Garry Addley of Alberta, Canada, out-dueled a field of 1,386 other participants to capture the Daily Racing Form NHC Tour Online Challenge Saturday, June 1. Addley and the second through fifth-place finishers earned a berth in the 2014 $1.5 million Guaranteed Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, Presented by Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island Las Vegas (NHC).
The “NHC Online Challenge” required contestants to place mythical $2 win and place wagers on 10 designated contest races on June 1. Addley compiled a score of $88.80 to narrowly top the field. Will Latulippe ($87.90) of Brighton, MA, finished in second-place, followed by Ron Howard ($80.80) of Midland, MI, Jim Matthew ($80.40) of Lebanon, PA, and Bob Graham ($79.40) of Broomall, PA. In addition to berths in the lucrative NHC, each player earned a $400 airline voucher and four free nights stay at the Treasure Island.
The complete standings from Saturday’s tournament can be found by clicking on the Leaderboard tab at the following link: http://games.ntra.com.
In order to be eligible to qualify for the NHC, participants must join the DRF NHC Tour (/en/nhc/become-a-member/) for $50. The NHC Tour is a yearlong bonus series offering additional prize money and qualifying berths to the NHC Final in Las Vegas. Last Saturday’s NHC Online Challenge was one of five free online contests scheduled to be held in 2014. In all, a total of 25 NHC berths will be awarded through these tournaments. The remaining free online contests will be held on the following dates:
· Saturday, June 29 (offering five qualifying berths to the NHC)
· Saturday, August 3 (five qualifying berths)
· Saturday, September 7 (five qualifying berths)
· Saturday, October 5 (five qualifying berths)
In addition to free online contests, other NHC Tour benefits include:
- $175,000 in prize money to Tour point leaders;
- Special offers from Daily Racing Form;
- Individuals finishing among the top 150 points leaders on the year-end NHC Tour Leader Board who have not already qualified to the 2014 NHC at an on-site or online NTRA-sanctioned tournament, will automatically qualify for the 2014 NHC;
- Season-ending points leader will be eligible for $2 million bonus should he or she win the January 2014 NHC;
- During the 2013 calendar year, a $3,000 bonus will be paid to anyone who finishes first in two NHC qualifying tournaments (live or online). An additional $4,000 bonus will be paid to any individual who finishes first in a third NHC qualifying tournament. An additional $5,000 bonus will be paid to any individual who finishes first in a fourth NHC qualifying tournament; and
- Weekly e-newsletter featuring player profiles, recaps of previously held tourneys, schedules and links to upcoming tournaments, etc.
The Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, Presented by Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island Las Vegas, is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers. There are no “buy-in” entries at the NHC. It is the culmination of a yearlong series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino racebooks, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. The 14 NHC Champions since the event’s inception, in chronological order, are Steven Walker, Judy Wagner, Herman Miller, Steve Wolfson Jr., Kent Meyer, Jamie Michelson, Ron Rippey, Stanley Bavlish, Richard Goodall, John Conte, Brian Troop, John Doyle, Michael Beychok and Jim Benes.
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading Thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers, horseplayers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA website, NTRA.com.