To find out what it takes to make it to the big one – the DRF/ NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) in Las Vegas, we asked two previous qualifiers, handicappers Toby Turrell and Rick Harris to tell us about their experiences and strategies.  Turrell is a duel qualifier.  Out of the three times he has tried to qualify, he has qualified two of them. 

The Basics of the NHC

First, some basics about the NHC.  You can’t buy into the NHC; you can only qualify into it.  Those who are skillful (or lucky) enough to make the cut, win a chance to contend for the title and a half-million-dollar grand prize.  Many tournaments offer expense paid trips to winners.

When: January 29-30, 2010

Where: Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas

Prize: Winner of the Daily Racing Form/ NTRA National Handicapping Championship will win $50,000.  Total prize money is estimated at $1,000,000.  Additionally, if the NHC Tour champion goes on to win the NHC he or she will win an additional $2-million bonus.

Format: 30 total wagers placed in the tournament - 8 mandatory races, 7 self-selected races. Each participant must make a mythical $2 win and $2 place wager on 15 different races each day. Tournament wagers are limited to win and place only.

Who can attend: Those who qualify from NTRA-sanctioned qualifying tournaments. 

To add another dimension to the path to the NHC, those who sign up beforehand for the DRF/NTRA NHC Tour stand a chance of winning a $2million bonus if he r she wins the NHC.  Participants in the tour also win points.  The participant with the highest number of accumulated points wins $100,000.  According to Fritz Widaman, Sr. Director of Marketing at the NTRA, there are over 800 tour members this year.

The Scene

“It’s an adrenaline rush, a great experience, and a great accomplishment every year to try to get into that tournament.”   Turrell explained.  About the atmosphere at the NHC, he told us.  “Usually you’re around familiar faces of real professional players…  You can feel it when it’s getting close to the final races.  Especially if you’ve got a shot to win, it’s really tense.  It reminds me actually of being in New York in the trading room from when I worked on Wall Street.  There is a high charged energy level in the room.  Anyone who can qualify and experience that usually gets hooked on that and tries to qualify every year after.”

Southern California handicapper, Rick Harris also notes the energy level at the NHC.  “It’s got to be high energy because you’ve got the ESPN cameras all over the place.  They are filming and talking to people.”  At the same time, it is a contest, and the people who are there want to win and understand the task at hand.  “You know after the first day where everything stands.  If you’re behind, you really need to go for prices.” says Harris.

Qualifying Tournaments

In order to get to the NHC, contenders must first qualify at a qualifying race at a local track or off track betting venue (OTB).  Winning a qualifying tournament is an accomplishment in and of itself.  Many of the qualifying tournaments offer generous prizes in addition to winning a place at the NHC.  When asked about his tournament highlights, Turrell first mentions his own stomping ground of Southern California.  “My highlights are winning the Fairplex and finishing second at Del Mar and Santa Anita which are my home tracks.  That was almost as exciting as being in the [NHC] tournament.” Says Turrell.

Harris, who recently participated in an NHC qualifying tournament at Emerald Downs, described a scene where the players were surrounded by televisions showing different races from around the country.  “Everyone is screaming for their horse to win.  Obviously, if you have a longshot, you’re screaming for that horse to win and if you don’t have don’t have any horses in the race, you’re hoping for the favorite to win.  If you don’t have a horse in the race, you’re rooting against whoever it is, it doesn’t matter, you’ll root for the favorite, because you’re safe that way.  Someone didn’t score with a good price…. Screams come from different times coming from different places … things were going off at all times.  ”

To host a qualifying tournament, the host must be a member of the NTRA.  Formats for qualifying tournaments vary, with some – such as the Emerald Downs tournament -- which have formats similar to the NHC with only win and place bets.  Other tournaments use a format that more closely resembles an ordinary day at the track by allowing a range of exotic bets.  While the details of the tournament formats vary, there are basically two kinds of tournaments: those with real money wagering and those with mythical wagering.  Some tournaments offer cash prizes; some offer only a seat at the NHC.  The NTRA site maintains a list of qualifying tournaments.

 “I actually prefer the format of the Del Mar and Santa Anita tournaments with the live money and the real bankroll.  I think it’s just an overall better structure for the qualifier than just the win and place which is the way the NHC is structured.”  Turrell explained.  “I like having more options with the exactas, trifectas and superfectas…. There’s a lot more strategy to playing the live money tournaments because you can always go ‘all in’ on any given race and can almost win the tournament on a single race.”

Unlike the NHC, some tournaments allow you to have more than one entry. 

Strategy Issues

The handicapping skill set is no different from regular handicapping in tournaments.  As Harris puts it, “Usually people who can handicap, handicap.  It’s just different plays.”  But there are some differences depending on the format, style, scope and length of the tournament.  For example, long tournaments can be tiring and will test a player’s concentration and endurance.  Also, tournaments can require players to choose from tracks that a given handicapper may not be accustomed to handicapping. 

Other strategy differences depend on the format of the tournament.  For Harris, the Emerald Downs format of choosing to win and place is a shift from his normal approach to handicapping.   “I am basically an exotics bettor – trifectas, exactas, superfectas, Pick 3s, Pick 4s.  I don’t play to win very often.”  For players like Harris who usually prefer exotics, tournament with only win and place bets, require a change in strategy.   “You have to get priced horses to win. Those are the ones you have to get to win…Picking winners with 3 to 5s, even money… you could win almost every race and I don’t know if you would win this tournament.  This is why you look for the 5 to 10s to 1s at least, if not more…Nobody is betting favorites at tournaments.  It’s not a matter of picking the most winners; It’s about picking the most value.”   Another change for Harris was that instead of working with a bankroll, he had to manage his bets.  He said, “You have your bets and you have to make the most of those bets.”

Circumstances can dictate the strategy a player chooses, or a change in strategy.  According to Harris, “You know after the first day where everything stands.  That gives you an idea of what you might have to do for the next day.  If you didn’t do well the first day, then you are really going to have to go for prices.  If you’re right in the heat of things, you don’t really have to change your game plan much.  You’re going to continue with whatever that strategy was.”

Regardless of the format of the tournament, the uber-prize of winning the tournament overrides any concerns about making profitable plays when a player is lagging.  The prospect of a late-tournament longshot-win creates a dynamic unique to tournaments.

When asked about the difference between playing tournaments and everyday handicapping, Turrell says, “The main difference is that I always try to win [during a tournament].  I’ll sacrifice a profit on a day to try to win the tournament… at a tournament I’ll go ‘all in’ and risk everything I have to try to win.”

Although Turrell enjoys playing in tournaments, one thing he would like to see changed is the way that late-tournament-longshots favor luck over skill.  “That’s the biggest thing that I wish could change in the structure.  Anyone who is behind will do the math and just play whatever longshot will allow them win.  If you have a lot of players, the odds are that if longshots wins, the board will get turned upside down, because everyone who is on the bottom half of the board will play them just to win.”

Advice for People New to Tournaments

For newcomers to horse racing tournaments, Harris offers this advice, “You have to keep your concentration.  You have to make sure you get all your bets in. You have to track all that… You have to keep track of all your races.”