December 2023

25th National Horseplayers Championship

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November kicked off with the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC), the biggest live money handicapping tournament in the world which awarded more than $1,00,000 in cash prizes. The 15^th annual BCBC drew a record of 571 entries, and tournament players generated an all-time contest-record wagering handle of $7,759,434. Kentucky native Sean Boarman was declared the winner and earned the highest total any player has achieved in BCBC history of $642,363. In addition to those big cash payouts, the top 15 finishers were awarded berths to #NHC2024. These seats went to Sean Boarman, Kevan Strom, Mike Mulvihill, Christy Moore, Tyler Sprague, Justin Mustari, Tom Arndt, Vince Foglia, Clay Sanders, Frank Gryboski, Bob Hansan, Frank McGoey, Mark Kapitan, Robert Novicki, and David Rink. The Sport of Kings free NHC Qualifier Finals were also held Breeders’ Cup weekend, awarding two NHC seats to Ken Gribek and Vincent Mazzotta.

On November 10, Horseshoe Indianapolis hosted an online tournament which awarded three NHC seats to Peter Rinato, Jennifer Sandore, and John Toyama. Richard Giger also won a seat in November in the Rachel’s Warrior contest.

Thanksgiving weekend was full of more than just turkey, with contests across the country and online. The legendary 3-day Hawthorne Thanksgiving contest awarded 10 NHC seats and three lucky players will be playing for a $1 million bonus if they win NHC 2024. The onsite contest, offered at 6 betting locations, featured a $300 live bankroll on Friday, and $500 live bankroll on Saturday and Sunday. The three $1 million bonus winners are David Gutfreund, Michael Mulvihill, and Karl Broberg. The other seven berths were awarded to Tony Zhou, Jacob Albrecht, Melvin Simonovich, Darren Yarwood, Charles Thompson Jr., Mark Beedle and Matthew Bickey.

Following Thanksgiving Twin Spires held the $5,000 NHC Qualifier Finals and awarded two NHC seats to Todd Hartman and Steven Taracks. That same sunny Del Mar hosted the Del Mar Fall Handicapping Challenge. The one-day live money contest played live on-track or through TVG.com gave away more than $100,000 in prizes and two NHC seats to Bob Traynor and Steve Lehman.

Online contests awarded nearly as many seats in the month of November as the on-track contests did. Horseplayers.com awarded 19 seats to the 25^th NHC to: Suresh Bomman, Randy de la Gardelle, James Morgan, Daniel Kaplan, Peter Yan, Eric Brothers, Alexa Zepp, Siva Shankar Vellanki, Laura Arth, Cara Yarusso, Stephanie Davis, Jay Coatta, Robert Ferguson, Daven Turner, Tom Walsch, Joseph Perry, Andrew Pinto, Timothy Hughes, and William Sadoo. Horsetourneys awarded 6 seats to the NHC to Wes Herek, Daniel Hawkins, David Brownfield, Christopher Skotz, Michael Davey, and James Norris.

Bob Hansan

Charles Thompson, Jr.

Suresh Bomman

Dan Kaplan

Jay Coatta

Cara Yarusso

All NHC2024 Qualifiers

Tanya Taylor

Q&A with Tanya Taylor

Hometown: Little Rock, AR

Occupation: Retired physical therapist

What was the first contest you played in and when? Approximately around 2010 when Oaklawn Park was hosting tournaments.

What do you like most about handicapping contests? The structured competition really makes me focus on the horses and I love having a target to achieve.

How did you get interested in handicapping contests? Couple of friends were playing contests and my competitive nature got the best of me.

When and where did you qualify for the 2024 NHC? Online HorsePlayers October 14

Tell us about the day you qualified for the NHC at the track or online (how it went, your strategy, the energy, etc.) It was very exciting day of racing when I caught a bomb. But the stress was at the last race of the contest because I had to have the winner to pass at least one person. It was one of those tough decisions where you hope you don’t have the same horse as the other players plus enough value to win. I stuck with my original pick and was fortunate it won and the other two players did not use the horse. However they both used the same horse and it ran second. Waiting to see if the payouts were enough to move up was nerve racking. But, it all worked out and I was cheering and yelling after it was official.

What is your favorite restaurant in Las Vegas? Nobu

What do you like best about the NHC? Brings horseplayers together to have a shared experience with racing that is like no other

What are your ideas to improve the NHC? I understand that space is an issue but it would be nice if a section of the room could have seating that is more individualized like a sports book so that you can spread out. The tables are great for groups but can get crowded with “stuff”. I loved Treasure Island when we could play in the sports book.

December NHC Qualifiers

Horseshoe Indiana

December 2 | $500 NHC December Qualifier – 4 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK

Lone Star

December 2 | $1,000 Lone Star Simulcast Betting Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK

Los Alamitos

December 16 | NHC Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK

Monmouth Park

December 9 | $300 NHC Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK

Xpressbet

December 26 | $1,500 Santa Anita Park Opening Day Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID.

Horseplayers.com

December 1 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 2 | $165 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 8 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 9 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 9 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 10 | $500 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 14 | $125 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 15 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 16 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 17 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 22 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 23 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 23 | $210 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 24 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
December 29 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
December 31 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
January 1 | $125 – 5 seats guaranteed.