John O’Neil of Huntington Station, New York, topped a field of
The 74-year-old O’Neil amassed a winning score of $327.20
Ken Jordan of Farmingdale, New Jersey, finished second with
O’Neil was the NHC two-day leader at the end of Saturday’s races but lost the
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“It was short-priced horses that got me there but that’s
what we had today,” O’Neil said. “Thank God for very few bombs.”
O’Neil was introduced to handicapping on visits to the old
Jamaica Race Course in Queens in the 1950s.
“My brother took me one day when I was 14 or 15 and I’ve
been doing it every day since,” O’Neil said. “It’s been a journey to get here,
believe me. This probably makes me even after a lifetime.”
The top three NHC finsihers, and four of the top five,
qualified as a result of finishing among the top 150 on the NHC Tour, a
distinction which earns guaranteed entry to the NHC.
O’Neill is a small-business owner on Long Island.
“We work 60, 70 hours per week pushing trucks and asphalt,”
he said. “This will make it a little easier.”
The official Top 10, with final bankroll (and prize):
| First | John O’Neil, $327.20 ($800,000 and Eclipse Award
for Horseplayer of the Year) |
|
| Second | Ken Jordan, $291.70 ($250,000) | |
| Third | Matthew Ransdell, $269 ($125,000) | |
| Fourth | Joseph Muzio, $266.30 ($100,000) | |
| Fifth | Myles Richards, $262.20 ($75,000) | |
| Sixth | Joe Scanio, $260.20 ($65,000) | |
| Seventh | Jonathon Kinchen, $256.60 ($59,000) | |
| Eighth | Robert Pontani Jr., $247.90 ($54,000) | |
| Ninth | Brian Troop, $245.60 ($52,000) | |
| Tenth | Mike Ferrozzo, $234.40 ($50,000) |
Kinchen completed the Final 50 stage with two entries in
the top 10 but each individual is permitted only one entry at the Final Table.
Kinchen’s highest bankroll carried over to the Final Table while the “other”
entry was automatically good for 11th-place money ($25,000).
Troop was attempting to become the first two-time NHC
winner. His eighth-place finish is the highest ever by a former champion.
By virtue of his victory, O’Neil also automatically earns an exemption into
next year’s NHC finals.
The NHC was held for the fourth straight year in the
Treasure Island Ballroom.
In the first-ever NHC Future Wager offered by Treaure
Island, O’Neil paid off at 5-2 as a member of the Field, which consisted of
players who qualified late in the year.
The NHC 16 finals awarded cash prizes to the top 50 finishers from a total
purse of $2,215,000. An additional $65,000 went to the top 20 in Sunday’s Consolation Tournament.
Including $200,000 paid out to top
finishers in the year-long NHC Tour, a $100 Treasure Island casino chip for every entrant, NHC Tour travel awards, RTN subscriptions and the $10,000 charity tournament
prize, plus $30,000 worth of Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge prizes in the form
of entry fees, bankrolls, airfare and hotel, the aggregate value of payouts this
weekend in NHC cash and prizes totaled a record $2,681,000.
To reach the Final 50, the record 606 NHC entrants were
required to place 30 mythical $2 win and place wagers — 15 on Friday and 15 on
Saturday. This is the second consecutive year with a three-day format including
the Final 50 and Final Table.
Final Table participants were relocated to a single table
on the stage of the Treasure Island Ballroom that served as contest
headquarters.
Final Table Race Results:
| Track | Race | Winner ($2 Win, $2 Place) | Second ($2 Place) | |||
| Tampa Bay Downs | 10TH | Huntstown ($6.40, $4) | Go Bernie Go
($6.20) |
|||
| Gulfstream Park | 10TH | Dancing House ($4.20, $2.80) | Resistivity ($5) | |||
| Gulfstream Park | 11TH | Main Man Mike ($14.40, $8.20) | Caminito ($10.40) | |||
| Oaklawn Park | 9TH | She’s Live ($5, $3) | Mauk Dirty to Me
($6.60) |
|||
| Santa Anita Park | 7TH | Aperfectdaytofly ($7.40, $4.20) | Lolo
El Canonero ($6.80) |
|||
| Santa Anita Park | 8TH | Pure Tactics ($14.40, $7.80) | Hay Dude
($6.20) |
|||
| Santa Anita Park | 9TH | Sum Midnight Star ($9.60, $5.60) | Militant ($8.40) |
The full NHC and Consolation Tournament standings can be
accessed at
ntra.com.
The 2014 NHC Tour winner Eric Moomey, who was eligible for
a $2 million bonus if he could top the NHC, had two entries — one finished in
493rd place with a $41.40 bankroll and the second in 598th with $7. A record
4,875 NHC Tour members participated in 2014 qualifiers hoping to win a coveted
spot in the NHC Finals.
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