Daily Racing Form

NHC IV third-place finisher Tim Holland qualified for his fourth national finals appearance with a win in Turfway Park's Handicapping Blowout.

Tim Holland of Midway, Ky. won Turfway Park¹s $10,000 Handicapping Blowout on Sunday, Feb. 22. Holland won first prize of $5,000 and qualified for the 2005 Daly Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas.

Holland is no stranger to the National Handicapping Championship. Thanks to his win at Turfway, Holland becomes one of only four players who¹ve qualified for the NHC four times. In prior national finals appearances, Holland has earned a total of $20,000 in prize money while distinguishing himself as one of the top handicappers in the land. He played on NHC championship winning teams representing Keeneland in both 2002 and 2003, and finished third in the NHC individual standings in 2003.

Holland, 41, has worked as a broodmare manager at Hunterton Farm in Paris, Ky. for the last decade. When he has time, the native of Dorset, England also has been a tournament enthusiast since 1999, playing in an average of eight contests per year.

Entry fee for the Turfway Handicapping Blowout was $100. Players in the one-day contest made 12 mythical $2 win-and-place bets. Races 3-8 at Turfway were mandatory plays, and six other optional plays were available on the races from Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Fair Grounds, and the remaining races from Turfway. Odds were capped at 20-1 to win ($42) and 10-1 to place ($22).

Turfway Park¹s two remaining NHC VI qualifying spots will go to the winners of two contests later this year. The next two Handicapping Blowouts will be held on Sept. 26 and Dec. 5.