The NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) is just around the corner with the 25th anniversary event scheduled for March 15-17 at the Horseshoe Las Vegas. The NHC is a $3 million handicapping tournament that is open only to players who have qualified with a win or high finish in a feeder contest online or at various racetracks throughout the year.

If you are a tournament player still in search for an NHC qualifying spot in February 2024 as the date of the main event quickly approaches, you will be happy to know that there are still many opportunities remaining to earn in a seat in the NHC finals in Las Vegas.

A last-minute scramble for NHC qualifying berths is not a new phenomenon. Urgency to get into the NHC field of approximately 600 entries grows throughout the annual qualifying process. For this reason, there are several late-season contests that cater directly to hopefuls that still find themselves on the outside looking in. In addition to numerous online contests still remaining at feeder sites like HorseTourneys.com and HorsePlayers.com, several racetracks will also be in the mix for handicappers who prefer the on-track tournament play experience over playing online.

Known as Last Chance/First Chance tournaments, these contests have sprung up all over the place in recent years, so let’s take a look at this year’s offerings for those still trying to earn qualifying spots into the NHC in Las Vegas.

As the name would imply, Last Chance/First Chance tournaments offer handicappers final opportunities to qualify for the NHC. Not wanting to exclude players who are already maximum qualified to the upcoming NHC (players can qualify for two NHC seats per year), these tournaments often can also be played as a first chance opportunity to qualify for the next NHC main event, meaning they can become among the first to qualify for the 2025 NHC.

Several tournaments remain on the official NHC schedule in February 2024. Are you a tournament player still trying to punch your ticket to the NHC in search of an on-track event? Read on for the rundown of tracks offering Last Chance/First Chance qualifying tournaments in the run-up to the 2024 NHC, listed chronologically. Best of luck!

Feb. 16-17

Tampa Bay Downs High Rollers Handicapping Contest

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The High Rollers Handicapping Contest costs $1,000 to enter, which includes a $500 entry fee and $500 which goes to a player’s live contest bankroll. The top two overall finishers will earn NHC qualifying berths for either 2024 or 2025. Daily winners on Day 1 and Day 2 of the tournament also win NHC berths. The top five players on the two-day leaderboard will earn prize money with 50% of the cash pool going to the winner, 20% for second, 15% for third, 10% for fourth, and 5% for fifth. The contest format is $50 in bets (limited to win, place, or show) on a total of 10 races with five bets Friday and five bets on Saturday. The players with the highest earnings are the winners, and both daily and overall leaderboards will be in play on both days. The $1,000 buy-in is due by 11 a.m. on Feb. 16. Call 813-855-4401 ext. 1368 to enter by phone.

Feb. 17 and Feb. 18

The Hawthorne Contest, Last Chance/First Chance NHC Qualifier

The Hawthorne Contest is actually two separate one-day tournaments on both Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, so if you tank on Day 1 the scores do not carry over and Day 2 begins an entirely new contest. The venues for these contests are at any one of Hawthorne’s eight off-track wagering facilities in northern Illinois. Each day’s contest costs $300 to enter and the entire amount serves as a player’s live contest bankroll with no “entry fee.” Players can then make any wager at any simulcast track available that day as long as they wager a minimum of their original $300 bankroll. The two highest scoring players each day win qualifying berths into the 2024 or 2025 NHC. Click here to register.

Feb. 24

Monmouth Park $300 Last Chance NHC Qualifier

Monmouth Park is a leader in offering on-track NHC qualifying berths at tournaments it hosts all throughout the year, so it’s no surprise that it would jump into the Last Chance/First Chance fray with its own event right before the cutoff for the 2024 NHC. Monmouth Park’s $300 Last Chance NHC Qualifier is an on-site-only contest with a $300 buy-in that includes a $150 entry fee and $150 used as a player’s live contest bankroll. The top two finishers will qualify for either the 2024 or 2025 NHC based on 100 entries, but Monmouth could add an additional spot if entries exceed 100 (max. two entries per person). Players can bet win, place, and show only on the day’s race cards from Aqueduct, Gulfstream, and Tampa Bay Downs in order to try to accumulate the highest final total bankroll. Based on 100 entries, cash prizes of $7,500 would be awarded with top prize of $3,750 going to the winner. The contest features walk-up cash registration only on the day of the event at Monmouth Park.

March 14

NHC Last Chance/First Chance Contest – Horseshoe Las Vegas

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The granddaddy of all Last Chance/First Chance tournaments takes place on the eve of the NHC at the NHC venue at Horseshoe Las Vegas and is hosted by the NTRA. The event has gotten so big that if it were a stand-alone tournament, it would be one of the biggest tournaments of the entire year both in terms of purse money and the amount of entries. The 2023 NHC Last Chance drew a field of 752 entries, which marked a 40% increase from the previous year’s record of 532 entries in 2022.

The NHC Last Chance/First Chance Contest costs $500 to enter and is a direct qualifier for the NHC that begins the following day. Why is the contest so popular? It’s all about winning NHC entries, and there is no better place to try to qualify that at the NHC Last Chance/First Chance. Based on a repeat of last year’s 750+ entries, the tournament will award a staggering 28 qualifying berths into the 2024 NHC, plus six more seats to the 2025 NHC finals. For this reason, 70% of the entry fees go directly into the prize pool for the NHC main event. The remaining 30% of the entry fees are returned as cash prizes to the top finishers. Last year, a retired history teacher named George Novick not only qualified for the NHC but also took home $56,400 in prize money.

The other reason for the NHC Last Chance/First Chance Contest’s popularity is that it’s one of the few remaining events using the traditional $2 Win-and-Place mythical money tournament format. Mirroring the format of the NHC finals, players make a specified number of mythical $2 Win-Place bets on a selection of mandatory and optional Thursday simulcast races. The players who accumulate the highest earnings qualify to advance to play in the NHC main event beginning the following day. Go to the NTRA’s tournament section for all the information.