January 2024
It may have been a busy holiday season but that didn’t slow down the contests or NHC qualifiers in December.
The month kicked off with the Lone Star Park Handicapping Tournament, with its $1,000 buy-in live money format. Three NHC seats were awarded to Karl Broberg, Amy Brantley, and Kevin Willett. That same day in the Hoosier State, the Horseshoe Indianapolis awarded four NHC seats to Pat Cronin, Kevin Harrell, Mark Myrick, and Robert Mack. That same day Jesse Temple won a seat to the NHC in the Saratoga Bets contest.
On December 9, Monmouth Park hosted a $300 NHC qualifier which saw Bill Rendino take home his second consecutive win at Monmouth Park. He beat the field of 144 entries to take home a $7,050 cash prize and a seat to the NHC. Second place finisher Frank Gryboski also took home an NHC seat.
On the opposite coast on December 16, Los Alamitos hosted a $500 NHC qualifier which awarded berths to Colin Sumner and Jean Huttepain. That same weekend Remington Park hosted a contest which will be sending Vince Piscitelli to the NHC as did Canterbury Park which awarded a seat to Mike Yurczyk.
Christmas came late on December 26th for those playing in Santa Anita’s Opening Day Challenge. Played on track and online with a $1,500 entry fee awarded seats to Lawrence Kahlden and Jeff Arthur.
The year finished off with many seats being awarded online. Horseplayers.com gave away 33 seats to Joshua Ochlech, Jeff VanDrie, Robert Courtney, Jerome Linderman, Patrick Kennedy, Marvin Streeter, Ray Arsenault, Karl Barth, Steve Nemetz, Jack Schwartz, Jeff Hartz, Randy Bauer, Ronald de la Gardelle, Ernest Hey Jr., David Mullin, Steven Gruettner, Christopher Olsson, Ralph Magnetti, Derek Dickson, Greg Knepper, Mark Wilgard, James Michelson, Jr., Kip Ginsburg, Shad Walton, Tony Brice, Rich Averill, Rocco Lombardi, Rick Hamilton, Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Resnik, Jean Demarco, Steve Decaspers, and Michael Tomatz. Horsetourneys.com gave away eight seats to Robert Masterton, Andrew Weiss, Samuel Robertson, Michael Ryan, Michael Guadagno, Tom O’Connor, Hubert Gaffney, and George Turner.
Jeff Arthur
William Rendino
Patrick Kennedy
Greg Knepper
Jerome Linderman
Steve Nemetz and Wendy Long
Q&A with Wendy Long and Steve Nemetz
Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Occupation: Steve – Electrical Engineer; Wendy – Freelance Sportswriter
Do you have any children? Pets? We have no human children but over many years we have been “parents” to a variety of critters such as rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas (all rescue or adoptions) and horses. Currently we have two horses – former racehorses named Laddie and Coco.
Who started playing contests first, or did you get into it together? We got into it together – it all started when Steve saw an ad in the DRF for the Breeders Cup Betting Challenge – we started doing qualifiers and competed in our first BCBC in 2012 – Wendy finished fifth that year and earned a seat in the 2013 NHC in Vegas – Steve later went online and also qualified for that NHC and we had such a good time we have been keen tournament players ever since!
What do you like most about handicapping contests? Going to live tournaments, such as NHC or BCBC, it is great fun to put a face to names we see while competing in online contests. It’s funny how we tend to knock heads with the same people in cyberspace and it is always great to finally meet them in person.
Do you get competitive in contests when you are both playing? Absolutely!! We both have different styles of handicapping and often our picks are quite different – although when we both arrive at the same longshot by very different roads it is uncanny how often that longshot comes in. Wendy is probably the most competitive personality – she has a take no prisoners approach to contests and competitors that would include Steve if he is in the mix!! The one tradition we have is if one of us does well in a tournament – winning money, or a seat in something – the winner takes the other out for a nice dinner!! So, ultimately, we both win even if one of us loses!!!
What is your favourite racetrack? Well, we have a local racetrack called Hastings so that is probably where we spend most of our time. In terms of racing and making money wagering over the years, Steve likes Santa Anita and Wendy has a longtime love and financial affinity for Churchill Downs.
When and where did you qualify for the 2024 NHC? We don’t often get a chance to compete in live tournaments because of where we live, so most of our qualifications have to come online, either via Horseplayers or Horsetourneys sites, and that is what we did to earn our seats for the 2024 NHC.
What is your favourite restaurant in Las Vegas? Ah, easy one – La Cave at The Wynn. We have a longstanding tradition that when we go to Vegas, our first night meal is always at La Cave – a nice bistro with sharing plates. We have been doing this for years and years!!!
What do you like best about the NHC? We just love the atmosphere – getting 500 kindred spirits all in one room and yelling like crazy as the horses come down the lane. It is so much fun because most of our friends and family who are non-horseplayers don’t understand this stuff so it is great fun to spend time with fellow horseplayers!
What are your ideas to improve the NHC? We are very happy that it was moved to March – the January dates often had bad weather, scratches and short fields – the later date allows for better weather, bigger fields and the chance for more turf races (which Wendy loves!). This is nitpicky but…. We both have two entries and we both always try to get two entr