LEXINGTON, Ky. (Thursday, April 30, 2015) – The races have been selected for Saturday’s  National Handicapping Championship (NHC) FREE Kentucky Derby Day online qualifying contest at www.NHCQualify.com.

The top four finishers in Saturday’s contest will earn automatic berths to the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, to be held in early 2016 at Treasure Island Las Vegas. Each berth includes NHC entry, four nights at Treasure Island and travel reimbursement (up to $400). A player who already has qualified for the 2016 NHC may earn a second seat in this contest by finishing in the top four. The top 10 percent of finishers will earn shares of what is expected to be a record number of NHC Tour points, with the total points available to be determined on a sliding scale according to the number of entrants.

The tournament format is similar to that of the NHC, requiring mythical $2 Win/Place wagers ($2 to Win and $2 to Place) in each of 10 designated races. The contest is free but open only to NHC Tour members. To join the Tour and view Tour benefits, go to /en/nhc/2015-become-a-member.

Registration can be accessed directly at https://www.nhcqualify.com/buy_advanced.aspx. Players who aren’t regular NHCQualify.com users are encouraged to sign up at least 24 hours in advance, as technical support is expected to be busy on Saturday.

The Derby Day NHC contest races are:

Time (ET)             Track                     Race #

 

2:59 p.m.                 Churchill             8

3:36                        Belmont             7

3:43                        Churchill             9

4:00                        Gulfstream          7

4:30                        Santa Anita         5

4:44                        Churchill            10

5:00                        Belmont             9

5:30                        Santa Anita         7

6:00                        Santa Anita         8

6:34                        Churchill            11

“Saturday’s three and half hour free NHC online contest includes six highly competitive stakes races and concludes with the greatest two minutes in sports,” said Keith Chamblin, chief operating officer of the NTRA.

The Derby Day contest marks the second of five free online qualifiers to be hosted by the NTRA this year. Dates for the remaining three will be announced periodically throughout the season.

Full contest details, including rules and an explanation of the format, can be found on the NHC Qualify website at http://www.nhcqualify.com/howtoplay.aspx.

For more information on the NHC and NHC Tour, visit www.ntra.com/en/nhc.

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 NTRA Top Thoroughbred and NTRA Top 3-Year-Old weekly media polls; 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).