George Elliott of Milford, Conn. officially became the first person to qualify for the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship VI to be held in January, 2005 in Las Vegas. Elliott defeated a full field of 350 players to win the eighth annual Autotote Sports Haven Handicapping Challenge in New Haven, Conn. on Feb. 7-8.

The Sports Haven Handicapping Challenge is one of the most prestigious events on the annual tournament calendar, and this year's purse of $140,000 was the highest ever awarded in the history of the contest. The 350 participants paid $400 to enter and came to Connecticut from 20 different states around the country.

Elliott, a 50-year-old plumbing contractor, won first prize of $50,000 and qualified for the NHC thanks to a contest-winning bankroll of $11,480 based on 10 mythical $200 win, place, or show bets per day on the races from Aqueduct, Gulfstream, and Santa Anita. That total was more than enough to hold off runner-up Mike Latella of East Haven, Conn., who earned a prize of $18,000 for finishing second with $10,805. Latella also qualified for NHC VI. It was only another $60 back to third-place finisher Ken Kingsbury of Flushing, N.Y., who won $10,000 in prize money but no trip to Las Vegas

Elliott began the tournament quietly with six losing bets in a row on day one. However, he then went on a hot streak with three big wins to end the day including Kolob in race two from Santa Anita ($32.60), Little Matth Man in race nine at Aqueduct ($21.40), and Miss Coronado in race eight at Gulfstream ($18.80). His $7,280 bankroll was enough to put him in first at the end of day one, which earned him a $3,000 cash bonus. Elliott then hit Joe'sdancingangel in race one at Aqueduct ($49.40) with his first bet on Sunday to give him an insurmountable lead.

Kingsbury led all players on day two of the contest but settled for third behind Latella who cashed a bet in the tournament's final race to secure second place. In addition to winning $10,000 for finishing third overall, Kingsbury also earned another $10,000 for compiling Sunday's highest score.

Autotote's next tournament, the Bradley Teletheater Handicapping Challenge, will be held in the Hartford-area this summer.