Las Vegas

The winner of the 2027 National Horseplayers Championship will receive an updated cash prize of $1,000,000 along with a coveted Eclipse Award symbolically recognizing the important contribution all horseplayers make to the sport, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Thursday. The 2027 NHC, presented by Caesars Race and Sportsbook, Racetrack Television Network (RTN) and Horseshoe Las Vegas, will be held March 5-7, 2027, at the Horseshoe. "Since its launch in 1999, the National Horseplayers Championship has realized unprecedented growth thanks to sustained participation by horseplayers and our members and partners...

The NTRA will match all horseplayer donations up to $5,000 to support Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at the upcoming NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). The event will take place at the Horseshoe Las Vegas Hotel and Casino from March 13-15, 2026. "Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance plays a vital role in promoting responsible aftercare across our sport," said Tom Rooney, President & CEO, NTRA. "We're proud to feature their mission at the National Horseplayers Championship and to support initiatives that strengthen racing's long-term integrity."

Kevin Engelhard, Mike Ferrozzo, Chris Littlemore, and Ken Seeman, who have 62 total NHC appearances between them, have been voted by their peers for induction into the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship Hall of Fame, the The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Friday. These decorated handicappers represent the 12th class of NHC Hall of Fame inductees and will be recognized during the NHC Champions Dinner on Sunday, March 15, following the conclusion of the 27th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Dan Piazza, a financial advisor from Chicago, won the 26th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship at the Horseshoe Las Vegas held from March 14-16, and took home $825,000, an Eclipse Award as 2025 Horseplayer of the Year and earned a return trip to next year's NHC, according to a press release late Sunday from the NTRA. Sticking to his strategy throughout the contest, Piazza prevailed by amassing a mythical bankroll of $356.52. "I didn't try to do anything different and didn't get me out of my comfort zone," he said. "That...

With $800,000 and the Horseplayer of the Year Eclipse Award to the winner, the official prize structure of this weekend's 25th National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas was posted in a Friday release by the host of the contest, the NTRA. At the conclusion of the Final Table on Sunday, total cash prizes offered over the three days come to $3,013,550. The top 77 are guaranteed money with that final finisher receiving $10,150. The top five payouts are: First Place--$800,000 Second Place--$250,000 Third Place--$200,000 Fourth Place--$150,000 Fifth Place--$125,000 Along with...

This year's 25th renewal of the National Horseplayers' Championship (NHC) presented by Caesars Entertainment, Horseshoe Las Vegas and Racetrack Television Network (RTN) will include a new wrinkle. The 'Silver Sunday' contest will take place Sunday, Mar. 17 and will replace the Sunday Consolation Contest, where only entries that did not make the semi-final round would compete in a 10-race contest for prize money. The 'Silver Sunday' contest will instead be open to all individuals competing in the tournament with no fee to enter. Individuals will receive no more than one...

Jay Johns of Meridian, Idaho, amassed 22,370 over the course of 34 contests in 2022 to take home the $75,000 first prize for winning the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour. The president of IHOP Restaurants (formerly International House of Pancakes) is now in the running for a $5-million bonus should he be able to add the NHC at the newly rebranded Horseshoe Las Vegas Mar. 10-12. "It's such an honor coming out on top in this year-long tour against arguably the absolute best handicappers out there. It's quite a mind...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association's first annual Racecourse Managers' Conference and Workshop kicks off Sunday, Mar. 6 at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas. Continuing through Mar. 8, the Conference hosts racetrack management, superintendents, and equine facility managers from across the country to experience comprehensive, science-based discussions and demonstrations on maintaining safe racing, training, and event surfaces, along with an explanation of how to participate in the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) racing surface regulations and the processes for HISA implementation and reporting. For the...

The NTRA Racecourse Managers' Conference and Workshop will be held Sunday through Tuesday, Mar. 6-8, at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada. An opening reception Mar. 6 will be followed by a day and a half of discussions and demonstrations. The full agenda for the conference will be released later this month, but confirmed speakers and topics include: Dennis Moore, Racetrack Consultant and Superintendent, will demonstrate the use of lasers for grade measurements and how to check grades on horse racing and arena surfaces; The...

Playing in the NTRA National Horseplayers' Championship (NHC) for just the second time, Thomas Goldsmith of Montgomery, CA, amassed a total mythical bankroll of $404.10--second largest in tournament history--to take home the $800,000 first prize Sunday afternoon at Bally's in Las Vegas. Goldsmith, 57, defeated a field that totaled 694 entries from 564 individual players and a final table that included NHC Hall of Famer Trey Stiles, Ashley Taylor and Day 2 leader John Vail of Lyndhurst, NJ. The latter held on for second ($250,000), just shy of $30 behind...

Close to 700 handicappers will compete for a record prize pool of $2.95 million when the 21st annual National Horseplayers' Championship (NHC) gets underway Friday at Bally's Las Vegas casino,having previously been held at the Treasure Island. The three-day event, which brings together qualifiers from a variety of tournaments from coast-to-coast, offers a top prize of $800,000 and the title of Horseplayer of the Year. Including complimentary travel and hotel accommodations, cash and awards total $3.8 million. "The NHC is a true celebration of the horseplayer--the individuals who fuel every...

Roger Cettina, the only player to finish second twice in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), and 2008 NHC champion Richard Goodall have been selected for induction into the NHC Hall of Fame, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Tuesday. Goodall and Cettina represent the sixth class of NHC Hall of Fame inductees and will be recognized during the NHC Champions Dinner on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the 21st NTRA National Horseplayers Championship Presented by Racetrack Television Network, Caesars Entertainment and Bally's, set for Feb. 7-9 at Bally's...