“LAST CHANCE ONLINE TOURNEYS”—OFFERING UP TO 22 NHC SEATS—SLATED FOR JANUARY 5 AND JANUARY 12 AT NHCQUALIFY.COM
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that NHCQualify.com will host two “Last Chance Online Tourneys” on Saturday, January 5 and Saturday, January 12. The tournaments will be the final chances for horseplayers to qualify online for the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship at Treasure Island Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday, January 25-26. The entry fee for both mythical-wager contests is $400. Players may purchase a maximum of two entries and the total number of entries for the tournament will be limited to 220. One NHC seat will be offered for every 20 entries received. If each event sells out at 220 entries, then a total of 22 NHC seats will be awarded to the top finishers. Each person who qualifies for the NHC via the “Last Chance Online Tourney” will also receive hotel accommodations for three nights at Treasure Island and $500 in travel reimbursement. Registration for the “Last Chance Online Tourneys” is now open at NHCQualify.com.
The “Last Chance Online Tourneys” will not count for 2012 or 2013 NHC Tour scoring purposes.
As is customarily the case, the absolute final opportunity to qualify for the upcoming NHC will be at the live, “Last Chance Tournament” at the NHC host venue, Treasure Island Las Vegas, on Thursday, January 24.
In just its 14th year, the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship presented by Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island 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. There is no option to “buy in” to the NHC Finals—all competitors must have earned the right to compete. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. In addition to the founding title sponsor, the NHC is presented by Treasure Island Las Vegas and Sovereign Stable. The 13 NHC Champions since the event’s inception, in chronological order, are Steven Walker, Judy Wagner, Herman Miller, Steve Wolfson Jr., Kent Meyer, Jamie Michelson, Ron Rippey, Stanley Bavlish, Richard Goodall, John Conte, Brian Troop, John Doyle and Michael Beychok.
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers, horseplayers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA web site, NTRA.com.
