Last Chance / First Chance Winner Michelle Mount. Photo Credit: NTRA

Las Vegas (March 12, 2026) – This year’s NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), which kicks off Friday, March 13 at Horseshoe Las Vegas, will have a record 828 entries and record cash and prizes totaling $5,229,000, including more than $3,383,000 million in cash prizes.

The NHC field and purse were finalized following Thursday’s Last Chance/First Chance qualifier that attracted a record 1,012 entries and 538 individuals. Thursday’s Last Chance/First Chance Contest yielded 32 coveted berths into this weekend’s NHC and another 15 entries into the 2027 NHC for those who already had two entries into the 2026 NHC.

Michelle Mount of Glendora, California, won a seat into the 27th NHC and took home the grand prize of $30,130 in the Last Chance/First Change Contest. Mount, who put together a mythical bankroll of $106.70, edged Evan Littman of Murieta, California, who totaled $106.46.  Mount had six wins out of 11 races and eight second-place finishes. Her largest payoff came in Gulfstream Park’s Race #8, won by Pure Eloquence, returning $15.20 to win. Littman rose from seventh place to second by hitting the second race at Turfway, the final race of the contest, paying $19.46 to win and $6.18 to place. He earned $27,159 for the runner-up spot.

Thursday’s Last Chance/First Chance Contest required participants to make 11 win-pace wagers from a menu of 55 races from Aqueduct, Colonial Downs, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Oaklawn Park, Santa Anita Park, Tampa Bay Downs and Turfway Park.

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The official prize structure for the 2026 NHC Final Table on Sunday is as follows:

  1. $ 825,000
  2. $ 300,000
  3. $ 200,000
  4. $ 150,000
  5. $ 125,000
  6. $ 100,000
  7. $ 90,000
  8. $ 85,000
  9. $80,000
  10. $75,000

The NHC is the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping contest. NHC participants must qualify into the NHC through an NTRA-sanctioned contest held throughout the year. There are no buy-ins. The tournament format for the NHC is meant to be the best possible test of picking winners. Players attempt to earn the highest possible bankroll based on mythical $2 Win/Place wagers on races from nine racetracks.

The NHC field will be reduced to the top 10% of players after the first two days. The highest 10 cumulative scores after the Semifinal round on Sunday morning will fill out the Final Table. Bankrolls amassed during Day 1, Day 2 and the Semifinals round will roll over to the Final Table, with the 10 finalists settling the NHC score in seven “mandatory” assigned races.

The 27th NHC is presented by Caesars Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and RTN and is supported by official partners America’s Best Racing, Brisnet, Daily Racing Form, Equibase, EquinEdge, Morningline.io, Race Lens, Twinspires, and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

America’s Best Racing presents full coverage of the NHC with four “LIVE from LAS VEGAS! National Horseplayers Championship” livestreams, starting on Last Chance/First Chance Thursday. These livestreams, presented by MorningLine.io, are produced with Daily Racing Form and NTRA and will be hosted by ABR’s Dan Tordjman, Rachel Miller, and Alexa Zepp plus DRF personalities and will feature numerous guests throughout the four days. The four NHC shows will be streamed on ABR’s Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram channels. Click here for the full livestream schedule and daily start times.

Additionally, At the Races with Steve Byk will broadcast live on SiriusXM satellite radio (Sirius 219; XM 201) from Horseshoe Las Vegas and online at www.stevebyk.com daily, from 9-12 p.m. ET/6-9 a .m. PT on Thursday and Friday,  with bonus NHC coverage at  www.SteveByk.com/listen-live-SiriusXM slated for Saturday and Sunday 2:30-7:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. PT.

Jon Lindo, host of Thoroughbred Los Angeles, will broadcast live from 9-10 a.m. PT on Saturday, March 14, with co-host Bob Ike at www.thoroughbredla.com.

NTRA Charity Challenge Tournament on Saturday

Also, a part of the 27th NHC program will be Saturday’s 12th annual $10,000 NHC Charity Challenge presented by NTRA Charities. This invitational contest will benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), plus the winner’s own charity of choice. Approximately 100 individuals will be invited to play in the contest, which will encompass eight races from the NHC tracks on the Saturday program. A contribution of $5,000 will be made to the TAA in the name of the winner and the winner will select a charity to receive $5,000.

Mike Brunker, freelance writer and editor for Horse Racing Nation, won last year’s Charity Challenge. Brunker may face these past winners, who were all invited: Jamie Haydon (2024), Jude Feld (2023), Michael Canale (2022), Jimmy McNerney (2021), Jude Feld (2020), Dawn Lupul (2019), Ed DeRosa (2018), Ellis Starr (2017), and Matt Bernier (2016). Inaugural winner Bob Neumeier passed away in October 2021.

All information on the 27th NHC can be found here. 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 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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