LEXINGTON, Ky. (January 31, 2020) – Next Thursday’s Last Chance/First Chance Contest at Bally’s Las Vegas represents the final opportunity for players to qualify for the following day’s 21st NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Presented by Racetrack Television Network, Caesars Entertainment and Bally’s.
This year’s NHC is expected to offer a record prize pool of $2.95 million in addition to hotel and travel awards totaling $850,000.
An NHC-eve fixture, the Last Chance/First Chance Contest on February 6 includes races from Aqueduct, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park. The tournament format requires participants to make a total of 13 event WIN/PLACE wagers (seven mandatory and six player’s choice). A $500 entry fee must be paid in full prior to participating in the tournament. Registration will take place next Monday-Wednesday in the Bally’s Race and Sports Book and next Thursday at the Bally’s Event Center between 7:00-11:00 a.m. PT. Participants may purchase up to four entries in the Last Chance/First Chance Contest.
The top 10 places will receive a qualifying spot to NHC2020 provided they are a current 2019 NHC Tour member. One additional qualifying spot to the NHC will be awarded for every 20 entries over the first 240 entries.
In addition to guaranteed spots to the NHC, the Last Chance/First Chance contest also will offer three spots to the 2021 NHC. Only individuals who already have won two qualifying spots into NHC 2020 may compete in the Last Chance/First Chance Tournament for a spot in NHC 2021. A player must be a 2020 NHC Tour member to be eligible to win a 2021 NHC spot and receive 2020 NHC Tour points.
Draft Kings is the exclusive sponsor of the NHC Final Table. Official Partners of the 2020 NHC include Daily Racing Form, TVG, Insurance Office of America (IOA), and NYRA Bets.
To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership.
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. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc.
About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., 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 Horseplayers Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).