Daily Racing Form Leads Sponsors That Keep NHC Churning at Treasure Island

DAILY RACING FORM LEADS SPONSORS THAT KEEP NATIONAL HANDICAPPING CHAMPIONSHIP CHURNING AT TREASURE ISLAND

RTN, Sovereign Stable, AmTote, CalCup, Monmouth Among NHC 16 Sponsors

LAS VEGAS (Friday, January 23, 2015) – Daily Racing Form has been a title sponsor of the National Handicapping Championship since its inception in 2000, when the first prize was $100,000. Fifteen years later, the world’s most prestigious handicapping contest will offer a record purse and first-place prize money of at least $800,000 this weekend at the 16th Daily Racing Form/NTRA NHC Presented by Racetrack Television Network, Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island Las Vegas. The event opens today with a field of more than 600 entries, which is whittled down to a “Final Table” of 10 players by Sunday afternoon.

Daily Racing Form provides complete live NHC coverage on DRF.com’s “NHC 16” event page. Visitors to the site will find a real-time stream of posts and pictures, related news, videos and interviews offering an unprecedented level of engagement for players both in Las Vegas and those following along at home. Contest editor Peter Fornatale will be on site contributing updates to DRF Live, while handicappers Matt Bernier and Dan Illman will handle video updates.

“Daily Racing Form has been a steadfast partner of the NHC since the beginning,” said NTRA Senior Vice President Keith Chamblin. “Their support, through editorial coverage, multi-platform promotion and the operation of the official online wagering site of the NHC, NHCqualify.com, has fueled record participation and record prize money. We also thank our presenting sponsors, RTN, Sovereign Stable and host Treasure Island, and the many other industry partners and brands who have chosen to affiliate with an event that is a true celebration of the horseplayer.”

Presenting Sponsors

The Racetrack Television Network (“RTN”) is an 80-channel subscription package that caters to horsemen, bettors and racing fans worldwide by  delivering every simulcast from North American and select international tracks to  televisions, computers, and mobile devices (including  iPhones, iPads, Android phones and Android tablets). The television package is available via satellite provider DISH Network, while the online and mobile packages are available directly from RTN at www.rtn.tv. RTN offers the largest simulcast menu in the pari-mutuel industry-either commercially or residentially.

Sovereign Stable, Inc. is a horseracing management company that provides a unique and affordable entry point into the highest levels of Thoroughbred racing. Partners in Sovereign enjoy full participation in the ownership experience and are offered the opportunity to spread their risk over multiple horses. Sovereign Stable, Inc. acts as Racing Manager for each partnership, overseeing the day-to-day management of each horse. Past Sovereign standouts include Grade I winner Negligee and 10 stakes winners. Sovereign’s current trainers are John Terranova and George Weaver. More information can be found at sovereignstable.com.

Treasure Island is a privately owned hotel and casino on the legendary Las Vegas Strip. At nearly 3,000 rooms, it remains the only major property to claim that unique position. Home to headline entertainment, The Sirens of TI and the original Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, Treasure Island offers entertainment and dining options for the most discriminating of taste. For more information about Treasure Island, visit www.treasureisland.com.

Partners

Participating partners include AmTote, a leading totalisator service provider; Cal Cup, racing’s premier event for California bred and sired runners, with 5 races worth a combined $1 million in purses Saturday at Santa Anita Park; HorseTourneys.com, a popular destination for online handicapping contests, including NHC qualifiers; Monmouth Park, home of the $1 million William Hill Haskell Invitational, presenting live Thoroughbred racing on the Jersey Shore; Tampa Bay Downs, presenting live Thoroughbred racing, poker and golf in sunny Tampa, Fla.; and TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks.

About NHC

In its 16th year, the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship 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 Web sites, 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. In addition to the founding title sponsor, the NHC is presented by Racetrack Television Network, Treasure Island Las Vegas and Sovereign Stable.

About the NTRA

The NTRA 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. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, NTRA.com, the Eclipse Awards, the National Handicapping Championship, NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program, and HORSE PAC, a federal political action committee. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).