LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 9, 2021) ― Each week, the NTRA will provide a rundown of those who have qualified for the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) from the previous weekend. A total of eight individuals qualified for the 2022 NHC over the holiday weekend on Horseplayers.com, the Summit of Speed XB Challenge at Gulfstream Park, and at Los Alamitos. New Yorker Darren Schweiger double-qualified for next year’s Championships, and will be playing in the NHC for the first time. Jim Tipps of Franklin, TN, also qualified for the first time. Veteran Duke Matties of Laguna Beach, CA, qualified for the 17th time. Pete Manzo of Shelby, DE, qualified for next month’s NHC through the Pick Your Year contest on July 4 via Horseplayers.
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. The 2021 NHC is slated to take place in the Bally’s Events Center from Aug. 27-29 with the 2022 NHC set for Jan. 28-30 at Bally’s.
Last weekend’s qualifiers, and their respective contest sites, are as follows:
Horseplayers.com
July 2
Gary Lyons of Independence, MO, has qualified for his fourth NHC.
Dennis Desenberg of Norwalk, IA, has qualified for his fifth NHC.
“It’s always a relief to qualify for the next NHC,” said Desenberg. “I started playing horses at AK-SAR-BEN in Omaha 50 years ago and still miss that track. I love every aspect of the sport because it is so dynamic.”
Summit of Speed Challenge XB at Gulfstream Park
July 3
Tim Yohler of Fishers, IN, has qualified for his seventh NHC.
Jim Tipps of Franklin, TN, has qualified for his first NHC.
Horseplayers.com
July 4 Pick Your Year
Rick Vasquez of Springfield, MO, has qualified for his fifth NHC.
Pete Manzo of Selbyville, DE, qualified for this year’s NHC, which will be his ninth appearance in the Championships.
Darren Schweiger, of New York City, will be making his first NHC trip next year as a double-qualifier. “It’s really exciting and surprising,” said Schweiger, who started out as a casual player wagering on the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup before concentrating more closely on Belmont and Saratoga. “This is my first year trying to qualify. At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure how likely I was to qualify even once, so I feel pretty lucky to have won two entries.”
A big part of Schweiger’s success last Sunday can be attributed to Warrior’s Pride and Original, who won races six minutes apart at Gulfstream Park and Belmont Park, respectively. Warrior’s Pride won the Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint at Gulfstream – paying  $21.00 – and Original went wire-to-wire winning Belmont’s Manila Stakes, and returned $15.80. Schweiger also cashed on short-priced favorites in Fiya at Belmont and with Yaupon, who won the Lite the Fuse Stakes at Pimlico to help secure his second qualification.
Los Alamitos Qualifier
July 4
Duke Matties, of Laguna Beach, CA, has qualified for his 17th NHC. In 2016, he finished fourth and cashed for $100,000. Demonstrating his recent consistency in Las Vegas, Matties finished 34th in 2017, 22nd in 2018, and 29th last year.   
“The atmosphere at the NHC is electric,” said Matties, who grew up in update New York spending summers at Saratoga, and in Massachusetts at the Marshfield and Great Barrington Fairs. “When you arrive in Vegas and get to the room the feeling is unmatched by any other horse racing tournament. I would call it a nervous excitement that makes me focus more than any other tourney.”
In Sunday’s Los Alamitos qualifier, Matties was in fifth place with just one race left, and wagered $600 to win on the 5-year-old mare Gotta Be Lucky, who didn’t need much luck at all in a 1-mile claiming event.
Said Matties on the results: “She wins by daylight (6 lengths) and pays $15 to win, giving me a $4,500 a landslide victory and my 2022 NHC spot.”
Dan Kaplan of Las Vegas, NV, has qualified for his 12th NHC.