play to other Tour members;

 

10. Eligibility to receive benefits and discounts from NTRA Advantage partners;

 

11. Membership in NTRA Horseplayers' Coalition, addressing player-centric issues in Washington, DC.;

 

12. Exclusive offers and discounts on Thoroughbred racing memorabilia and collectibles; and

 

13. Exclusive offers, including access to tickets to key events, at NTRA member facilities.

 

Individuals must register at https://www.ntra.com/register/nhctour to become official NHC Tour Members.  

 

Each individual member must have his/her own e-mail address. No sharing of e-mail addresses is permitted. 

 

Members shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age prior to the start of the 2012 NHC in order to be eligible in the 2012 NHC, which is scheduled to take place in January 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. 

 

Once signed up, each NHC Tour Member will receive a Personal Identification Number (PIN). It is the NHC Tour Member's responsibility to notify tournament officials that he or she is a Member of the Tour when entering/participating in a NTRA-sanctioned handicapping event offering Tour points. 

 

Officers, board members and employees of NTRA and Daily Racing Form, and their immediate family members, are ineligible to participate in the NHC Tour. 

 

NTRA reserves the right to deny any person membership in the NHC Tour for any reason whatsoever in its sole and absolute discretion.

 

 

All NHC Tour Members will be eligible to play in NHC Tour online tournaments at NTRA.com. There will be no entry fee for these tournaments and a total of 15 spots to the 2012 NHC will be offered as prizes. The first online tournament, offering five (5) seats to the 2012 NHC, will be held January 2, 2011.  These online tournaments are for Tour members only and are not open to the general public.

 

 

All Tour events will be held during calendar year 2011. 

 

 

Each individual tournament is governed by its own rules and state laws. NTRA will record points earned based on participation in such qualifying tournaments (see Tour Points System). 

 

TOUR PRIZES AND BENEFITS                                          

 

Prize money for the most NHC Tour points accumulated pursuant to the NHC Tour rules will be based on the following scale:  1st place - $75,000; 2nd place - $25,000; 3rd place - $15,000; 4th place - $7,500; and 5th place - $2,500.

 

The 2011 NHC Tour winner will be eligible for a $2 million bonus if he/she wins the 2012 NHC.

 

Tour Members qualifying to the 2012 NHC based on Tour points will receive complimentary economy roundtrip airfare to Las Vegas (continental U.S. only) and host hotel room expenses for three nights, excluding incidentals. No substitution(s) are permitted.  The prize pool is defined as cash prizes, roundtrip airfare to the NHC and hotel accommodations at the NHC. A portion of the entry fees will be utilized to defray the cost of airfare and hotel accommodations and prizes for Tour players qualifying to the NHC.

 

It is anticipated that the final NHC Tour results will be announced within seven (7) days of the completion of the 2011 Tour and that the top five (5) prizes paid (by cash, check or casino chips in cooperation with the host NHC property, at the sole discretion of the NTRA) at the January 2012 NHC. 

 

NHC Tour Members receive automatic enrollment in the Horseplayers' Coalition, which offers interested players an opportunity to support NTRA's ongoing efforts to advance federal tax and other legislative issues which have a direct impact on pari-mutuel customers and racetracks. A link on NTRA.com will include an explanation of such issues, suggested legislative and regulatory solutions, and details regarding how interested players can support NTRA's efforts on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. 

 

NHC Tour Members receive automatic membership in NTRA Advantage, and become eligible for discounts from brands that include John Deere, Sherwin-Williams, and Office Depot, among others. For more information about NTRA Advantage, visit NTRAadvantage.com or call (866) 678-4289.  NTRA Advantage partners are subject to change.

 

 

NHC Tour standings will be determined by the total of the TOP FIVE SCORES compiled by NHC Tour Members over the course of the 2011 Tour season at each qualifying tournament designated as part of the 2011 NHC Tour. Only the top five scores earned by NHC Tour members will be included in the season long point standings. For example, if a Tour member receives ten (10) qualifying scores, only his/her best five (5) scores will count toward the final point standings.

 

Tour points are earned by finishing in the top 10% of any qualifying tournament to a maximum of 30 positions.  For example, a tournament with 50 entries will award points to the top 5 scores; a tournament with 250 entries will award points to the top 25 scores; a tournament with 500 entries will award points to the top 30 scores.  Individuals with more than one entry qualified for points in a qualifying tournament will earn points ONLY for their highest finish.

 

Approximately 10% of entries, capped at a total of 30 entries regardless of the number of total entries, in each tournament will earn points. For example, a tournament with 250 entries will award points to the top twenty-five (25) scores. 

 

Points are awarded only at tournaments which offer a qualifying spot to the NHC, however, in the case of tournaments offering multiple rounds of play leading to a final in which there are no buy-ins, the total number of points awarded at the final will be based on the total number of tournament entries in all rounds.

 

 

 

	300 Entries	200 Entries	100 Entries
Finish	Points	Points	Points
1st	3,000	3,000	3,000
2nd	2,100	2,100	2,100
3rd	1,575	1,575	1,575
4th	1,400	1,400	1,400
5th	1,225	1,225	1,225
6th	1000	1000	1000

 

 

 

	300 Entries	200 Entries	100 Entries
Finish	Points	Points	Points
7th	970	890	793
8th	941	855	702
9th	913	822	669
10th	885	788	635
11th	859	758
12th	824	720
13th	791	684
14th	760	650
15th	729	619
16th	700	587
17th	665	552
18th	632	519
19th	600	490
20th	570	460
21st	542
22nd	509
23rd	479
24th	450
25th	423
26th	398
27th	370
28th	344
29th	320
30th	300

 

With regards to multiple entries at NTRA-sanctioned tournaments, only the highest score from a single tournament will be counted toward NHC Tour standings. If a player has more than one in the money entry, only the highest point total will be used for tour scoring purposes and all of the players below will be moved up one position for scoring purposes.

 

The NHC Tour Member with the highest total points from his/her five (5) best tournaments as of December 31, 2011 will win the Grand Prize and be declared "2011 NHC Tour Champion."  

 

When a tournament has 95 entries, the NHC Tour will award points to the top 10 percent which in this case will round up to 10 places receiving points. If a tournament has 93 entries, the NHC Tour will award points to the top 10 percent which in this case will round down to 9 places receiving points. 

 

Local Tournament directors will be required to turn in official scores following each tournament. 

 

 

If, on December 31, 2011, two (2) or more NHC Tour Members are tied for first place or there is a tie among NHC Tour Members eligible for the ten (10) automatic berths  to 2012 NHC, the following  tiebreaker will go into effect: The NHC Tour Member with the highest number of top ten (10) finishes from his or her top five scores (not most points) will be declared the winner. For all other ties, prize money will be divided equally. 

 

 

Standings, including the names of the NHC Tour Members and their total accumulated points, will be posted each week on NTRA.com/NHCtour and can be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

ATTN: NTRA TOUR
NTRA
2525 Harrodsburg Road
Suite 400
Lexington, Kentucky 40504. 

 

Tour Members must notify NTRA officials of any error in standings within ten (10) days of completed and subjected tournament. 

 

Failure to comply with any of the Official Rules shall result in disqualification from the NHC Tour at the sole and absolute discretion of the NTRA. All standings and results are unofficial, pending audit and verification. All winners shall be required to sign an affidavit confirming compliance with the Official Rules. 

 

In the event any potential prize winner is disqualified or determined not to be eligible, the NTRA, in its sole and absolute discretion, may award the prize in question, to the NHC Tour Member with the next highest point total, and each successively placed NHC Tour Member will be advanced in the standings accordingly. 

 

 

The Tour and NHC will be governed by the Tour Code of Ethics (the "Code"), adopted by the NHC Players' Committee.

 

 

The NTRA shall not be responsible for any lost, interrupted, incomplete, inaccurate or incorrect capture of betting information or for computer, telephone, cable, network, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability or jumbled transmissions, service provider accessibility or availability, or unauthorized human intervention. 

 

NHC Tour Members are responsible for the payment of all local, state and/or federal taxes on monetary and other prizes won. NHC Tour members who are not United States citizens or Permanent Resident Aliens may be subject to federal withholding tax. 

 

All trademarks used in connection with the NHC Tour and the promotion thereof are the property or their respective trademark owners. 

 

By registering for the NHC Tour, and participating in Tour events, each Member expressly agrees to the use of his or her name, photograph, voice and likeness for the purpose of advertising and promotion in connection with the NHC Tour, the NHC and the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, and their respective partners and affiliates, without further compensation, except where prohibited. 

 

By registering for the NHC Tour, and participating in NHC Tour events, each member agrees to release NTRA, Daily Racing Form, Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, and their respective partners and affiliates, as well as the directors, employees and agents of each, from any and all liability, loss or damage, including but not limited to any liability, loss or damage incurred as a result of the use, misuse or acceptance of the monetary or other prize. 

 

The validity, interpretation and performance of this Agreement shall be controlled and construed under the laws of the state of Kentucky. No provision of this Agreement shall be construed against or interpreted to the disadvantage of any party by any court or other governmental or judicial authority or mediator or arbitrator by reason of any party having or being deemed to have structured or dictated such provision. 

 

All decisions as to the Official Rules and interpretations thereof are exclusively within the sole and absolute discretion of the NTRA and may be changed from time-to-time without notice. 

 

The NTRA reserves the right to cancel or modify the NHC Tour and/or the Official Rules without notice. 

 

In the event of inconsistency between these Official Rules and any other document provided in connection with the NHC Tour, the terms of these Official Rules shall be controlling. 

 

 

Information submitted on the Registration Form and any information provided in connection with the Tour will be retained by the NTRA and may be used for marketing, research or other commercial and noncommercial purposes. In addition, the NTRA and its partners and affiliates may send NHC Tour members promotions or announcements unless the Member specifically requests that the NTRA not do so in the manner provided in the Registration Form. Information regarding Members also may be provided to any entity involved in organizing the NHC Tour, Daily Racing Form and their partners and affiliates. 

 

 

NTRA and NHC Tour Member (the "Parties") agree that any disputes arising out of or in connection with this NHC Tour that the Parties cannot resolve between themselves shall be addressed in the following manner:

 

Any dispute or question arising as to the interpretation of any clause of, or the rights and liabilities of the Parties under, in any manner relating to, this Agreement, if not resolved by mediation, shall be referred to binding arbitration before a single arbitrator in Lexington, Kentucky, or at another location as mutually agreed by the Parties, under the rules and procedures of the AAA relating to the selection of arbitrators for the determination of issues. This agreement to arbitrate is supported by adequate consideration, receipt of which is acknowledged. The decision of the arbitrator will be binding, final and conclusive on the parties, and judgment on the arbitrator's decision may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. This agreement to arbitrate is binding upon the respective successors, heirs, legal representatives, assigns and transferees of the parties. The arbitrator, sua sponte or upon the written request of a Party, may issue written directions as to the scope and timetable for discovery. In the event that the arbitrator should determine that the matter(s) in dispute may be resolved by a review of a written record, and that a hearing is not necessary, each Party waives the right to a hearing. The arbitrator shall be charged to render a written opinion reciting the facts as determined and the applicable law as applied. The arbitrator may award injunctive and other equitable relief, as well as an award of monetary damages. No claim of fraud, duress or other basis for revocation of contract made with respect to the NHC Tour shall limit or preclude the enforcement of this agreement to arbitrate except as such fraud, duress or other basis for revocation shall arise with particularity to this agreement to arbitrate.