August Recap

August is always an exciting contest month with great racing across the country.

TwinSpires kicked off its NHC series of contests in August and awarded 6 players NHC seats, two to first-time NHC qualifiers, Jon Oakes and Marilynn Gallagher. The other NHC berths went to Peter Smeding, Ciaran Thornton, and Darren Yarwood. Look for future TwinSpires contest in the upcoming months.

Little Red Feather hosted its Little Red Feather Cares Charity Challenge at Del Mar and on TVG.com on August 11 awarding Cliff Pardo and Joe Rosen their first 2025 NHC seat.

Horseplayers.com and Horsetourneys.com awarded 27 NHC seats through August 26^th. Past NHC Champion Chris Littlemore won his berth on Horseplayers.com on August 25^th. Past Tour Champions, Sally Goodall and Jay Johns are now double qualified to NHC 2025 through Horseplayers.com.

Monmouth Park hosted two contests in August awarding seats to NHC past Champion John O’Neil, past BCBC Champion Matt Miller, 4-time NHC Qualifier Frank Paros, NHC Players’ Committee Chairman, Chris Larmey, NHC Tour mentor, Robin Buser and 5-time NHC Qualifier, Michael Doheny.

Currently there are 300 NHC entries and 65 double qualifiers. Click here to see who is on their way to the NHC to be held March 14-16, 2025 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Chris Littlemore

Joe Rosen

Darren Yarwood

This September there are two NHC qualifiers you won’t want to miss on Horseplayers.com. First up, on September 2, the Horseplayers.com Labor Day Special Contest. Play in this $125 buy-in contest for your chance to win one of FIVE guaranteed seats to the 2025 NHC. You also won’t want to miss the last Free NHC Tour Member Only Contest of 2024 on Sunday September 15. While you must be an NHC tour member to play, this entirely free contest will give the top four finishers automatic berths to the NHC in March and the top 100 finishers will receive valuable NHC Tour points.

More information can be found on Horesplayers.com.

Equibase and the NTRA have announced an exciting new contest, the “Race to the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC),” a series of 25 free handicapping contests exclusively for subscribers of Race Lens, Equibase’s interactive past performance product.

The free weekly contests will begin on September 7 and run through February. The top two contestants from each weekly contest will qualify for the Race Lens Final 50 on February 22. The top two finishers will earn qualifying berths to the 2025 National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas on March 14-16, 2025. All contests will be hosted on Horseplayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the NHC and Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.

“The NTRA has been great to work with over the years and we are excited to partner on this exciting opportunity for our Race Lens customers,” said Equibase President and Chief Operating Officer Kyle McDoniel. “We hope that people who have never tried Race Lens or currently aren’t active subscribers will take advantage of this opportunity.”

For more information on this contest series, read the full press release.

The final weekend of Beat Byk is this weekend. Steve will select races on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. There are nearly 900 entries for the Final contest that will be held on September 14 on Horseplayers.com.

Click here for the current Leaderboard standings.

Recent NHC 2025 Qualifier Matt Miller has penned a book, A Bettor Way of Thinking, to help other horseplayers understand his approach to betting. The 2021 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge winner describes the book as “not just a collection of tips – it’s a comprehensive guide to cultivating a thoughtful betting mindset that applies to both the track and life’s broader gambles.”

You don’t have to wait until March to get Matt’s advice, the book is available in hardcopy, ebook, and on audible narrative by him. For more information and to get your copy of the book, visit abettorwayofthinking.com.

Subject to Change

Beat Byk Finals

• September 14 | Beat Byk Finals (must have prequalified) – 1 seat guaranteed. ONLINE

 Canterbury Park  

• September 26 | $2000 Canterbury Park NHC/BCBC Qualifier Powered byXpressbet – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
• September 28-29 | $500 Canterbury Park Dog Days of Summer Handicapping Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. ONTRACK

 Delaware Park

• September 28 | $500 Major Handicapping Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. ONTRACK

 Horseplayers.com

• September 2 | $125 – SPECIAL LABOR DAY CONTEST– 5 seats guaranteed.
• September 6 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 8 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
• September 13 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 14 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 15 | NHC TOUR MEMBER FREE CONTEST – 4 seats guaranteed.
• September 20 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 22 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 27 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 28 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 29 | $165 – Restricted to players that have NOT won a NHC 2025 seat – 1 seat guaranteed.

Horsetourneys.com

• September 7 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
• September 21 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.

Kentucky Downs

• September 1 | $400 NHC Handicapping Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
• September 7 | $2500 King of the Turf Finals – 5 seats guaranteed. ONLINE

Los Alamitos

• September 21 | $500 NHC Handicapping Contest – 2 seats guaranteed. ONTRACK

Remington Park

• September 13 | Free Remington Park ThoroEnduro Challenge – 1 seat guaranteed. ONLINE

TwinSpires.com

• September 7 | $1000 Ellis Kentucky Downs – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
• September 14 | $1000 Churchill Downs – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
• September 21 | $1000 Churchill Downs – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE
• September 28 | $1000 Churchill Downs – 2 seats guaranteed. ONLINE

Woodbine

September 14 | $1000 Woodbine Mile Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID

The 2024 First-Half NHC Tour Leaderboard season will come to an end on Labor Day.

The kick-off of the NHC Tour season began on March 2, 2024, with the 1 S/T Ultimate Betting Challenge and will conclude with a $125 special Labor Day contest to be held on Horseplayers.com where the top 5 finishers will qualify to NHC 2025.

A player’s top four scores, count toward the NHC Tour First-Half Leader Board points total. An individual’s top four scores may come from either an online or on-track contest. The top 3 players who amass the highest points total will win a Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) entry valued at $10,000 or if he or she already has secured a BCBC entry they may choose a $10,000 cash prize.

Click here to view the current first-half standings.

The Overall NHC Tour Leaderboard season will conclude on February 23, 2025.

The NHC Tour Leaderboard has been updated through August 29. The 2024 Tour Rules can be found here.

REMINDER: Please ensure your NHC Tour membership is valid and active prior to playing in any NHC qualifiers.

Gregory Lewis

21,080

Brett Wiener

20,874

David Brownfield

20,874

Phil Matzat

20,192

Roger Cettina

20,000

Scott McKeever

19,406

Ciaran Thornton

18,846

John Gaspar

18,763

Tim Smith

18,441

Ronald Tang

18,359