Lexington, Ky. (March 10, 2026) – During the first day of last year’s National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), Dan Piazza recalls seeing his name a top the leader board about three races into the tournament and joking to his colleagues at the table in the Horseshoe Las Vegas to get a good look at it because “I’ll never be up there again.”

That was about the only prediction that the Chicago native got wrong that weekend as he led the NHC nearly wire to wire to become the 26th winner of racing’s biggest handicapping tournament.

Piazza returns to Las Vegas this week, along with more than 600 players for the 27th NHC, presented by Caesars Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas and Racetrack Television Network (RTN). The winner receives an $825,000 first prize and an Eclipse Award as Horseplayer of the Year.

Co-owner of a Chicago boutique financial planning firm with his wife Denice, Dan Piazza’s journey to the top of the horseplayer world began 30 years ago with trips to the Kentucky Derby, developing an avid interest in the sport, and to eventually gravitating into racehorse ownership.

“Shock and awe,” is the way Piazza, 66, described his emotions about winning the 2025 NHC. “It came out of the blue.” And considering his past performances at the NHC, indeed it had. In four previous NHC appearances, he had failed to crack the top 100 players in the final results. But last year, “preparation met opportunity” and it all came to a crossroads for Piazza.

“My style is not to play too many longshots,” said Piazza of his NHC betting approach. “I look to play horses at 3 or 4-1 and occasionally go after a 10-1 shot on optional races, while trying to cash on shorter prices in the mandatory races.”

That strategy netted him 17 winners over the first two days of NHC 2025, and allowed him to build a comfortable margin and hold off a fast-closing Tom Boyd at Sunday’s Final Table to finish first with a $356.52 mythical bankroll, and a $4.30 margin of victory.

“The last year has been very exciting,” Piazza admitted, and one in which he received added recognition and access to more  tournaments. By winning last year’s NHC, Piazza gained free entry into the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Del Mar during the World Championships. He finished 20th just missing an appearance in the top 10 when Gezora (GR) beat She Feels Pretty in the 2025 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Further recognition came at the 55th Annual Eclipse Awards in January in Palm Beach, Fla., when he accepted his Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the year. In his remarks, Piazza gave special tribute to those who work in Thoroughbred industry and to horseplayers across the country.

See link to Piazza’s Eclipse Award acceptance speech below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NWxrDkzk50

Piazza’s horse racing interest began in the 1980s when friends got him access to a box at the Kentucky Derby, where he caught the racing bug. He has returned to Churchill Downs year after year for the Run for the Roses. Over time, the descendants of his friends began joining him at the Derby and turned to Piazza looking for winners.

“They looked at me to figure out the puzzle,” he recalled, and that met with some success. So Piazza figured he would  try his hand at online handicapping tournaments, beginning about eight years ago. Embarking on the horseplayer contest world, Piazza also learned about the challenge, excitement and prestige of the NHC through podcasts hosted by Jason Beem and Scott Carson.  Piazza’s interest continued to rise as he entered tournaments on horseplayers.com and HorseTourneys.com. He qualified for his first NHC in 2022.

Piazza’s expanded curiosity in racing grew to where he got involved in racehorse ownership. His current syndicate, Crown’s Way Racing, has horses in Illinois and Kentucky, and retains trainers Kelsey Danner and Armando Hernandez.  The stable has five 2-year-olds scheduled to sell in Ocala later this month.

No player has won two National Horseplayer Championships. Piazza’s reaction to winning this year’s NHC? “That would be over the top. It would be a fantastic and humbling moment  to be in that room with all those great handicappers.” And on a personal note, “It would make my wife very happy, like we could finish the rest of our house.”

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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