The 26^th annual NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) played out just like a horse race where an entrant made the early lead and had to fend off various challengers in order to preserve a wire-to-wire victory. In this case, the race wasn’t between horses, however, it was between handicappers competing for a purse of $3,090,410 at the annual high-stakes NHC tournament on March 14-16 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Dan Piazza, a wealth management advisor from Chicago, used a steady stream of winners throughout the three-day tournament to get and maintain the lead over a field of 800 entries and ascend to the throne of Thoroughbred handicapping. His victory was good for a grand prize of $825,000 and earned him the title of Horseplayer of the Year to be presented at the next Eclipse Awards.

Piazza amassed a final winning total tournament score of $356.52 based on $2 win-and-place bets on a wide selection of 53 mandatory and optional races that he bet at the season’s top simulcast tracks. He finished Day 1 of the tournament in the lead, extended the lead at the end of Day 2, maintained the lead heading into Sunday’s 10-player Final Table, and held then held off his final nine challengers to achieve a wire-to-wire victory.

“My heart is beating a ton,” Piazza said. “(Winning the NHC) was always a goal. It will make my wife very happy.”

The NHC began Friday morning with 800 entries (623 individual players including many who had earned two entries) and was reduced to 80 entries after Saturday’s Day 2 round. Players had to finish in the top 10% of the field at the end of Saturday in order to make the cut and move on to Sunday’s deciding day of action.

Piazza won five of his six mandatory race plays on Friday to help establish the lead, and added optional play winners at Gulfstream Park like Incoming, who paid $28.80 to win race 6, and Tennessee Lamb who paid $16.40 to win race 8. The closest he came to losing the lead at any point of the tournament came at the conclusion of Day 1 when Piazza finished just four cents ahead of Friday’s daily runner up, Alex DeVito of San Diego, $167.22 to $167.18.

“I did not play a lot of favorites at all,” Piazza said. “I was consistent. The four cents made the difference, said Piazza, whose slim Day 1 lead was enough to earn him the prize of a $10,000 entry into the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC).

Piazza built a more commanding lead during Day 2 on Saturday as the field jockeyed for position behind him for one of the 80 spots above the cut line.

“It just seemed like every time someone would be coming at me, I’d get lucky, and I’d have a good pick,” Piazza said.

Piazza continually extended his lead, and by the time the tournament field narrowed down further to Sunday’s Final Table, Piazza was comfortably in front. The second- through 10^th-place players bunched up among themselves, but as a group they were far behind Piazza with seven final mandatory races still to play Sunday afternoon.

“I didn't try to do anything different and didn't get out of my comfort zone,” Piazza said. “That strategy put me up Friday and on Saturday. It was the same thing Sunday.”

2025 NHC runner-up Tom Boyd. (NTRA Photo)

The player at the Final Table that made the strongest run at catching Piazza was Tom Boyd from New Providence, N.J. Boyd trailed Piazza by a not-insignificant $68.90 margin heading into play at the Final Table but cut into that deficit in a big way with back-to-back winners in Gulfstream’s eighth race (Smart Spending, $15.60 to win and $6.40 to place) and Tampa Bay Downs’ ninth race (It’s a Fact, $28.80 to win and $7.40 to place). Ray Hassan of Brooklyn Park, Minn., also picked some winners at the Final Table, but it all came too little too late and proved insufficient to catch Dan Piazza, who held on to win the tournament by a $14.30 margin.

Boyd finished second with a score of $342.22 and earned the NHC’s second prize of $250,000. Hassan finished third with a score of $328.36 and won the $200,000 third prize. The Final Table guaranteed the top 10 finishers a minimum of $65,000 for tenth place, with six-figure payoffs down through fifth place. Dean Malizia scored $311.40 and finished fourth to earn $150,000. Dylan Donnelly totaled $298.86 to win $125,000.

The rest of the Final Table was rounded out by Len Hanson in sixth (won $90,000), Greg Bone in seventh ($85,000), Peter Dresens in eighth ($80,000), Alex DeVito in ninth ($75,000), and Sean Nolan in tenth ($65,000). Prize payoffs of at least $10,000 went all the way down to 80^th  place encompassing every player that made the Sunday cut.

Piazza also finished in 27^th place with his second entry to add another $15,300 in prize money for total winnings of $840,300, plus the Day 1 $10,000 BCBC entry.

Handicappers cannot buy an entry to play in the NHC. You must join the NTRA’s NHC Tour and win a spot with a high finish in an NTRA-sanctioned contest. Qualifying on the 2025 NHC Tour for the next NHC finals in March 2026 is already open. For a full schedule of NHC handicapping events, and to join the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/nhc/membership.

"Thank you to all the incredible participants at this week's National Horseplayer Championship," said NTRA President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Rooney. "Their passion, skill, and dedication to our sport is truly inspiring. This event serves as a reminder of the vital role that horseplayers play in supporting the racing industry year-round. Wagering not only fuels the excitement of the races but also ensures the continued growth and success of Thoroughbred racing. We congratulate all of the participants, especially our 2025 NHC Champion Dan Piazza."

NHC News and Notes

• All NHC players who did not make the cut in the top 80 were automatically eligible to play in the “Silver Sunday” consolation contest, which offered a $100,000 purse. The Silver Sunday tournament ended in a tie for first between William Casper and Bob Jeffery with each player earning $21,075. The top 25 consolation finishers all earned cash prizes.
• The 2025 NHC field included handicappers from 47 states and Canada. The youngest competitor in the field was 24-year-old Carson Matties of Laguna Beach, Calif. who finished in 707^th place, and the oldest player in the field was George Meachem, 85, of Greeley, Colo. who finished 582^nd. The most experienced players in the field were Sally Goodall, Paul Shurman, and Trey Stiles, NHC Hall of Famers that have now qualified 23 times. Stiles finished best of the lot in 13^th place and picked up a $35,000 prize to add to his career NHC earnings.

Michael Abernathy (NTRA Photo)

• Many players in the NHC were multiple-year qualifiers including a sizable contingent of players that have qualified 10 years or more; however, the story of the NHC is not all about veterans. The recently concluded NHC Tour included 410 rookie players, 20 of whom qualified for the NHC on their first go-around. Including those 20 NHC Tour rookies, a total of 97 players were making their first appearance in the NHC finals led by Michael Abernathy of Port Charlotte, Fla., who was the winner of the 2024 Jim Nace for the NHC Tour Rookie of the Year award as the top-scoring first-year player on the NHC Tour. Abernathy finished in 32^nd place in the NHC and won $14,700 in purse money to along with the $5,000 he received for his rookie of the year award.
• Brett Wiener, 57, who splits his time between Clearwater, Fla., and Las Vegas, was crowned 2024 NHC Tour champion and won the NHC Tour’s $75,000 top prize. The NHC Tour is a year-long bonus series where NHC Tour members accumulate points with wins or high finishes in NHC feeder contests both online and at different live tournament sites across the country. More than 5,500 horseplayers participated in the NHC Tour, which awarded $345,000 in cash prizes to its top 20 finishers that was above and beyond the $3,090,410 purse of the NHC. Wiener was alive for a $5 million bonus if he went on to win the NHC main event. He finished 532^nd.
• The 2025 NHC field was seeking to unseat reigning champion Mike Gillum from Fishers, Indiana, who beat a field of 776 entries to win $800,000 in the March 2024 NHC finals. Gillum was one of 13 past NHC champions in the field all attempting to become the first ever two-time winner of the event. They were Paul Calia (2023), David Harrison (2022), Justin Mustari (2021), Scott Coles (2019), Chris Littlemore (2018), Ray Arsenault (2017), Paul Matties Jr. (2016), Jim Benes (2013), Michael Beychok (2012), Stanley Bavlish (2007), Steve Wolfson Jr. (2003), and Judy Wagner (2001). Among that group of past champions, only Littlemore made the cut, finishing in 33^rd place and earning $14,600 in prize money. Defending champ Mile Gillum finished in 270^th place.
• The NHC Hall of Fame inducted a trio of new members this year based on their outstanding accomplishments throughout the 26-year history of the NHC. Those three were Jim Benes of La Grange, Ill., Cheryl McIntyre of Massillon, Ohio, and Rich Nilsen from Tarpon Springs, Fla. They joined prior NHC Hall of Fame inductees Sally Goodall, Dave Gutfreund, Paul Sherman, Bill Shurman, Trey Stiles, Roger Cettina, Kevin “Duke” Matties, Jim Meeks, Dennis Decauwer, Brett Wiener in the 2025 NHC field.

A packed house at the 2025 NHC. (NTRA Photo)

• The NTRA hosted its annual NHC Last Chance First Chance Tournament at Horseshoe Las Vegas on the eve of the NHC on Thursday, March 13. The event attracted a record 1,002 entries and offered 32 qualifying berths into the 2025 NHC plus 14 more into next year’s 2026 NHC finals. The tournament also boasted a $150,300 purse. The winner of the Last Chance First Chance tournament was Kerry Bassore from Albuquerque, N.M., who not only qualified for the NHC but also took home a first prize of $27,054. Bassore played in his eighth NHC finals and finished in 122^nd place in the main event.
• The NHC also hosted the 11^th annual $10,000 NHC Charity Challenge presented by NTRA Charities. The winner was Mike Brucker, a freelance writer and editor for HorseRacingNation who topped a field of 48 sports and horseracing personalities. Brucker accumulated a point total of $83.80 on the eight mythical $2 Win-Place wagers he made in the eight contest races from racetracks that were also part of the NHC. Both the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will receive donations in Brucker’s name.
• The 26th annual NHC was presented by Caesars Entertainment, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Racetrack Television Network (RTN) and was supported by official partners Daily Racing Form, EquinEdge, and Race Lens. Personalities from America’s Best Racing were on hand all three days of the NHC to provide live streaming content, updates, interviews, and Final Table coverage that was made available through several industry outlets.
• The NTRA spent a total of $1,126,005 guaranteeing travel awards to Las Vegas to every finalist and giving them four-night hotel stays at the Horseshoe. When that amount is added to the purse money for the NHC, the Silver Sunday tournament, the NHC Tour purse money, the First Chance Last Chance tournament purse money, and entries that were awarded into other events such as the BCBC, the NHC’s total cash payouts, travel awards, and other prizes totaled $4,878,415.