January 2024
It may have been a busy holiday season but that didn’t slow down the contests or NHC qualifiers in December.
The month kicked off with the Lone Star Park Handicapping Tournament, with its $1,000 buy-in live money format. Three NHC seats were awarded to Karl Broberg, Amy Brantley, and Kevin Willett. That same day in the Hoosier State, the Horseshoe Indianapolis awarded four NHC seats to Pat Cronin, Kevin Harrell, Mark Myrick, and Robert Mack. That same day Jesse Temple won a seat to the NHC in the Saratoga Bets contest.
On December 9, Monmouth Park hosted a $300 NHC qualifier which saw Bill Rendino take home his second consecutive win at Monmouth Park. He beat the field of 144 entries to take home a $7,050 cash prize and a seat to the NHC. Second place finisher Frank Gryboski also took home an NHC seat.
On the opposite coast on December 16, Los Alamitos hosted a $500 NHC qualifier which awarded berths to Colin Sumner and Jean Huttepain. That same weekend Remington Park hosted a contest which will be sending Vince Piscitelli to the NHC as did Canterbury Park which awarded a seat to Mike Yurczyk.
Christmas came late on December 26th for those playing in Santa Anita’s Opening Day Challenge. Played on track and online with a $1,500 entry fee awarded seats to Lawrence Kahlden and Jeff Arthur.
The year finished off with many seats being awarded online. Horseplayers.com gave away 33 seats to Joshua Ochlech, Jeff VanDrie, Robert Courtney, Jerome Linderman, Patrick Kennedy, Marvin Streeter, Ray Arsenault, Karl Barth, Steve Nemetz, Jack Schwartz, Jeff Hartz, Randy Bauer, Ronald de la Gardelle, Ernest Hey Jr., David Mullin, Steven Gruettner, Christopher Olsson, Ralph Magnetti, Derek Dickson, Greg Knepper, Mark Wilgard, James Michelson, Jr., Kip Ginsburg, Shad Walton, Tony Brice, Rich Averill, Rocco Lombardi, Rick Hamilton, Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Resnik, Jean Demarco, Steve Decaspers, and Michael Tomatz. Horsetourneys.com gave away eight seats to Robert Masterton, Andrew Weiss, Samuel Robertson, Michael Ryan, Michael Guadagno, Tom O’Connor, Hubert Gaffney, and George Turner.
Jeff Arthur
William Rendino
Patrick Kennedy
Greg Knepper
Jerome Linderman
Steve Nemetz and Wendy Long
Q&A with Wendy Long and Steve Nemetz
Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Occupation: Steve – Electrical Engineer; Wendy – Freelance Sportswriter
Do you have any children? Pets? We have no human children but over many years we have been “parents” to a variety of critters such as rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas (all rescue or adoptions) and horses. Currently we have two horses – former racehorses named Laddie and Coco.
Who started playing contests first, or did you get into it together? We got into it together – it all started when Steve saw an ad in the DRF for the Breeders Cup Betting Challenge – we started doing qualifiers and competed in our first BCBC in 2012 – Wendy finished fifth that year and earned a seat in the 2013 NHC in Vegas – Steve later went online and also qualified for that NHC and we had such a good time we have been keen tournament players ever since!
What do you like most about handicapping contests? Going to live tournaments, such as NHC or BCBC, it is great fun to put a face to names we see while competing in online contests. It’s funny how we tend to knock heads with the same people in cyberspace and it is always great to finally meet them in person.
Do you get competitive in contests when you are both playing? Absolutely!! We both have different styles of handicapping and often our picks are quite different – although when we both arrive at the same longshot by very different roads it is uncanny how often that longshot comes in. Wendy is probably the most competitive personality – she has a take no prisoners approach to contests and competitors that would include Steve if he is in the mix!! The one tradition we have is if one of us does well in a tournament – winning money, or a seat in something – the winner takes the other out for a nice dinner!! So, ultimately, we both win even if one of us loses!!!
What is your favourite racetrack? Well, we have a local racetrack called Hastings so that is probably where we spend most of our time. In terms of racing and making money wagering over the years, Steve likes Santa Anita and Wendy has a longtime love and financial affinity for Churchill Downs.
When and where did you qualify for the 2024 NHC? We don’t often get a chance to compete in live tournaments because of where we live, so most of our qualifications have to come online, either via Horseplayers or Horsetourneys sites, and that is what we did to earn our seats for the 2024 NHC.
What is your favourite restaurant in Las Vegas? Ah, easy one – La Cave at The Wynn. We have a longstanding tradition that when we go to Vegas, our first night meal is always at La Cave – a nice bistro with sharing plates. We have been doing this for years and years!!!
What do you like best about the NHC? We just love the atmosphere – getting 500 kindred spirits all in one room and yelling like crazy as the horses come down the lane. It is so much fun because most of our friends and family who are non-horseplayers don’t understand this stuff so it is great fun to spend time with fellow horseplayers!
What are your ideas to improve the NHC? We are very happy that it was moved to March – the January dates often had bad weather, scratches and short fields – the later date allows for better weather, bigger fields and the chance for more turf races (which Wendy loves!). This is nitpicky but…. We both have two entries and we both always try to get two entries to give some margin of error – but from a purist point of view if you truly want to crown the best handicapper, the rule should be One Player, One Team – very difficult over three days and whoever can rise to the top is truly outstanding!
Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship
The annual Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship will be returning to Gulfstream Park on Saturday January 27, 2024. The live money contest will award over $250,000 in total prizes, and five seats to the 25th NHC in Las Vegas. With a $6,000 buy-in, $5,000 going to player’s bankroll and $1,000 entry fee going to the prize pool, it’s anyone’s chance to win. Players can participate online at Xpressbet or on-track at Gulfstream Park or Santa Anita Park.
Online registration begins on Tuesday January 9, 2024 at 12:00pm ET and entries will be accepted until the start of Race 5 at Gulfstream Park on Saturday January 27. More information and full rules can be found here.
January NHC Qualifiers
Monmouth Park
- January 6 | $300 NHC December Qualifier – 2 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Sam Houston
- January 27 | $1,000 NHC Qualifier – 4 seats guaranteed. ON TRACK
Xpressbet
- January 13 | $500 Santa Anita Park Cal Cup Day Challenge – 2 seats guaranteed. HYBRID.
- January 27 | $6,000 Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship – 5 NHC seats guaranteed.
- January 5 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 6 | $165 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 6 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 12 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 13 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 14 | $165 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 14 | $210 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 18 | $100 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 19 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 21 | $500 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 21 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 26 | $75 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 27 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 28 | $210 – Restricted to players that have not qualified to NHC 2024 – 1 seat guaranteed.
- January 7 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 20 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
- January 28 | $165 – 2 seats guaranteed.
2023 NHC Tour Update
Another year of the NHC Tour is coming to a close and will officially wrap on February 25, 2024. The NHC Tour Overall and Rookie Leader Boards will be totaled immediately following the end of the tour and winners will be announced. For full rules and regulations, visit here.
Note: NHC Tour Membership renewal will begin after February 25, 2024. You may check to see if your auto-renew status is ON your NHC Membership profile page. Please check this and if you do not wish to have your membership status on auto renew, please email Holly at hshort@ntra.com.
NHC Tour Leaderboard Updates
The NHC Tour Leaderboard has been updated through December 29. The 2023 Tour Rules can be found here.
REMINDER: Please ensure your NHC Tour membership is valid and active prior to playing in any NHC qualifiers.
Joseph Costello
24,053
Evan Trommer
22,709
Brett Wiener
21,243
Kevin Engelhard
21,239
David Snyder
20,919
Gregg Kingma
20,886
Sally Goodall
19,931
George Bosch
19,754
George Novick
19,641
Tarik Kouchtaf
19,346
Spotlight on the 53rd Eclipse Awards
2023 NHC Winner Paul Calia to be awarded Horseplayer of the Year
Tune in to the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards on Thursday, January 25th, to see Paul Calia of Kansas City, MO, who won the 2023 NHC in Las Vegas, be presented with his equine statue and formally awarded Horseplayer of the Year.
After an exciting year of racing, the Eclipse Awards will return for the second consecutive year at The Breakers Palm Beach, with co-hosts Britney Eurton, Acacia Courtney Clement, and Nick Luck presiding over the show and Caton Bredar again serving as the Ceremony Announcer. Since 1971, the Eclipse Awards have bestowed horses and individuals the honor of champion in their respective categories.
Stay tuned on Saturday, January 6, 2024 when the list of finalists will be announced on FanDuel TV. To watch LIVE on January 25th, tune in at 7:00pm on FanDuel TV, Racetrack Television Network (RTN), and streamed on multiple outlets. More information on the Eclipse Awards can be found here.