Powered by a steady stream of nine winners, Dan Piazza, a wealth management advisor from Chicago, leads after the first day of the 26th National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), presented by Caesars Race & Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Racetrack Television Network (RTN). Piazza bested Alex DeVito by a mere four cents, to lead the three-day tournament among a record 800 entries.
All 623 players in the Horseshoe Event Center for the March 14-16 tournament wagered on 16 races, including six mandatory races, Friday from eight tracks from around the country.
Piazza amassed a mythical bankroll totaling $167.22 to DeVito’s $167.18. Piazza made solid scores at Gulfstream Park cashing in the sixth race with Incoming, paying $28.80 to win and $9.60 to place, and on the eighth race with Tennessee Lamb, which paid $16.40 to win and $7.20 to place. He also scored a place bet at Turfway for $5.32, which put him on top for the day.
“I did not play a lot of favorites at all,” said Piazza. “I was consistent, even in my place wagers, and the four cents made the difference.”
Piazza’s first place finish also earned him an automatic berth into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
DeVito, from San Diego, earned $5,000 for finishing second. Peter Dresens of Groton, Massachusetts, finished third with $163.90 and won $2,500.
This year’s NHC has a record cash and prizes totaling $4,878,415, including more than $3 million in cash prizes. The top 10% of the field will be guaranteed cash prize money with the NHC Champion receiving $825,000 and the 80th-place finisher awarded $10,010. The full prize structure can be found online.
The action will kick back off at the Horseshoe Event Center on Saturday morning in Las Vegas with eight mandatory and 12 optional races.
The 2026 NHC winner, who will be named on Sunday at the conclusion of the Final Table, will take home the $825,000 grand prize and an Eclipse Award as Horseplayer of the Year.
The tournament format for the NHC is meant to be the best possible test of picking winners. Players attempt to earn the highest possible bankroll based on mythical $2 Win/Place wagers. Assigned “mandatory” races – six per day on Day 1, eight per day on Day 2, and seven at the Final Table – are announced at least 24 hours prior to each contest day via direct e-mail to players and publicly on Twitter (@NTRA) and NTRA.com.
The 26th NHC is presented by Caesars Race & Sportsbook, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and RTN and is supported by official partners Daily Racing Form, EquinEdge, Race Lens and TwinSpires. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and the Permanent Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) are the official charities of the NHC.
The NHC continues on Saturday.
NHC TOURNAMENT OFFICIALS ADDRESS TECHNICAL GLITCH OCCURRING ON DAY 1
Midway through the afternoon, a technical issue arose that prevented some participants from making mythical selections on several optional races that were part of Friday’s contest wagering menu. The issue lasted approximately from 3:00-3:30 p.m. PT and impacted any contest wagers attempted to be made during this time. After conferring, Contest Officials determined that only contest selections successfully made through the contest self-service machines and website would be accepted.
The issue was caused by incorrect data being entered for an alternate mandatory race play as required by Contest Rules following a Contestant Declaration. This has since been corrected and is not expected to cause any further interruptions.
“We sympathize with those impacted by the disruption,” said Tournament Director Keith Chamblin. “There was no perfect remedy to address this unfortunate situation. Thankfully, the contest platform came back online and we were able to complete Day 1.”
