2025 National Horseplayers Championship

Lexington, Ky. and Las Vegas (March 13, 2026) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and Caesars Entertainment today announced a new multi-year agreement extension that will keep Horseshoe Las Vegas as the host venue for the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) through 2029. The upcoming championship dates for the NHC are:

  • March 5 to 7, 2027
  • March 3 to 5, 2028
  • March 9 to 11, 2029

Horseshoe Las Vegas has hosted the NHC since 2020 and has become a central stage for the sport’s most passionate and skilled horseplayers. Established in 1999, the first NHC offered total purse money of $200,000. This weekend’s NHC will offer total prizes and awards of more than $5 million.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Caesars Entertainment and Horseshoe Las Vegas,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “Since moving to Horseshoe in 2020, the NHC has seen tremendous growth in player participation, sponsor involvement, and the overall player experience. We look forward to building on all of this with the help of the team at Caesars and Horseshoe Las Vegas in the coming years.”

Caesars Entertainment remains deeply committed to supporting horse racing and continues to invest in the sport while creating platforms that connect horse racing fans and racetracks. The Company operates Harrah’s Columbus, Harrah’s Hoosier Park, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Harrah’s Philadelphia, and Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, all of which serve racing fans across key regional markets.

“Hosting the NHC for years to come further demonstrates the Caesars commitment to horse racing and aligns well with the Horseshoe Las Vegas legacy of hosting championship-level events like the World Series of Poker,” said Joseph Morris, Senior Vice President, Racing at Caesars Entertainment. “We are proud to support an event that celebrates the skill, dedication and passion of horseplayers and the broader racing community.”

About the NHC

The NHC, presented by Caesars Entertainment, Racetrack Television Network, and Horseshoe Las Vegas, is the richest, most important, and most prestigious tournament for horseplayers in the world. The NHC is the culmination of a yearlong series of sanctioned 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 in Las Vegas. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards.

About the NTRA

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated equine associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare, and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages NTRA.com; the NTRA Top Thoroughbred and NTRA Top 3-Year-Old weekly media polls; the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and HORSE PAC®, a federal political action committee. The NTRA is headquartered in Lexington, KY., and Washington, DC. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).

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