The first of three free online qualifiers for the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) is set for this Saturday, April 26 on HorsePlayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the NHC. The top four finishers in the contest will earn automatic berths to the 2026 NHC, which is slated to be held at the Horseshoe Las Vegas next March.

Each winning prize package includes an NHC entry, a four-night stay at the host hotel, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and a $500 travel reimbursement. All participants will be awarded 50 NHC Tour participation points and additional NHC Tour points will be awarded to the top 100 finishers.

Registration is now open at HorsePlayers.com.

The remainder of the free contest schedule for 2025 is as follows:

• July 27
• September 21

Participants in the free online qualifier must be a NHC Tour member for the current year to be eligible to win a qualifying spot to the NHC and must be a member prior to the first scheduled race in this contest. Players failing to register for NHC Tour membership prior to the start of this event will forfeit their opportunity to win a qualifying package.

Tour membership starts at $50 and includes entries to the year’s remaining free online qualifiers, as well as access to dozens of contests each week. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership. Individuals also must be registered at HorsePlayers.com (free) to participate in the free online contests.

Every free online contest on HorsePlayers.com is determined by mythical Win and Place wagers on a series of mandatory races across the country with selections submitted in advance of the first designated contest race per the “Pick and Pray” format.

For more information on the NHC and NHC Tour, visit www.ntra.com/nhc.

About the NHC

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. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards and is named Horseplayer of the Year. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc.

About the NTRA

The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., 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 horse racing 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.