CONTEST FEES

The entry fee for each Round 1 contest is $100. There are no additional entry fees should a player advance to Round 2. There is a maximum of two entries per player, per Round 1 contest. Round 1 contests are capped at 200 entries unless otherwise noted in the schedule.

A player may only qualify once to the National Handicapping Championship and those qualifying spots are non-transferable.

CONTEST FORMAT and SCHEDULE:

Schedule:

Players will compete in a two-round format for qualifying spots to the National Handicapping Championship. Generally, Round 1 contests will be held the first three Saturdays of each month (the schedule may be modified), with Round 2 contests occurring on the final Saturday of each month (the schedule may be modified). For example, the schedule may look like this:

Saturday, August 4: Round 1 contest (max 200 entries)
Saturday, August 12: Round 1 contest (max 200 entries)
Saturday, August 18: Round 1 contest (max 200 entries)
Saturday, August 25: Round 2 contest (qualifying spots awarded)

Contest Play:

Contest play mirrors that of the National Handicapping Championship. For both Round 1 and Round 2 contests, players will make selections for 10 designated races. Mythical $2 Win/Place wagers ($2 to Win and $2 to Place) will be made on the horse a player selects in each race.  Only one horse may be selected per race.  If a player’s horse wins, the player collects on both the Win and Place wagers.  If the horse finishes second, the player collects only on the Place wager. All wagers and payouts from races are mythical and will be used as a score only.

There is a cap on both the Win and Place wagers.  The maximum payout on a Win bet is $42 (20-1 odds) and the maximum payout on a Place wager is $22 (10-1 odds).

Selections:

The selection format of the contest is real-time to allow players to modify/change their selections up until post time. Players will have until the official post time of each race to make selections, HOWEVER, IT IT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that players submit all selections prior to the first race and then go back and edit as needed, at least (5) five minutes prior to the official post time of each race. The Participant is 100% responsible for ensuring that a contest wager has been accepted, regardless of the circumstances.

Players will select horses by name and official program number. As with real wagering, coupled entries serve as one betting interest for the purpose of this contest. Selections can be made as early as the day prior to the contest, as soon as the contest selection process is opened. Typically, contest selections will open early on Friday evenings (Eastern Time). An e-mail notification is sent to all registered players when selections open.

LATE SCRATCHES:

In the event of a late scratch (i.e. at the gate), players may change selections provided selections have not yet closed for that given race. If selections have already closed, the scratched horse will be replaced with the post-time favorite for that race.  Selections WILL NOT RE-OPEN after closing due to a late scratch.

QUALIFYING PARAMETERS

Upon completion of each Round 1 contest, the top 10 percent of entries from each contest will advance to Round 2, to be held on the final Saturday of each month (the schedule may be modified).  Advancing entries will be rounded down to the nearest whole number that is divisible by 10. For example, if 176 entries compete in a Round 1 contest, the top 17 entries will advance to Round 2.  Round 1 contests are capped at 200 entries per contest unless otherwise noted in the schedule.

The minimum number of entries for a Round 2 contest, in order to award a qualifying spot, is 10.  One qualifying spot to the National Handicapping Championship will be awarded per every 10 entries that compete in a Round 2 contest.  Qualifying spots will be rounded down to the nearest whole number that is divisible by 10.  For example, if 54 entries compete in a Round 2 contest, the top 5 entries will be awarded qualifying spots.  If the total number of entries participating in a Round 2 contest ends in the number 5 or above, qualifying spots will be rounded UP to the nearest whole number that is divisible by 10.  For example, if 58 entries compete in a Round 2 contest, the top 6 entries will be awarded qualifying spots.  Due to the cap of 200 entries per Round 1 contest, the maximum number of players in a Round 2 contest is 60 (unless otherwise noted in the schedule).

Players who advance to Round 2 contests will be automatically entered into those Round 2 contests, and no additional entry fees will be incurred.  It is the player’s responsibility to be available and make selections for the Round 2 contest. Round 2 entries are not refundable or transferable.  If a player does not make selections for a Round 2 entry, that entry is lost.  A player may have a maximum of two entries per Round 2 contest.

The minimum number of entries for a qualifying spot to be awarded in a Round 2 contest is 10. If that number of entries is not attained through Round 1 contests, then the Round 2 contest will be cancelled, and all Round 2 qualifying entries will be moved to the next Round 2 contest.

PRIZES:

One qualifying spot to the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship will be awarded per every 10 entries in a Round 2 contest (see above for rounding rules). The spot will include three days hotel accommodations at the NHC finals venue at NTRA expense. Players will be responsible for their own transportation to and from Las Vegas.

NHC TOUR POINTS:

NHC Tour Points will be awarded for Round 2 and one-day contest finishes only at NHCQualify.com, in accordance with the points system of the NHC Tour.  The NHC Tour rules call for 10 percent of finishing players to earn points, with a cap of 30. This means that if a typical Round 2 has a full field of 60 players, 600 total contestants competed in the Round 1 contests for that month. 10 percent of 600 is 60, but the cap of 30 applies. Therefore, if all Round 1 contests sellout for a given month, the top 30 finishers from the Round 2 will earn NHC Tour points.

A player may earn NHC Tour points for only one placing per NHCQualify Round 2 or one-day contest.

Players will not earn NHC Tour points for Round 1 finishes. NHC Tour points earned will be tracked by the NHC Tour website. Players do not need to contact NHCQualify.com with their NHC Tour registration information or PIN number. For more information on the NHC Tour, please visit the NHC Tour website. Please contact the NTRA with questions regarding NHC Tour points.