July 2023
Welcome back to the July edition of the NHC at the Post, your monthly update on all the happenings of the National Horseplayers Championship Tour and more.
Summer kicked off HOT this June on the NHC Tour, with nearly two dozen contests awarding 73 seats to the 25th National Horseplayers Championship.
The first weekend alone saw 35 qualifiers, in large part because of Monmouth Park’s anticipated $2,000 Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge on Saturday, June 3 (more on that to come). Sunday, June 4, Monmouth Park also hosted a $300 qualifier where Chuck O’Mara and Mike Samples both qualified to NHC2024. Michael Wilkening won Hawthorne’s Spring Online Showdown which wrapped up on June 4. The free online contest started on April 2, and full results can be found here.
The second weekend in June saw history be made when Archangelo won the Belmont Stakes and Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race. That same day, Bryan Carney and John Kwan took home NHC seats in the Santa Anita $1,500 Belmont Challenge. Full results of the contest can be found here.
Father’s Day weekend played host to the NHC Father’s Day Special. This contest featured a $125 buy in with three NHC seats guaranteed. The 2007 NHC Champion Stanley Bavlish earned his second NHC seat, with Dale Day and Edward Chambers earning their first. Xpressbet, along with Santa Anita hosted two contests on Father’s Day weekend. The $500 Santa Anita Challenge on Saturday awarded Gary Wright and Ron Peltz their NHC seats. Darren Schweiger and Chris Podratz won seats on Sunday in the Santa Anita $1,500 Closing Day Challenge.
The month closed out with on-track contests, hosted at Lone Star Park and Hawthorne Race Course. The Lone Star Park Summer Betting Challenge had a $1,000 buy in, live money format, and no entry fee. Mark Elliott, Louie Ucciferi, Craig Dixon and Greg Bone all were awarded seats to Las Vegas. Hawthorne Race Course had a whopping 172 entries on Saturday and 165 entries on Sunday at their on-track contests. Five NHC seats were awarded to Ed DeRosa, Jim Benes, Rock Edwards, Steven Simonovic, Matt Scholton, and Matthew Bickey. Eddie Olczyk took home the grand prize at the Hawthorne Invitational when he turned his $2,500 bankroll into $52,921.10 by hitting an epic wager on an 80-1 longshot in the seventh race of the day.
Over the course of the month, Horseplayers.com awarded seats to Emad Himaya, Albion D. Benton, Rob Henie, Terrence Frank, Chris Fallica, Nick Kochanski, Stanley Bavlish, Scott McKeever, Kenneth McMahan, Ryan Mueller, Ronald Tang, Stephen Wolfson, Stephen Berdar, Hubert Gaffney, Brian Gross, Norma Mendoza, Mark Stovall, Howard Johnson, Kevin Engelhard, and Michael Bailey. Also online, Horsetourneys awarded seats to Timothy Jacobs, Bernard Reilly, Bronson Cambra, and Tony Marzolla.
Albion Benton
Stanley Bavlish
Michael Bailey
Craig Dixon
Mark Elliott
Ryan Mueller
Norma Mendoza
Tom Cannell
Q&A with Tom Cannell
Hometown: Reside in Dade City, FL (via Canton, Ohio)
Occupation: Retired insurance executive. Horse owner, Member of the Florida Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association Board of Directors (Gulfstream Park), and Board of Directors Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) Lexington, Ky.
What was the first contest you played in and when? Began playing in the NHC contests about 5 years ago after entering the FHBPA contest.
What do you like most about handicapping contests? Enjoy matching wits with some of the best handicappers in the country.
What is your favorite racetrack? Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita.
How did you get interested in handicapping contests? Been handicapping races since college days at Thistledown and Waterford Park. Didn’t realize that the NHC provided these contests but when I tried one, I was captured.
When and where did you qualify for the 2024 NHC? Recently qualified online for 2024.
Tell us about the day you qualified for the NHC at the track or online (how it went, your strategy, the energy, etc.) Day (5/13) started by qualifying in the early bird for the afternoon feature. In the feature I decided to play as a P&P rather than the live event method of the day. I was near the top all day and managed to finish 2nd to win my seat. It was exciting and rewarding since I had so many close calls last year losing once by 40 cents and then 80 cents.. My winning margin this year was by a thin dime. It was a relief to have qualified so early in the season, but I will certainly play on.
What is your favorite restaurant in Las Vegas? Favorite restaurants in Vegas is a tie between Smith & Wollensky’s and Barry’s Prime in Circa.
What do you like best about the NHC? Appreciate the professional administration of the NHC contests, no funny business, and you must EARN your seat. They do give you every opportunity to succeed. The staff is very respectful and approachable. The experience of being at the Vegas weekend should be on every handicapper’s bucket list.
What are your ideas to improve the NHC? I would say keep up the good work, it’s a well oiled machine day in day out.
Monmouth Park’s Pick Your Prize Contest Awarded 25 NHC Seats to the 25th Anniversary of the National Horseplayers Championship
Monmouth Park’s much anticipated annual $2,000 Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge on Saturday, June 3 saw Dylan Donnelly come out on top of a record field of 299 entries.
Playing on Xpressbet, Donnelly turned his starting $1,000 bankroll into $8,960 with the help of two large daily doubles. Donnelly walked away with his $8,960 bankroll, $25,190 in cash prizes, and a spot in the BCBC.
Brian Skirka, Monmouth Park’s Marketing & Contest Director, said this of the contest, “Monmouth Park’s 2023 Pick Your Prize Handicapping Challenge broke records with 299 entries. This year’s event also saw an un-matched – and fitting – prize pool with 25 NHC seats being awarded, as well as eight BCBC seats and cash. We also set a record with the 33rd-place finisher receiving an NHC seat. We felt it only appropriate for one of the year’s biggest contests to offer 25 seats to racing’s championship contest at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The NHC’s 25th anniversary season has definitely seemed to energize contest players as evidenced by the record turnout and enthusiasm on contest day. We look forward to seeing that continued enthusiasm throughout the remainder of the year when we host our next live-money contests on Haskell Day (July 22), Whitney Day (August 5) and Travers Day (August 26).”
The contest awarded 25 seats to the 25th NHC next March in Las Vegas to the following skilled horseplayers: George Bosch, Dennis Hubbard, Steven Wells, William Meisel, Rick Broth, Chris Larmey, Dan Edwards, Ken Jordan, Terrence Severson, Zachary Agamenoni, James Giamundo, Bradley Anderson, Mark Streiff
Joe Scanio, John Kostin, Chris Ahl, Mike Steindler, Jerry McClenin, Paul Shurman, Francis Drew, Gary Johnson, Braden Selvig, Lorne Weiss, Robert Losier, and Ken Seeman.
All Pick Your Prize players had to bet a minimum of five Monmouth Park races. The minimum bet for those races was $200. Pools available for contest play were win, place, show, exacta and daily double. Contest players participated on-site or online through Xpressbet, FanDuel, and HPI.
Full contest results can be found here. Don’t miss your chance to play in Monmouth Park’s next live money handicapping contest, the $1,000 Haskell Challenge on Saturday, July 22. This contest can be played online only.
Free Contest Alert – July 1
The third of five free NHC online qualifiers is this Saturday July 1. The top three finishers in the contest will earn automatic berths to the 25th NHC, which is slated to be held at the Horseshoe Las Vegas next March 15-17, 2024. An additional $3,000 in HorsePlayers credits will be distributed to the top finishers of the contest.
The next two free contests will be held on Sunday, August 27 and Sunday, October 8.
Participants must be a 2023 NHC Tour member to be eligible to win a qualifying spot. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership. Individuals also must be registered at HorsePlayers.com (free).
On-Track Contest at Horseshoe Indianapolis
The Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino is hosting its summer NHC Qualifier on Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8. The two single-day handicapping tournaments will award 2 NHC 2024 seats on Friday and another 4 NHC 2024 seats on Saturday.
“We have a long-standing partnership with NTRA, and we are proud to be part of the NHC series each year,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “With the NHC final now held at Horseshoe in Las Vegas, it only makes sense for us to step up and offer additional opportunities to advance to the NHC Final. This also gives us an opportunity to showcase our racing program to those seeking to advance into the prestigious NHC series.”
Contest participants must be registered NHC Tour members prior to the start of tournament play in order to be eligible to win an NHC entry. Official contest rules are available here.
The 2023 ‘Beat Byk NHC Challenge’ Dates Announced
For the 5th consecutive year the “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will return this summer as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and Steve Byk, host of the Thoroughbred radio news magazine “At the Races” on Sirius XM, once again partner to send one NHC Tour member to Las Vegas to compete in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) in March 15-17, 2024. The winner of the Beat Byk NHC Challenge will also be eligible for a $1 million bonus if he or she were to win the NHC in March.
The “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will be conducted over eight weeks beginning July 15 and concluding September 4. The popular challenge drew nearly 1,000 entries in the summer of 2022, with Matt Myers finishing on top and winning his berth to the NHC. Full rules and more information can be found on ntra.com/beatbyk. You won’t want to miss this challenge, so save the date.
July NHC Qualifiers
Del Mar
- July 29-30 | $6,000 Summer Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Delaware Park
- July 15 | $200 William Moore Classic – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Horseshoe Indianapolis
- July 7 | $400 NHC Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
- July 8 | $500 NHC Qualifier – 4 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Los Alamitos
- July 8 | $500 NHC Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Monmouth Park
- July 22 | $1,000 Haskell Handicapping Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
Treasure Island, Las Vegas
- July 29-30 | $500 Wager to Win XXVIII – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
- July 1 | FREE – 3 seats guaranteed.
- July 2 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 4 | $125 – 3 seats guaranteed.
- July 7 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 8 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 13 | $125 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- July 14 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 15 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- July 16 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 21 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 22 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 27 | $125 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- July 28 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 29 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 9 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 15 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 23 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- July 30 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
NHC Tour Leaderboard Updates
The NHC Tour Leaderboard has been updated through June 29. The full Tour Rules can be found here.
REMINDER: Please ensure your NHC Tour membership is valid and active prior to playing in any NHC qualifiers.
Evan Trommer
22,465
Sally Goodall
17,629
Kevin Engelhard
17,044
David Snyder
16,277
Joseph Costello
15,949
Stanley Bavlish
15,536
Mark Heider
15,533
Paul Shurman
15,040
Brett Wiener
15,019
Anthony Spinazzola
14,923