August 2023

We have officially unveiled the new logo for the 25th Anniversary of the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) which will be held March 15-17, 2024 at the Horseshoe Las Vegas. Read the full press release here.

Welcome back to the August edition of the NHC at the Post, your monthly update on all the happenings of the National Horseplayers Championship Tour and more.

July continued the NHC Tour with over two dozen contests and over 50 guaranteed seats up for grabs to the 25^th National Horseplayers Championship at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The first week of July included one of the five NHC free contests and had 1,842 entries and three guaranteed spots which were won by Keith Simon, Bruce Francisco, and Daniel Perry. Dylan Kelley celebrated Independence Day by winning his spot to the NHC who won his spot via the $125 July 4^th special on Horseplayers.com. Other weekend Horseplayers.com qualifiers are below.

The second week of contests brought 8 on track qualifiers for #NHC2024 and the first on track qualifying spots of July. The qualifiers at Horseshoe on July 7^th included 2013 NHC Champion Jim Benes and William Miller. The qualifiers from July 8^th were Troy Bandemer, Tim Stupka, Frank Mustari, and Vincent Easley. Los Alamitos also hosted a $500 on track qualifying event on July 8^th that awarded 2 spots to NHC2024 to Len Hanson and David Gutfreund.

Week three brought almost a dozen guaranteed spots and one on track qualifying event, the William Moore Classic, held at Delaware Park with spots awarded to Eric Wing and Brendan Fay. Wing was the longtime master of ceremonies at the NHC and we’re excited to welcome him back as a player on our 25^th anniversary.

The fourth week of competition included Monmouth Park’s $1000 Haskell Online Challenge that awarded 2 guaranteed spots to Frank Polk and David Browning.

The final weekend of contests in July awarded five players NHC seats from the on track contests at Del Mar and Treasure Island. The winners from Del Mar were Brett Wiener, Todd Faro, and Linda Rodriguez. Robert Ruocco and Orazio Panaggio from Treasure Island contest will be joining them at NHC 2024.

Horseplayers.com & Horsetourneys.com awarded 36 spots to 32 horseplayers to the 25^th National Horseplayers Championship throughout the month of July to the following: 2022 NHC Tour Champion Jay Johns, Chris Cupples (double qualified), Mark Heider, Steve Nemetz, Louis Masry, Ciaran Thornton, Jeff Bussan, Wendy Long (double qualified), Alexander Calzi, Tom Quinones, Terence Channon, Basil Devito (double qualified), David Decauwer, Albion Benton, Dave Nichols (double qualified), Jay Coatta, Darryl Lacy (double qualified), Robert Grace, Todd Faro (double qualified), Mike McIntyre, Sean Nolan, Geoffrey Schutt, Gilbert Maldonado, William Shurman, Michael Marlaire, Jim Sebes, Thomas Cassidy, Kevin Costello, Matthew Ache, Ben Gibson, Mark Richards, and Jason Alonzo.

Keith Simon

Frank Mustari

David Gutfreund

Frank Polk

Steve Nemetz

Wendy Long

Todd Faro

All NHC2024 Qualifiers

Tom Cannell

Q&A with Bronson Cambra

Hometown: Waianae, Hawaii

Occupation: United States Army (Active Duty, a year from military retirement)

Do you have any children? One son 6, (can’t forget my wife Mandi who fully supports me lol)

Pets? One dog named Ikaika (pronounced Eee-kai-kuh) which is Hawaiian for strength.

What was the first contest you played in and when? It was a private tourney through the Facebook group “live and breathe horse racing” which I won last fall.

What do you like most about handicapping contests? I really like the live version of tournaments because you get an opportunity to watch the ML change and see the horses in the paddock.

What is your favorite racetrack? Well, the US Army had me stationed at Fort Campbell KY and Fort Knox KY for almost 10 years combined and I spent a lot of weekends at Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and Franklin KY at KY Downs a couple times. All my betting experiences started at Churchill Downs so I have to go with them.

How did you get interested in handicapping contests? To be honest, I’ve been pretty good at handicapping and hit a few big exotic payouts, but I have to go back to the live and breathe horseracing Facebook group cause they turned me onto private tourneys and then convinced me I was good enough to make it in the NHC and here I am today, less than a year in the NHC which I registered for the first time last fall and I qualified as a first timer.

When and where did you qualify for the 2023 NHC? On June 24th, I placed 5th in the Live NHC tourney on horseplayers and decided to give it another go and won my seat placing 1st the following day June 25th on Horsetourneys.

Tell us about the day you qualified for the NHC: Living in Hawaii I have an opportunity handicap my preliminary picks the night prior and the following morning adjust my picks based off of scratches. So, I actually set a lot of my picks on horsetourneys that morning in Hawaii and let it go cause my wife sent me to get some groceries. With three races left and a shopping cart full of groceries at the Navy Commissary at Pearl Harbor, I saw that I had a chance while standing in the bread aisle. I stood there watching the last two races and my heart was pounding, so I stuck with #7 horse at Laurel Park race #10 that I picked and won, and saw that I had a comfortable lead. At this point I started doing the math to see if the other betters could beat me with a 20/1 longshot, so I looked for a contrarian play in hopes that everyone would be on other horses and not my pick. It turned out that way and I was the only one I think in the top 10 that picked the #5 at Belmont which didn’t place or win but my lead was enough to clinch first place and my first seat at the NHC in Vegas. My heart was pounding and let’s just say that people were asking me if I was ok in the aisle that day.

What is your favorite restaurant in Las Vegas? When I go to Vegas I usually stay downtown and like the atmosphere around Freemont Street. I usually just eat at the all-inclusive buffets at the hotels out there.

What do you like best about the NHC? My favorite are the featured races. In my opinion it sort of evens the playing field by throwing several different tracks together into one tourney and the person that lives in the same area doesn’t have a total advantage over someone like me who lives out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I also like the live tourneys because it gives us an opportunity to watch the horses in the paddock and adjust our picks on the fly. I also like the credit for renewing your NHC membership too.

What are your ideas to improve the NHC? One of my biggest gripes is when I see the exact same number across the board for all races. The odds of someone liking the #1 horse in 12 straight races or any one post position across the board in 10-12 races is very slim. I get irritated when I see that and to me it feels like a form of cheating, but I guess it is possible and on the flip side the odds of them winning every race that way is slim, and they are just throwing their money away at that point. Maybe more checks and balances for stuff like this but all in all loving it so far.

Beat Byk NHC Challenge

The Beat Byk NHC Challenge is back and is already in full swing after beginning July 15^th. The Challenge will continue running through September 4 and the leaderboard currently stands at www.ntra.com/beatbyk.

Last year’s challenge drew nearly 1,000 entries, with Matt Myers finishing on top and winning his berth to the NHC. Full rules and more information can be found on www.ntra.com/beatbyk.

King of the Turf is Back

Back by popular demand for the third consecutive year, Kentucky Downs is once again hosting the online, live-money King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge which will ultimately crown the King of the Turf and give away at least 3 seats to the 2024 NHC.

Last year’s winner Tom Rapps had this to say about the Challenge, “Winning last year’s KOT was the highlight of my horseplaying year! An NHC seat, BCBC entry, cash, and a Championship belt – that’s my idea of a superfecta. I am looking forward to defending my title and would definitely encourage those players who might be on the fence about participating to get involved. Good luck to all fellow horseplayers playing for second place.”

The King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge will feature three stand-alone, one-day betting contests, this year on opening-day Thursday Aug. 31 with a $400 buy-in, Sunday Sept. 3 ($500 buy-in) and Saturday Sept. 9 ($800 buy-in). Half of competitors’ buy-ins are earmarked for their live bankrolls with the remainder going toward purses and prizes, which include 2024 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) packages and $10,000 buy-in berths for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.

The cumulative winner, who must compete in all three tournaments, will be feted as the King of the Turf National Handicapping Champion, receiving a 2023 BCBC seat and the Global Tote belt at the 2024 NHC awards dinner in Las Vegas.

More information on the contest can be found here.

Del Mar and Little Red Feather Racing Charity Challenge

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) and LRF Cares, a 501(c)(3) sponsored charity arm of Little Red Feather Racing have teamed up to host their annual Charity Handicapping Challenge. The challenge will be hosted Sunday August 13, on-track at Del Mar or on TVG.com. The $600 buy-in will yield $30,000 in total prizes, including 2 NHC seats. A portion of all proceeds will benefit LRF Cares thoroughbred aftercare.

“Horseplayers have always said they want to contribute to our industry, more than just with their plays,” said Gary Fenton of Little Red Feather Racing. “We’re so fortunate they choose our charity contest and support LRF Cares year in and out.”

Full rules and all additional information can be found here.

Woodbine King’s Plate Online Contest

For the first time since 2019, Woodbine will be hosting the Woodbine’s King’s Plate Contest on Sunday, August 20^th. The $1,000 online contest will guarantee two NHC seats.

FREE Contest August 27

The fourth of five free NHC online qualifiers is Sunday August 27. The top three finishers in the contest will earn automatic berths to the 25th Annual NHC, which is slated to be held at the Horseshoe Las Vegas next March 15-17, 2024. An additional $3,000 in HorsePlayers credits will be distributed to the top finishers of the contest.

The final free contest of the year will be Sunday, October 8.

Participants must be a 2023 NHC Tour member to be eligible to win a qualifying spot. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership. Individuals also must be registered at HorsePlayers.com (free).

August NHC Qualifiers

Del Mar

August 13 | $600 Little Red Feather Charity Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID

Kentucky Downs

August 31 | $400 King of the Turf – 3 seats guaranteed. ONLINE

Laurel Park

August 19 | $500 NHC Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK

Monmouth Park

August 5 | $500 Whitney Day Monmouth/Saratoga Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID
August 26 | $800 Travers Day Monmouth/Saratoga Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID

Woodbine