NHC Tour kicks off with record $250,000 in prize money, 150
berths to NHC 17
Less than one week since John O’Neil earned $800,000 as the
winner of the 16th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping
Championship (NHC) at Treasure Island Las Vegas, the NHC Tour
kicked off its 2015 season on Saturday with a record $250,000 in prize money
and 150 guaranteed berths to NHC 17.
The top three finishers at last weekend’s NHC, including O’Neil, and five of the top 10 who comprised the Final Table,
earned their way in by landing in the top 150 in the 2014 NHC Tour.
Signups for the 2015 DRF NHC Tour are now being accepted at
ntra.com/en/nhc/2015-become-a-member. The complete rules are posted at
ntra.com/en/nhc/2015-nhc-tour-official-rules.
The year’s first NHC Tour event and NHC qualifier kicked off Saturday at
NHCQualify.com, the official qualifying site for the NHC.
NHC Tour participation requires an annual NTRA
individual membership fee of $50. Membership is mandatory in order to compete
for a berth in the 2016 NHC and must be in place prior to participation in any
given qualifier tournament in order for top finishers of sanctioned NHC
qualifying events to be eligible to compete in the January 2016 NHC — the
lucrative culmination of the year’s qualifying schedule.
As was the case in 2014, the top 150 Tour points leaders at
the end of the year will be guaranteed entry into the 2016 NHC, where the
overall, season-ending NHC Tour points leader will be eligible for a $2 million
bonus should he or she capture the 2016 NHC and become the first person to earn
a seat to the 2017 NHC.
The record NHC Tour prize pool of $250,000, up 25 percent
over 2014, includes a total of $50,000 in midyear payouts to the top five
individuals (who will receive $10,000 each) in the standings as of July 31.
End-of-year payouts will total $175,000, with points based on a member’s top six
scores (including at least one score from a brick and mortar tournament
location). The overall Tour winner will receive $75,000 and a seat to the 2017 NHC, and the top two finishers will each receive a trophy.
The top 20 finishers at the end of the year will each
receive prize money and be eligible to compete for a $25,000 bonus to be paid to
the individual who achieves the highest overall finish at the 2016 NHC. This
individual also will earn a berth in the 2017 NHC. The bonus money is in
addition to any other prize money won at the NHC.
In addition to making one eligible to earn a coveted seat
to the NHC, other NHC Tour benefits include:
performance subscription packages — 15 percent discount for first-time Tour Members and
10 percent discount for those renewing
and discounts from NTRA Advantage partners and membership in the Horseplayers
Coalition that supports NTRA legislative initiatives in Washington, D.C.
information and other event information
Entering its 17th year, the NHC is the most important tournament of the year for
horseplayers. There are no “buy-in” entries at the NHC. It 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.
Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an
honoree at the Eclipse Awards. The 15 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, Michael Beychok, Jim Benes, Jose
Arias and John O’Neil.
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