2026 National Horseplayers Championship: Who’s Who at the 27th NHC

Lexington, Ky. (March 6, 2026) – The 27th National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) presented by Caesars Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Racetrack Television Network (RTN) kicks off Friday, March 13, and runs through Sunday, March 15, at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The field of approximately 625 individuals — comprising more than 800 entries—ranging in age, experience, and number of NHC appearances, will yield one ultimate winner, who will go home with $825,000 and an Eclipse Award as the 2026 Horseplayer of the Year. (The complete NHC field, number of individual participants and total entries will be determined by participation in the Last Chance / First Chance Contest on Thursday, March 12 at The Horseshoe. A record field of over 1,000 entries is anticipated.)

The competition features horseplayers representing 46 states, Canada, New Zealand, and Panama. A total of 117 contestants (entering Thursday’s Last Chance / First Chance Contest) are first-year participants.  The youngest competitor in the field is 21-year-old Jason Santilla of Chicago and the oldest horseplayer is Bill Alberg, 90, of Denver.

Sally Goodall, Paul Shurman, and Trey Stiles maintained their record-extending number of years participating as all are back for their 24^th appearance at the NHC. Bill Shurman (Paul’s brother) has played in the NHC 23 times, followed by three players with 21 years of experience: Robert Bertolucci, Dennis Decauwer, and Mitch Schuman.

Dan Piazza Returns for Title Defense

A total of eight previous NHC winners will be returning to attempt to become the first repeat winner of the NHC. Joining defending champion Dan Piazza of Chicago, will be  Paul Matties Jr. (2016) of Ballston Spa, New York, Ray Arsenault (2017) of Thornhill, Ontario Canada,  Chris Littlemore (2018) of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, Scott Coles (2019) of Grayslake, Illinois, Justin Mustari (2021), Des Plains, Illinois,  David Harrison (2022) of Webster, New York, and Mike Gillum (2025) of Fishers, Indiana.

Bonus Player and Notable Entrants

Dave Nichols, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, the 2025 NHC Tour Champion is eligible for a $5 million bonus if he can capture this year’s NHC.

Other notable players in this year’s NHC include NBC Sports analysts and handicappers Eddie Olczyk and Matt Bernier; Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy; Former WWE Executive Basil DeVito Jr.; Gary Fenton of  Little Red Feather racing stable;  Richard Bengson, Starlight Racing partner and Corbin Blumberg, Starlight Racing manager; 2025  Jim Nace Award as the NHC Tour’s Rookie of the Year Larry Pirollo; NHC Hall of Famer Roger Cettina, an executive with the construction firm developing the new Belmont Park; Marshall Gramm and Clay Sanders of the racing partnership Ten Strike Racing; and Matthew Ache, a partner in the West Point Thoroughbreds racing stable.

All of the NHC participants qualified via contests hosted by 32 racetracks, casino race books, handicapping contest websites, Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) platforms, simulcast distribution networks, horsemen’s associations, media outlets, and other Thoroughbred racing organizations. Outlets that held qualifiers to the 2026 NHC included At the Races with Steve Byk, Breeders’ Cup, Canterbury Park, Delaware Park, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, TourneyBets, FanDuel TV, Florida  Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Gulfstream Park, Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, Horseplayers.com, Horsetourneys.com, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Horseshoe Las Vegas, Keeneland, Kentucky Downs, Laurel Park, Little Red Feather, Lone Star Park, Los Alamitos, Monmouth Park, NTRA, Oaklawn Park, Race Lens, Remington Park, Sam Houston Race Park, Santa Anita Park, Sciota Downs, Tampa Bay Downs, TwinSpires, Woodbine and Xpressbet.

All information on the 27^th NHC can be found here,  including the full Schedule of Events and the Official 2026 Rules and more. To sign up for the 2026 NHC Tour and win your way to next year’s NHC visit to www.ntra.com/membership.

About the NHC

The NHC is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities, and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards and is recognized as the Horseplayer of the Year. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc.

About the NTRA

The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., and Washington, D.C., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing.

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