The NHC Hall of Fame is a way to honor and recognize individuals. Those considered will meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Competed in NHC-sanctioned tournaments and played consistently well over an extended period of time.
• Gained the respect and admiration of their peers.
• Contributed to the overall growth and success of the NHC and/or tournament play in general, with indelible positive and lasting results.

The following nominees have been selected by a panel of current NHC Tour members who are former NHC Champions and NHC Tour Champions, Hall of Fame Members, Players Committee Members, and Tournament Directors.

Eligible Voters include current NHC Tour Members who have been Tour members for at least 10 years and have qualified at least once to the NHC. Votes must be submitted by Friday, February 13th at 12:00 pm ET.

VOTE NOW

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 18

2017 NHC Tour Champion

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I have a long history of successes playing NHC tournaments, including winning the NHC tour in 2017 and making the NHC Final Table in 2015.

Overall, one of the most consistent finishers in the Tour standings and Top money earners, with approx. $250,000 in earnings through the NHC and NHC Tour. 17-time  NHC qualifier, including qualifying this year at Keeneland. Other wins at onsite tracks include CanterburyPark, Hawthorne, Belmont, Surfside, and many money finishes as well. Cashed 4 times in the NHC, including 2025, finishing in the money once again and in the Silver Sunday tournaments. Finished in the Top 20 of the NHC Tour 7 times while becoming double qualified 8 times.

I have been playing in tournaments and online across the country for most of the last two decades have promoted the NHC by traveling to horse venues most years, many of these multiple times, encouraging camaraderie and competition with friends, while qualifying for the NHC at many of these, sometimes cashing and in a few cases setting tournament scoring records.

At my first NHC there were 245 entrants. Participating over the years, I’ve watched it grow to almost 700. It’s been fun along the way, and I know that through attending on-site tournaments and online participation, I’ve been part of the group that has helped spread the growth of the NHC tournaments.

Venues attended: Canterbury Park, Hawthorne, Gulfstream, Saratoga, Monmouth Park, Belmont, Santa Anita, Del Mar, Keeneland, Turfway, Arlington Park, Fairplex, Surfside, Prairie Meadows, Las Vegas Wynn, Las Vegas Treasure Island

Online sites include: Horseplayers.com, HorseTourneys.com. HorsePlayersQualify, NHCQualify, XpressBet, Derby Wars

NHC Tour Member since 2014

NHC Appearances through 2025: 11

Final Table Participant 2019

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I am honored to be considered for the NHC Hall of Fame. I have qualified for the NHC for the last twelve years (including this upcoming NHC) and finished 9th in 2019. I was also the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) winner in 2020 and have two other top ten finishes (5th in 2018 and 10th in 2023). As a horseplayer advocate, I have participated on panels at the Jockey Club Roundtable (2023) and the Racetrack Industry Program Global Symposium (six times). In addition, I am an Economics Professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, where I teach the Economics of the Racetrack Wagering Markets; interviews from my 2022 course are available on the In the Money Media network, featuring insights from horseplayers and racing industry professionals. I am also a horse owner (Ten Strike Racing, 700 wins, 43 stakes wins) and breeder (5 stakes winners). I have been privileged to see live racing or jai alai at 72 different racetracks and frontons.

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 15

NHC Mentor

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It’s an honor to be nominated for the NHC Hall of Fame and to be considered by a group of people I greatly admire and respect. I have been fortunate enough to have made sixteen NHC appearances, cashing five times, including a second-place finish in 2015. I stretched out to a route by finishing in the top ten twice on the NHC Tour. I’ve also won my share of mythical and cash contests, live and online, with the 2022 Del Mar Fall Challenge and the 2024 Belmont Stakes Challenge of particular note. Before that, for you nostalgia fans, I was able to gather five top ten finishes in the Horse Player World Series.
As a longtime horseplayer, I now take particular satisfaction in my role in the NHC Mentorship Program. I’ve been lucky enough to see several of my mentees and friends become tournament regulars, and it pleases me very much to have played a small role in the growth of the NHC over the years.
Despite all the challenges our great game faces, I still am an unshakable optimist for the future. After all, if any long-term horseplayer is asked, “What was your biggest score?” the only proper answer is “I haven’t had it yet!”

NHC Tour Member since 2011

NHC Appearances through 2025: 11

2018 NHC Champion

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I have been a consistent and dedicated player in NHC-sanctioned events for over a decade. Most of my success has been at the NHC Championship itself. I have a couple of top ten finishes in the Woodbine Mile contest and Pick Your Prize contest at Monmouth Park, plus multiple top finishes online. I feel that I’m a good representative of the average horseplayer who made it big. In the beginning, I only played in my free time due to my job and family. Upon my retirement, I was able to dedicate more time to competing and studying the ins and outs of contest play. With my trajectory in NHC-sanctioned play, I believe I’ve made a lasting impact on the community, and I am honoured to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 13

Final Table Participant 2017

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2026 will be my 14^th time to qualify for the NHC and I have been double-qualified every year since 2016. I have cashed 6 times and made it to the final table in 2017, culminating in an 8^th place finish. I have won many other major tournaments, including the Hawthorne Invitational in 2019, Keeneland Grade One Gamble in 2021, Haskell Day contest at Monmouth in 2022, the Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge in 2025, and was runner-up in 2022 and 2023 in the Del Mar Summer Challenge. I have also won many smaller tournaments as a qualifier into the NHC at Arlington Park, Santa Anita, Belmont Park, Canterbury Park, Horseshoe Indianapolis and Gulfstream Park.

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 16

2010 NHC Tour Winner

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I was named the 2010 Tour Champion when a majority of the contests were onsite. It was a blessing as I was able to meet so many quality players and people. I am always welcoming and available to talk racing and handicapping with anyone who approaches me. I first met Judy and Brian Wagner at Fairplex and shared my secrets with them about handicapping that bullring as I earned the title “King of Fairplex.” I was given a crown and a tournament was named for me called Beat the King.  I finished 3rd that day to Hall of Famers Dennis Decauwer and Jose Arias.   The first contest I won was the 2004 Gold Coast Summer Classic topping 763 players while earning $123,000. Accompanied by my nephew Shawn, we stopped at Hollywood Park on the way home Sunday to share my good fortune with some friends.  After a little celebrating I played a late pick four(my only bet that day) and left to attend Sunday night mass. Afterwards my nephew called to tell me I hit the P4 for $9400. I was a 2018 Final Table Member cashing for $100,000.

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 20

NHC Players Committee Member

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In 2003, I won the Bettor Racing Mid-West Classic in South Dakota and qualified for my first NHC.  2026 will be the 21st year that I have qualified (the last 19 in a row) and my 27th entry, including double qualifiers.  I am in the top 5 all-time in NHC points. I have cashed three times at the NHC (including a 17th-place finish) and have a Top 20 Tour finish.  I have cashed in over 60 handicapping tournaments, including 20 of over $5,000 and 6 between $15,000 and $45,000, including wins at the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Contest, the Tampa Bay Downs Festival Preview, the Claiming Crown, and the Pimlico Anything Goes Contest. I am most proud to have been honored to serve for many years on the Players Committee and help steer the NHC through tremendous growth.

NHC Tour Member since 2009

NHC Appearances through 2025: 17

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I am honored to be nominated for the NHC Hall of Fame as I have been a consistent player and steadfast contest advocate for the NHC for a long time.

I have already qualified for NHC2027, which means I’ve qualified for the NHC for 19 consecutive years since I started playing contests. I have finished in the Top 25 six times in six different years, placing in the Top 15 three times. I’ve been a double-qualifier every year except one since the dual-qualifier inception.

In 2021, I won The BIG One tournament on HorseTourneys, winning a total of over $80k for the 1^st-place prize package. In 2026, I was 2^nd in the Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship, winning a total prize package of over $92k with bankroll, plus the NHC seat.

As an active player on the NHC Tour since 2009, I collected Tour prize money multiple times, which included winning the 1^st Half Tour in 2014 and finishing 7^th overall that same year. I have won the Monmouth Park NHC contest three times and earned nine of my total 31 NHC seats in Monmouth Park tournaments. At the Horseplayer World Series in 2013, I placed 4^th (of 792 entries) and in 2017 posted the highest score on Day 3, finishing in the Top 20 overall.

My 38-year career in sports television started with working on the “Thoroughbred Action with Harvey Pack” show. “May the Horse Be with You.”

NHC Tour Member since 2011

NHC Appearances through 2025: 13

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I am a constant staple on Horseplayers.com contests, playing nearly every weekend. Paired alongside on-track contests at Lone Star Park, I have regularly earned NHC qualifications every year, except one, since 2011. I finished 6^th in my first NHC appearance and have cashed twice.

NHC Tour Member since 2008

NHC Appearances through 2025: 19

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NHC2026 will be my 20th NHC qualification. I finished 18th in the 2016 NHC. Throughout my contest career, I have finished first or second in some of the most prestigious contests, including the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, Wynn Las Vegas Handicapping Challenge, Belmont Stakes Contest, Keeneland Grade One Gamble, Keeneland Fall Challenge, and many more, which have resulted in more than $500,000 in contest prizes.

Outside of contests, I have owned, bred, and raced horses for many years in multiple jurisdictions.

I have been an NHC Mentor since 2018 and have been a member of the NHC Players’ Committee since 2022.

NHC Tour Member since 2011

NHC Appearances through 2025: 12

Final Table Participant 2021

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Win or lose, the best part of traveling to contests is seeing and meeting my friends and making new ones.

NHC Tour Member since 2014

NHC Appearances through 2025: 10

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I’ve competed in NHC-sanctioned tournaments for more than a decade and have qualified for the NHC ten years in a row. Belmont Park is where this all began for me in 2010 (the red linen blazer finally had its moment), and it’s still the place I measure myself. In the Belmont Stakes contest, I’ve finished 3rd and 2nd, won in 2022, and finished 2nd again in 2025. Those results reflect sustained performance over time, not a single hot weekend. And while Belmont is the cleanest summary, the broader story is consistency across the circuit—I’ve had enough deep runs and wins over the years that I’m guilty of not keeping a perfect trophy inventory. In gambling, it’s easy to look brilliant for a weekend or a season; doing it year after year is where luck gets diluted, and decision-making starts to show through.

Peers in the contest community know me as a live-bankroll specialist. Early on, I’ll admit the 2WP format felt like an unnatural habitat for my style, but I studied it, adjusted, and my NHC/2WP results improved significantly—the stats should reflect that progression.

Beyond playing, I’ve tried to strengthen the ecosystem: mentoring newer players privately, sharing strategy on podcasts and in articles, and advocating for fair, skill-first tournament play. I’ve always been willing to show my work—why I liked a horse, why I passed, and how I sized bets—because I want the contest community to appreciate how deep the game really is. (Some friends joke about a “Zhou effect” on aggression levels; I’ll plead guilty to encouraging people to play to win.)

Four years ago, I left a hedge-fund career to bet horses full-time—and I’m still here, still grinding, still learning.