LEXINGTON, KY (July 9, 2026) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and ‘At the Races’ host Steve Byk will once again partner for the ‘Beat Byk NHC Challenge’ this summer, offering one NHC tour member the opportunity to compete in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) at the Horseshoe Las Vegas from March 5-7, 2027.
“‘Beat Byk’ season is my favorite part of the year because it means great summer racing and an opportunity for a horseplayer to compete in a free contest to win a seat to Las Vegas, complimentary airfare and hotel accommodations,” Steve Byk said. “It’s a terrific introduction to contest play for many players, and I’m proud to be part of the NTRA’s ongoing effort to bring people into the sport and cultivate players.”
Last year’s contest attracted better than 11,000 entries. Every Thursday, Byk will choose the weekend stakes race that make up the week’s contest and announce them both on the radio and on his X page, @Steve_Byk.
Byk’s selections will be announced no later than each Friday. There will be 17 chances to qualify to the Beat Byk NHC Online Qualifier on September 19 during the promotional period. Listeners will be encouraged to log into https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/ where they will either use Byk’s selection to win the featured race or try to ‘Beat Byk’ by selecting another horse.
All who correctly select the winning horse in each round will advance to a NHC ‘Beat Byk’ online qualifier on Sept. 19 held on Horseplayers.com. Participants may qualify only once during the promotional period.
Membership in the NHC is required to take part in the September NHC Online qualifier.
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 named 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 through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. For more information visit NTRA.com.
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