Tammy Johns Leads After Day Two of 27th National Horseplayers Championship

Las Vegas (March 14, 2026) – Tammy Johns of Meridian, ID, took the overall lead after Day Two of the 27^th National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), presented by Caesars Race and Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Racetrack Television Network (RTN).

Johns, and 82 others who comprise the top 10 percent of the NHC field, will compete in the Semi-Final Round of the NHC Sunday morning. The top 10 following Sunday morning’s Semi-Final will square off at the Final Table Sunday afternoon, where the 2026 NHC Champion will take home $825,000 and an Eclipse Award as the Horseplayer of the Year.  Click here to access the full NHC Leaderboard.

Among those advancing to Sunday’s Semi-Final round was 2025 NHC winner Dan Piazza. The defending Champion currently sits in fifth place as he attempts to become the first two-time winner of the NHC.

Day Two required contestants to wager on 20 races, including eight mandatory and 12 optional races, from eight eligible tracks: Aqueduct, Colonial Downs, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream, Oaklawn, Santa Anita, Tampa Bay, Turfway Park.

“I’m feeling really good. I’m a little tired – I’ve been up handicapping a couple nights in a row, but I feel good,” said Johns, wife of 2022 NHC Tour winner Jay Johns. “My husband gave me good advice way back in the day. I used to throw all the longshots in there, and he’s like, ‘That’s a really bad strategy.’ So basically, I’m playing smallball? Get on base, get a hit, and just keep winning, whether it’s five dollars, whether it’s forty, whether it’s ten, you kinda need them all. I think that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Johns will try to become the first female to win the NHC since Judy Wagner in 2001.

VANDRIE TAKES DAY TWO TOP PRIZE

Jeff VanDrie of Carefree, AZ, was the leading point earner on Day Two of the NHC, compiling a bankroll of $202.16. He currently sits in 19^th position overall with a two-day total of $215.40. VanDrie won a $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge berth for being the Day Two leader.

“Today, my strategy was just looking at races as they come and letting the odds tell me where to go,” VanDrie said. “I wasn’t as prepared for today as I was yesterday, and since I was prepared yesterday and didn’t do very good at all, I figured today I would just take the races as they came and pick and choose as the odds floated into areas that I thought I could play. It turned out to be a working move.”

Frank Polk finished second on Day Two and won $5,000, while Alan Hoffman finished third and won $2,500.

This year’s NHC has a record cash and prizes totaling $5,229,000, including $3,238,000 million in cash prizes. The top 10% of the field is guaranteed cash prize money with the NHC Champion receiving $825,000 and an Eclipse Award. The 83rd-place finisher will win $10,000. The full prize structure can be found here.

In addition to Sunday’s Semifinal Round and Final Table, all NHC players will be eligible to participate in the Silver Sunday Contest.

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.

FELD WINS CHARITY CHALLENGE FOR THIRD TIME

Jude Feld of Lexington, KY, won Saturday’s $10,000 NHC Charity Challenge, presented by NTRA Charities and benefiting the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and Old Friends Farm.

Competing among 44 sports and racing personalities, Feld compiled a mythical bankroll of $83.16, selecting horses from eight races chosen by contest organizers. Ellis Starr of Equibase finished in second-place with a bankroll of $79.60.

Donations of $5,000 will be made to the TAA and Old Friends, a Thoroughbred retirement farm chosen by Feld, a broadcaster for Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN) and now a three-time winner of the NHC Charity Challenge.

“Hard to believe I’ve won this event three times,” said Feld. “It’s so fun for me to compete against my friends and colleagues who are super sharp. One of my best pals, Ellis Starr, was second. We did a radio show together in Lexington 25 years ago. I’m hoping Old Friends has a spot for me!”

The 27^th 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.

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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