NHC Tour kicks off with record $250,000 in prize money, 150 berths to NHC 17

NHC Tour kicks off with record $250,000 in prize money, 150

berths to NHC 17

Less than one week since John O'Neil earned $800,000 as the

winner of the 16th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping

Championship (NHC) at Treasure Island Las Vegas, the NHC Tour

kicked off its 2015 season on Saturday with a record $250,000 in prize money

and 150 guaranteed berths to NHC 17.

The top three finishers at last weekend's NHC, including O'Neil, and five of the top 10 who comprised the Final Table,

earned their way in by landing in the top 150 in the 2014 NHC Tour.

Signups for the 2015 DRF NHC Tour are now being accepted at

ntra.com/en/nhc/2015-become-a-member. The complete rules are posted at

ntra.com/en/nhc/2015-nhc-tour-official-rules.

The year's first NHC Tour event and NHC qualifier kicked off Saturday at

NHCQualify.com, the official qualifying site for the NHC.

NHC Tour participation requires an annual NTRA

individual membership fee of $50. Membership is mandatory in order to compete

for a berth in the 2016 NHC and must be in place prior to participation in any

given qualifier tournament in order for top finishers of sanctioned NHC

qualifying events to be eligible to compete in the January 2016 NHC -- the

lucrative culmination of the year's qualifying schedule.

As was the case in 2014, the top 150 Tour points leaders at

the end of the year will be guaranteed entry into the 2016 NHC, where the

overall, season-ending NHC Tour points leader will be eligible for a $2 million

bonus should he or she capture the 2016 NHC and become the first person to earn

a seat to the 2017 NHC.

The record NHC Tour prize pool of $250,000, up 25 percent

over 2014, includes a total of $50,000 in midyear payouts to the top five

individuals (who will receive $10,000 each) in the standings as of July 31.

End-of-year payouts will total $175,000, with points based on a member's top six

scores (including at least one score from a brick and mortar tournament

location). The overall Tour winner will receive $75,000 and a seat to the 2017 NHC, and the top two finishers will each receive a trophy.

The top 20 finishers at the end of the year will each

receive prize money and be eligible to compete for a $25,000 bonus to be paid to

the individual who achieves the highest overall finish at the 2016 NHC. This

individual also will earn a berth in the 2017 NHC. The bonus money is in

addition to any other prize money won at the NHC.

In addition to making one eligible to earn a coveted seat

to the NHC, other NHC Tour benefits include:

Entering its 17th year, the NHC is the most important tournament of the year for

horseplayers. There are no "buy-in" entries at the NHC. It is the culmination of

a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks,

casino race books, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and

handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national

finals.

Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an

honoree at the Eclipse Awards. The 15 NHC Champions since the event's inception,

in chronological order, are Steven Walker, Judy Wagner, Herman Miller, Steve Wolfson Jr., Kent Meyer, Jamie Michelson, Ron Rippey, Stanley Bavlish, Richard

Goodall, John Conte, Brian Troop, John Doyle, Michael Beychok, Jim Benes, Jose

Arias and John O'Neil.

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