Shurman wins NHC Tour title

Paul Shurman, a 57-year-old attorney from Dix Hills, New York, rode the

strength of three wins and two second-place finishes to capture the 2011 crown

as Daily Racing Form NHC Tour Champion and a $75,000 first-place prize.

Should Shurman capture the title later this month at the January 27-28 Daily

Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) finals at Treasure

Island Las Vegas, he will receive a $2 million bonus in addition to that event's

estimated first prize of $1,000,000.

Shurman finished first, second or third in an incredible 10 different

qualifying tournaments during 2011, though only his top five finishes counted

for scoring purposes. He finished the contest year with 13,200 points. Wayne

Collier (12,675 points) of Slidell, Louisiana, finished in second place, good

for $25,000. Third was Christopher Skotz (11,775) of Campbell, California, who

won an NHC Tour prize of $15,000; finishing fourth and earning $7,500 was

Gaylord Grundy (11,600) of Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. And checking in fifth for a

$2,500 payout was Mark Streiff (10,350) of Mission Viejo, California

"Winning the NHC Tour is certainly the highlight of my handicapping career,"

Shurman said. "Many of the most respected handicappers in North America are Tour

members and compete for the Tour championship. It is very gratifying to know I

can be competitive with some of the best and that on this occasion, I was

fortunate enough to come out on top. Playing in handicapping tournaments and on

the Tour has not only helped me hone my handicapping skills, but most

importantly, has led to many friendships that I believe will last a lifetime."

Should Shurman go on to win the NHC later this month at Treasure Island, he

will be in line for a $3 million payday ($1 million grand prize plus $2 million

bonus as NHC Tour winner).

"There will be added pressure at Treasure Island, but not so much from the

money at stake as from the added attention," Shurman said. "If I have a bad

first day, people will say, 'Hey, the guy who won the Tour hasn't hit a thing

yet.' This will be my 10th NHC, and the best I ever finished was third, so I

have a good appreciation of how hard it is to win -- especially this year with

twice as many contestants as in previous years. My main goal going in is to just

be in the hunt on the second day."

More than 4,500 NHC Tour members participated in 2011 handicapping

qualifiers. Treasure Island will host a "Last Chance" qualifier on January 25

that will offer the final five berths for the January 27-28 NHC where 500

contestants will compete for a first prize of $1 million and a total estimated

prize pool of $1.675 million, including cash and prizes. But that Last Chance

qualifier on January 26 will not award NHC Tour points.

The NHC Tour is a yearlong bonus series offering additional prize money and

qualifying berths to the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. Tour

members receive NHC Tour points for top finishes in NHC qualifying events held

during the year. In addition to potential prize money and berths in the NHC,

benefits for NHC Tour members include automatic enrollment in the Horseplayers'

Coalition. The Coalition seeks legislative and regulatory solutions to tax and

business issues that impact pari-mutuel racetracks and their customers and

provides grass roots support for the NTRA's lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.

Tour members also are automatically eligible to participate in NTRA Advantage,

offering preferred pricing on products and services from leading suppliers,

including John Deere, Sherwin-Williams, OfficeDepot and OfficeMax.

Registration for the 2012 NHC Tour will begin shortly.