Dean Malizia

LAS VEGAS (March 15, 2025) ─ Extending his prowess from Friday’s first-place standing,  Dan  Piazza is the overall leader following Saturday’s second day of the NTRA’s 26th National Horseplayers Championship presented by Caesars Race & Sports Book, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Racetrack Television Network (RTN). Piazza, a financial advisor from Chicago, heads 80 horseplayers who punched their ticket into Sunday morning’s semifinal round.  

Those 80 participants will be reduced to the top 10 players at the conclusion of the Semifinal round and will advance to the Final Table to determine the 2025 NHC Champion. The overall winner will take home $825,000 and an Eclipse Award as the Horseplayer of the Year.  Click here to access the full NHC Leaderboard.  

Day Two required contestants to wager on 20 races, including eight mandatory races, from seven tracks from around the country.  

Piazza increased his Day-One mythical bankroll from $167.22 to $318.92. Dylan Donnelly of Alta Loma, California, jumped to second place with $255.66. Greg Bone of Dallas is in third place with $255.28. 

“I’m very excited right now,” said Piazza, who picked eight win/place tickets correctly and four more place scores. “I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect yesterday, and for sure I came in this morning just hoping to hit some races and not look foolish. I’m very surprised and very excited where I’m at now and I know I’ve got a lot of work in front of me. I’ve already started looking at all the homework, but I know I’ve got to go back and just sharpen the pencil a little bit.  Tomorrow is going to be more pressure, I think, and more nerves will be at play.”  

Dean Malizia of Craig, Colorado, won the individual Day-Two title, registering $179.80. Malizia gained a $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge berth for his victory.  Andy Asaro of San Diego finished second with $173.20, and was awarded $5,000. Jeff Arthur of Chesapeake, Virginia, finished third with $171.90 and earned $2,500. 

This year’s NHC has a record cash and prizes totaling $4,878,415, including more than $3 million in cash prizes. The top 10% of the field is guaranteed cash prize money with the NHC Champion receiving $825,000 and an Eclipse Award. The 80th-place finisher will win $10,010. The full prize structure can be found here. 

In addition to Sunday’s semifinal round and Final Table, all NHC players will be eligible to participate in the Silver Sunday tournament of 26 races total, including the seven mandatory races coinciding with the Final Table races. 

The tournament format for the NHC is meant to be the best possible test of picking winners. Players attempt to earn the highest possible bankroll based on mythical $2 Win/Place wagers.  

All information on the 26th NHC can be found here. To sign up for the 2025 NHC Tour and win your way to next year’s NHC visit to www.ntra.com/membership. 

Mike Brunker of Henderson, Nevada, a freelance writer and editor for Horse Racing Nation,  won Saturday’s NHC Charity Challenge presented by NTRA Charities, and benefiting the Permanent Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). Competing against 48 sports and racing personalities, Brunker earned a mythical $83.80 wagering on eight races chosen by contest organizers. Track announcer Jonathan Horowitz finished in second place with $67.10. 

Donations of $2,500 to the PDJF and TAA will be made in Brunker’s name. Additionally, Brunker chose the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health to receive $5,000. 

“My wife Kathy has been living with early-onset Alzheimer’s for years, and the Lou Ruvo Center has been there for us throughout,” said Brunker. “In addition to research, the staff provides a wealth of resources for both patients and caregivers and I don’t know where we would be without their support.”     

About the NTRA 

The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky. and Washington, D.C., 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. 

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