NHC at the Post

July 2022

Welcome to the first edition of the Monthly NHC at the Post. We are excited to provide you a monthly update on all the happenings of the National Horseplayers Championship Tour and more. June was an exciting month to be a part of the Tour. Both online and in-person, from east coast to west, events were jam packed and we could barely rein in the fun.

New records were set in the Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge at Monmouth Park with a record of 290 entries awarding a record 25 NHC prize packages plus additional cash and prizes. The next Monmouth Park contest will be the $1,000 Haskell Handicapping Challenge hosted online later this month.

On the west coast, three contests were hosted by Xpressbet and Santa Anita throughout the month awarding 6 NHC prize packages to Allen Harberg, Corey Lonberger, Darren Schweiger, Luke Peltz, Dylan Donnelly and Pete Acocella. Dylan Donnelly won the Santa Anita Closing Day Challenge turning a $1,000 live bankroll into $29,088.44, plus a $5,000 on-track bonus and won his second NHC seat. Xpressbet and Santa Anita will be teaming up for more contests awarding NHC seats beginning August 27 with a $1500 Travers Stakes Challenge and more.

Back in Illinois, Hawthorne Race Course hosted two $500 live bankroll contests awarding a total of 6 NHC seats. The five skilled qualifiers were Philip Lam, Ryan Patrick Scully, Jordan Jayne, Michael Mulvihill and James Pauly, who won an NHC seat on each contest day. Ryan Scully finished second at NHC 2022 winning $200,000. Hawthorne Race Course will be home to another NHC qualifier in late September.

While the tracks were heating up, there was no horsing around with the competition online. Horseplayers.com hosted nine online NHC qualifiers in June awarding a total of 20 NHC seats. Notably, Judy Wagner, 2001 NHC Champion and Hall of Famer, will be making her sixteenth NHC appearance next March. Don’t miss out on the Horseplayers.com special $100 July 4 ^th contest guaranteeing 4 NHC seats. Horsetourneys.com hosted three contests in June awarding 6 NHC seats. Congratulations to Zachary Ledford, James Henry, Steven Meier, Ernest Hey, Jr., Amy Brantley, and Chris Littlemore, who will be back at the 2023 NHC to defend his 2018 title. The next Horsetourneys.com contest will be held this Sunday July 3.

Ryan Patrick Scully

Judy Wagner

Monmouth Park

Dylan Donnelly (front left)

Chris Littlemore

David (Trey) M Stiles III
Houston, TX

Q&A with Trey Stiles

What do you like best about the NHC?
The players.

How did you get interested in handicapping contests?
I was lucky to have early success qualifying for the NHC my first few years on minimal attempts. Once I got to Vegas for the first time I was hooked.

When and where did you qualify for the 2023 NHC?
I am double qualified on Horseplayers.com.

Tell us about the day you qualified for the 2023 NHC
I played a Friday Pick and Pray on Horseplayers.com so there was no strategy after the first race. After six races I had $0. I hit the last four winners to finish first out of 628 entries. I was driving to Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) during rush hour the last four races to do a pre-race show as the rally occurred. I kept pulling over to watch the last races on my phone. I was almost late and excited when I finally made it there!

What is your favorite restaurant in Las Vegas?
Bonito Michoacan Mexican Restaurant.

Click here for the full Q&A

Send us your photos!

We love seeing all the action of the NHC Tour when we can’t be there. If you are at a contest or playing at home, take some photos and please share your pictures with us.

Click Here to Submit Your Contest Photos

SPICE UP YOUR SUMMER WITH FOUR ROSES
BOURBON COCKTAILS

The Sweet and Spicy

INGREDIENTS:

1½ fl. oz. Four Roses Small Batch
6 slices of Strawberries
2-3 slices Jalapeño (remove seeds for less spice)
½ fl. oz. Lime Juice
3 fl. oz. Barritt’s Ginger Beer
Spicy BBQ Rub (as garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Use lime to wet half the rim of a Collins glass, then dip rim in spicy BBQ seasoning/rub. Squeeze a quarter of the lime into the glass. Add sliced strawberries, 2-3 sliced jalapeños, and muddle. Add Four Roses Small Batch, ice, and a small pour of ginger beer, then give a quick stir. Add more ice and top with ginger beer. Garnish with jalapeño slices and lime wheel (strawberry slice optional).

Notes:
When choosing a rub, look for peppers and sugar in the ingredients and opt for one with thicker granules for the best, most flavorful rim. For less fruit chunks, shake ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, then strain over fresh ice.

July NHC Qualifiers

Beat Byk | July 14-September 7 | FREE | ONE NHC seat awarded │No NHC Tour points awarded

Del Mar – July 30-31 | $3,500 live bankroll/$1,500 entry fee | TWO NHC seats guaranteed

Horseplayers.com – July 1,2,4,8,10,15,16,17,22,23,29 & 30

Note: Special July 4th $100 NHC qualifier │ FOUR NHC seats guaranteed

Horsetourneys.com – July 3,9,14,24,31

Note: Special July 14th Saratoga Opening Day NHC qualifier │ ONE NHC seat guaranteed

Los Alamitos – July 4 | $400 live bankroll/$100 entry fee | TWO NHC seats guaranteed

Lone Star Park – July 15 & 16 | July 15 Feeder & July 16 $1,000 live bankroll tournament | FOUR NHC seats guaranteed on July 16

Monmouth Park – July 23 | $1,000 Haskell Challenge | TWO NHC seats guaranteed

Treasure Island – July 23 & 24 | $600 Wager to Win XXVII | TWO NHC seats guaranteed

NTRA Visits the World Series of Poker

This month, the NTRA team traveled to Las Vegas to check out the World Series of Poker and meet with the Caesars Team. The World Series of Poker is using the Bally’s Event Center and the Paris Convention Center for their event, the same home of the 2023 National Horseplayers Championship. The incredible space took over a month and a half to set up and is welcoming tens of thousands of poker players to Las Vegas from May 31 to July 19. The echoing sound of poker chips shuffling was all you could hear as players all competed to try to win a gold bracelet. While that’s a little different than the energy of the NHC, with 500 plus horseplayers yelling at the huge monitors, we definitely will take the noise! NTRA is actively working with Caesars to collaborate and make this year’s NHC the best event yet. We hope to see you in March and maybe you will see a few ideas we borrowed from the WSOP.

Beat Byk Returns

Beginning July 16 and running through September 4, you have 16 free chances to qualify to win an entry into the free Beat Byk NHC Qualifier on September 17.

Tune into www.stevebyk.com and “At the Races” on Sirius XM to hear Steve’s picks in the upcoming weekend’s stakes races then go to www.ntra.com/beatbyk to make your own selections. If you “Beat Byk” you are entered into the Beat Byk NHC Qualifier!