John Eastwood

James Michelson, Jr. poses with the winner's check for $200,000 after defeating 213 rivals at NHC VI with a bankroll of $240.40.

LAS VEGAS - Jamie Michelson Jr. followed in the footsteps of lifelong friend Steve Wolfson Jr. and emerged victorious in the sixth annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship on Saturday afternoon at Bally's-Las Vegas. Michelson won the championship's $200,000 grand prize and earned the title of DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year just two years after cheering on Wolfson, who accomplished the same feat two years ago at NHC IV.

Michelson, a 38 year-old advertising account director from West Bloomfield, Mich., topped a field of 214 players to win the $412,400 championship. He won a first prize of $200,000, which was a record high payoff in the history of the event.

"To beat all these people is just mind-blowing," Michelson said just minutes after his win was official. "Some days you pick horses and they all run backwards, but this was one of those days when they won. I didn't think I could get lucky two days in a row."

The winner, who qualified for the national finals through Youbet.com's online contest on Aug. 21, describes himself as an occasional weekend horseplayer who primarily enjoys attending Saratoga and playing in handicapping tournaments. "I learn something more in every contest I play in," Michelson said.

Michelson's two-day total of $240.40 based on 30 mythical $2 win-and-place bets at seven tracks was enough to give him the largest margin of victory ($31.60) ever in NHC competition. The $240.40 final score was also the second-highest winning total under the NHC's current format. The only player ever to compile a higher final bankroll than Michelson just happened to be Wolfson, who won NHC VI with a record $279.60 total in Jan. 2003.

Like Steve Wolfson had done two years earlier, Michelson competed in the NHC alongside his father. Wolfson worked as a team alongside his dad, Steven Wolfson Sr., the year he won his title, and Michelson did the same thing this year thanks to his dad and partner, James Michelson Sr., who was also in the NHC VI field thanks to qualifying tournament win at Thistledown.

"My father taught me how to handicap at an early age. Was was probably reading the Racing Form before I was reading Doctor Seuss." Michelson said. "I probably wouldn't have won if not for him. He made me stick by my picks."

James was at Jamie's side when he started celebrating his victory, and Wolfson was not far behind when it became apparent that Michelson had become the new champion. Wolfson was the first on the scene to congratulate the Michelsons. Jamie and Steve's relationship appeared to come full circle from the days when their two families used to take summer trips to Saratoga together when they were kids.

"I've known Steve my whole life. My first date with my wife (Beth) was at the track with Steve," Michelson said. " When I saw him win two years ago, it motivated me to want to do it."

Michelson was the most consistent player in the two-day championship, finishing fifth on day one and earning the 13th-best score on day two. None of the other first-day leaders excelled on the second day of the contest, and none of the second-day leaders did well on the first day. Michelson finished the Day One with $153, and then added another $87.40 on Day Two despite a barrage of favorites that kept Saturday's scores relatively low.

Michelson remained high on the leaderboard for most of the day on Saturday thanks to solid play in the day's eight mandatory races. His three wins in Saturday's mandatory races included Midnight Arrival ($10.60 to win and $6.40 to place) in race 5 at Tampa Bay, Longlivethestar ($7.60, $4.60) in race 8 at Oaklawn, and Papparratzi ($6.00 to place) in race 9 at Turf Paradise. Papparratzi, in particular, was one win that Michelson relished. As the drama of the contest continued to unveil, ESPN lights, cameras, and microphones surrounded Michelson and the other contenders throughout the day for an upcoming television special. Michelson joked that his play on Papparratzi was only fitting, even though he didn't end up needing the $6.00 bankroll boost.

Michelson's big break finally came in one of his seven optional plays on Saturday when he pegged Joe Pag in race 10 at Gulfstream. Joe Pag paid $35.60 to win and $16.60 to place to move Michelson into first place with just a couple hours remaining in the contest.

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Michelson used all of his optional plays by the time the posted standings showed him in the lead. He then had to sweat out the final hours of the contest rooting for favorites as his closest competitors fired bullet after bullet to no avail.

"Usually using all your plays early is not a winning strategy, but today it was," Michelson said.

Michelson's total ended up $31.60 ahead of his closest rival, runner-up Michael Conway of Glencoe, Ill., who finished with $208.80. Conway led early in the contest and then again midway on Saturday, but could not come up with the late win he needed to catch Michelson.

"I saved [my bets], but they didn't do me any good," Conway said.

Conway had to settle for second place, but took home an NHC record consolation prize of $75,000. Conway also was instrumental in leading his Team Twin Spires Club to a win in the NHC team championship.

Third place and $30,000 in prize money went to Michael Elsass of Anna, Ohio, who represented Churchill's Louisville Trackside. Elsass, an avid tournament player who was making his second NHC finals appearance, finished with $205.40 thanks to a big $115 move on Saturday.

Fourth-place went to Charlie Messina from Slidell, La. Messina, 68, who said he has been reading the Daily Racing Form for 50 years, credited luck more than skill for his final total of $204.20.

"It was one-percent skill and 99 percent luck," said Messina, who earned $17,400 for fourth.

Damian Roncevich, the first NHC finalist ever to reside in Hawaii, finished second on Day One and hung around the leaderboard the entire contest en route to an eventual fifth-place finish. Roncevich will take $10,000 in prize money along with him for the long plane ride home.

The sixth through 10th-place finishers all won $5,000 in prize money. Sixth place went to day one leader Bill Shurman of Danville, Calif., who totalled $200.60 for the contest after earning $178.60 on Friday's action alone. Other $5,000 earners were seventh-place finishers (tie) Richard Gaetano of Waterbury, Conn. and David Kassmier of Wooddale, Ill., ninth-place finisher Don Sullivan of Houston, and tenth-place finisher Calvin Manns of Raleigh, N.C.

For the first time ever, the NHC's 11th through 20th-place finishers each earned $2,000 in prize money. They were, in order, defending champion Kent Meyer, Flordeliza Nator, William Haliziw, Larry Moore, Isaac Schultz, Justin Carey, Charlotte Couris, Donald Fritz, Ron Geary, and David "Maven" Gutfreund.

Meyer's 11th-place finish was the best ever by a returning NHC champion.

"I could have won if one more horse could have held on," Meyer said. "Last year they were all hanging on."

In addition to individual prize money, players also competed as members of mainly three-person teams based on their qualifying site. The winner take-all prize of $15,000 and the title of NHC VI team champions went to the Twin Spires Club team comprised of Jason Tudor of Fairdale, Ky., Bill McAninch from Chicago, and Conway, the individual runner-up.

A total of $20,000 ($10,000 a day) was also offered to the top daily finishers. Bill Shurman took home Friday's top daily prize of $5,000, with Roncevich pocketing $3,000 for second and Conway earning $2,000 for third.

Saturday's daily prizes of $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000 went to Chester Victor Jr. from Golden Gate, Michael Elsass, and Justin Carey of Team TVG Network, respectively.

All of the prize winners were honored at a post-contest awards ceremony in Bally's 26th-floor Sky View room. Michelson was also offered an opportunity to pick up his Handicapper of the Year trophy at the 34th annual Eclipse Award dinner on Monday, Jan. 24 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills.

Bally's-Las Vegas will host the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship on Jan. 21-22, 2005.

The Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship is back, and this time the entire country will be watching to see who will be crowned as North America's top horseplayer. This year's new and improved NHC will feature a record purse of more than $400,000, and will be contested in front ESPN video cameras that will broadcast the excitement of a horse handicapping contest to a national viewing audience for the first time ever.

The top prize in all of Thoroughbred handicapping will again be up for grabs when a field of 214 finalists vie for the title of DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year on Jan. 21-22 at Bally's-Las Vegas in the heart of the world famous Strip. The entire event will be taped and boiled down to a one-hour special to air on ESPN on Sunday, Feb. 20 from 5-6 p.m. Eastern Time. The winner will receive a grand prize of $200,000, plus an invitation to the Eclipse Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills where they can take their rightful place alongside horseracing's other top luminaries including owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, and horses.

The sixth DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship will bring together the top finishers from 92 tournaments held at 57 different racetracks, OTBs, casinos, websites, and organizations in North America throughout 2004. More people than ever before entered preliminary qualifying contests, many of which were top-class, big-money events in their own right. Due to the continued growth of Internet contests at sites like youbet.com, CDSN.com, and publichandicapper.com, which draw thousands of entrants, almost 100,000 hopefuls competed for a spot in NHC VI at least once during 2004. That number, however, has been whittled down to just 214 skilled qualifiers who have earned their trips to Las Vegas to play for the national championship.

The field will be seeking to unseat current Handicapper of the Year Kent Meyer of Sioux City, Iowa, who took home last year's top prize of $100,000 for his victory over a field of 260 challengers. Meyer earned an automatic berth into NHC VI as the event's defending champion. He will be one of three past winners in this year's field including NHC II winner Judy Wagner of New Orleans, and NHC IV winner Steve Wolfson Jr. of Holly Hill, Fla.

Several changes have been made to the structure of the National Handicapping Championship since last year's renewal including, first and foremost, a purse increase from $240,000 to $400,000-added. The added money will come from 80 percent of all entry fees paid by entrants of Bally's last chance qualifying tournament called the Win a Place in the Big Show Handicapping Tournament on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The NHC winner's share has been changed for the better to $200,000 (up from $100,000). The added money from the last chance contest will be used to bump up the second- through fifth-place prizes, which will be increased upwards from $70,000, $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively.

More purse money will go to the sixth- through 10th-place finishers this year, and for the first time there also will be prize money paid to the 11th- 20th-place finishers ($2,000 each). Purses for the cumulative team competition have been slashed to pay off just one championship-winning team. As a result, more money will be put into this year's daily prize money pools.

The four-person team from Colonial Downs won the team competition at NHC V. Foursomes representing Keeneland (2002-03), Turf Paradise (2000), and the Maryland Jockey Club (2001) have also scores victories in the team competition.

Another change benefiting finalists will be this year's more exclusive field size. Due to a rule change limiting the amount of qualifiers per team from four players to three, the size of the field will be down 18 percent from 261 finalists in 2004 to 214 this year. Once players have qualified, however, their ticket to Vegas, as always, is paid in full by the qualifying sites who must pay the travel and hotel expenses of all their representatives.

The more things change, however, the more they stay the same. The NHC will be held for the third straight year in the race and sports book at Bally's-Las Vegas, and will again be hosted by John Avello and one of the most experienced and tournament savvy staffs in Las Vegas.

Bally's will welcome a diverse field at NHC VI. The group of 212 confirmed qualifiers is made up of 187 men and 25 women. The women account for 11.7 percent of the field, down from 12.3 percent in 2004 and 13.1 percent in 2003.

The National Handicapping Championship lives up to its billing as a truly national event. The field hails from 35 different states and three Canadian provinces including some states with no pari-mutuel wagering and/or no Thoroughbred racetracks including Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. For the first time ever, there is even a contestant who lists his address as Hawaii - Damian Roncevich of Honolulu who qualified at Del Mar. California is the most represented state in the finals with 36 qualifiers, followed by Texas (17), Kentucky (16), Illinois (14), and Washington (11).

Quite a few of the 212 players who've qualified for NHC VI will come into the event with prior National Handicapping Championship experience, and therefore must be considered amongst the favorites in the competition. Of the 212 finalists, 48 (23%) are repeat qualifiers including 32 second-timers. That group of second-time qualifiers this year includes Joe Hinson, the man considered by some to be the king of the tournament circuit based on his nine major titles alone or in partnership over the past 22 years.

Nine players in the history of the NHC have qualified for the finals four times, and seven of those nine people are in the field for NHC VI. The four-time qualifiers in the field are Louis Constan of Glendale, Calif. (Fairplex), Dave Gutfreund of Chicago (Belmont), Tim Holland of Midway, Ky. (Turfway), Mike Labriola of Richmond, Calif. (Royal River Racing), Rich Nilsen of Lexington, Ky. (Canterbury), Dennis Tiernan of Grand Prairie, Tex. (Youbet), and NHC II champ Judy Wagner (River Downs).

Additionally, there are eight more distinguished three-time qualifiers in the field for NHC VI including Robert Bertolucci, Steve Hendricks, Eric Isaacson, John Macklin, Mike Mayo, Paul Shurman, Trey Stiles, and NHC IV champ Steve Wolfson Jr.

The National Handicapping Championship contest format remains the same as it's been for the last five years, and is designed to be the best possible test of overall handicapping ability. Players are given 15 mythical $2 win-and-place wagers on each day of the two-day contest. Eight of the 15 daily bets will mandatory plays, and the seven remaining plays will be the players' choice from several tracks expected to include Aqueduct, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream, Oaklawn, Pimlico, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise, and possibly limited play from Sam Houston and Turfway Park.

Daily Racing Form handicapper Brad Free will lead a panel that includes Avello and NTRA tournament director Jeff Sotman to designate each day's eight mandatory races. The trio guarantees a wide-ranging group of races involving various tracks, surfaces, distances, and class levels.

The eventual winner will collect his or her $200,000 prize at a post-contest awards banquet at Bally's-Las Vegas. If they choose, the winner will then be offered an expense paid opportunity to pickup their Handicapper of the Year trophy at the 34th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony on Monday, Jan. 24 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills.

- Noel Michaels is Daily Racing Form's expert on the national tournament scene, covering the beat since the start of the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in 1999. He authored the Handicapping Contest Handbook: A Horseplayer's Guide to Handicapping Tournaments for DRF Press in 2002.

When current Daily Racing Form/NTRA Handicapper of the Year Kent Meyer arrives at Bally's Race Book in Las Vegas to defend his title this Friday and Saturday, he will have a strong and diverse field of rivals waiting for him, hoping to assume his throne. This year's 214-player National Handicapping Championship field is among the strongest ever assembled in the six-year history of the event.

The field for NHC VI is filled with top handicappers from all across North America. It includes dozens of tournament specialists, industry insiders, and other smart and talented people who all have one singular goal in mind: Take Meyer's title, and in the process, take home the championship's all-time high $200,000 grand prize.

Meyer, 39, from Sioux City, Iowa, dispatched last year's 260 challengers with contest earnings of $238.40. In total, Meyer had 8 winners between $14.40 and $51.80 plus two additional seconds in the 30-race contest to take home the $100,000 top prize.

Meyer, who received an automatic berth into NHC VI as the defending champion, will be one of three past winners in the field along with Judy Wagner from New Orleans, and Steve Wolfson Jr. from Holly Hill, Fla. Wagner earned her fourth NHC berth by winning $29,000 in a qualifying event at River Downs in July. Wolfson earned his third straight trip to the national finals with a $26,000 win at Aqueduct in November.

There are more tournament-savvy players in the field than just three past National Handicapping Championship winners. Not surprisingly, some of the most successful players in the 20-plus-year history of handicapping tournaments have made their way into this year's championship.

The list is topped by Joe Hinson, a.k.a, "the King of Cool," a player who has won nine major titles as an individual or in partnership on the tournament circuit dating back to 1983. When looking for potential favorites, you'd also have to mention Mike Labriola of Richmond, Calif., who counts seven individual titles to his credit over the last 20 years. Labriola will be playing in his fourth national championship, Hinson his first.

Also on the list of contest big wigs in the field is Robert Bertolucci of San Mateo, Calif. Bertolucci has earned tournament purses in excess of $300,000 thanks to victories in contests such as the 1998 and 2000 Flamingo Reno Summer Challenges, and a $108,000 payday at the MGM Grand Tour in 2000.

Another player Meyer and the rest will need to look out for is Ira Schwartz of Miami Beach. Schwartz is coming off a big 2004 having won $60,750 for his victory in Bally's Summer Stakes contest last Aug., topping a string leaderboard that included Hinson and Bertolucci, in addition to Dave "The Maven" Gutfreund of Chicago.

Speaking of Gutfreund, the longtime contest player and co-host of Horsin' Around TV on Comcast Sports Net Chicago is coming off one of his strongest years of tournament play ever with total earnings of more than $50,000 during 2004.

Other tournament specialists in the field include Mike Mayo of Richardson, Texas, the winner of the MGM Grand Racing Festival in 2001 and the MGM Surf & Turf contest in 1999, and Paul Yaffee of Skokie, Ill., who won $92,900 in the 2003 Gold Coast Summer Classic and another $40,500 in a Pick the Ponies Invitational at the Las Vegas Hilton. Some other past major title winners also include Ed De'Ath of Henderson, Nevada, Richard Goodall of Las Vegas, and Frank Tate of Oceanside, Calif., just to name a few.

Finally, if past NHC results are any indication of future performance, then two more names must be added to this year's list of favorites. They are Tim Holland if Midway, Ky., and Rich Nilsen of Lexington. Holland, a breeding farm broodmare manager, is a former national third-place finisher in 2003 who also played on back-to-back team championship-winning teams for Keeneland in 2002-03. Nilsen, the director of marketing for BRIS and America Tab Players Pool Pick 6 handicapper, is a four-time qualifier like Holland, who finished eighth while playing on Keeneland's championship-winning squad in 2002.

Horsepeople

Several people in the field for NHC VI have ties to the racing industry. Two active trainers are in the field - Jerry Greenwell, who qualified at Ellis Park, and Nick Lowe, who qualified at Portland Meadows. Two others are related to trainers. Gail Searing is the wife of California-based trainer/owner Jerry Searing, and Duke Matties is the brother of Maryland-based conditioner Greg Matties.

Racing media types in the NHC VI field include The Horseplayer Magazine publisher Tim Quigley, who will be playing in his second national finals after winning the $100,000 grand prize in Gulfstream's Turf-Vivor contest last February. Also don't forget about 81 year-old public handicapper Russ Harris, who makes selections for the New York Daily News.

Family ties

Brynn Gallo is the fifth member of her family to have qualified for the National Handicapping Championship, following in the footsteps of her dad, pick six guru J. Randy Gallo, her brother, Randy Gallo, and her aunt and uncle Candice and Ross Gallo. Ross recorded the family's highest finish yet last year when he finished 17th.

This year's field also includes brothers, Paul Shurman and Bill Shurman, father/son James A. Michelson and Jamie Michelson Jr., and the uncle/nephew combo of Claude Davey and Sean Felix. There is also one husband and wife team in the field thanks to Rich Nilsen's wife, Marta Nilsen, who qualified at Churchill's Louisville Trackside.

The Jimmy Winkfield connection

One of the names in the news in horse racing lately has been Jimmy Winkfield, the last black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby with back-to-back wins in 1901-02. Winkfield is currently a popular biography subject thanks to author Ed Hotaling's "Wink: The Incredible Life and Epic Journey of Jimmy Winkfield" (McGraw-Hill; November, 2004), and the soon-to-be-released "Black Maestro: Jimmy Winkfield, an American-Russian Legend" (HarperCollins; early 2006) by New York Times sports writer Joe Drape.

Earlier this week, Winkfield had a stakes race named in his honor at Aqueduct, and now his name will be connected to the National Handicapping Championship as his nephew William Smith of Versailles, Ky. prepares to compete representing Keeneland. Aside from being an avid handicapper, Smith also works to keep his uncle's legacy alive as a collector, exhibitor, and storyteller of black history.

Interesting people

The players in the NHC VI field are gifted in many areas and disciplines besides just Thoroughbred racing and handicapping. Many of the players have competed in other sports, games, or pursuits. They include:

* Bart Fooden, Roger Kurrus, and Mark Conroy are all accomplished marathon runners.

* Richard Gaetano of Team Belmont is a former pro-Am bowler who once bowled a 300 game.

* Florence Rotman of Team BRIS is a former national bridge champion.

* Jeff Jolley from Canterbury is a tournament chess player, and Albert Wong from Stampede Park is a nationally ranked chess player in Canada with an expert ranking of 1,800+.

* Joesph Cherichella of Team CDSN competes in dog showing.

* Robert Lowe from Hawthorne once won a muskie fishing tournament.

* Roger Warren from Lone Star hit a homerun off the world-famous King and His Court four-man softball team in 1974.

* James Wark from Oak Tree at Santa Anita plays in backgammon tournaments.

* Dave Stewart representing PublicHandicapper.com finished second in the world pinball championships in 1994.

* Jim Lockwood from Team TVG.com plays amateur jai-alai.

Finally, if none of the aforementioned players wins, perhaps the next champion will be four-time NHC qualifier Dennis Tiernan of Grand Prairie, Texas, who excels at handicapping mule races, and therefore boasts the well-earned nickname "the best ass-picker in the land."

Handicapper of the Year Kent Meyer of Iowa will face a field of 213 challengers when he returns to Bally's-Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday to defend his title in the sixth annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. The field will also include past winners Steve Wolfson Jr. (2003), Judy Wagner (2001), and an accomplished group of horseplayers who aim to add their name to the list of players who've earned the right to call themselves the country's top handicapper.

Here's a look at the five players so far who've been lucky enough and good enough to earn the title of DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the year.

STEVE WALKER - 2000

Steve Walker became a household name in the horseracing world when he won the inaugural National Handicapping Championship to become the DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year for 2000. Walker knocked out a field of 160 handicapping heavyweights to win $100,000 at the MGM Grand in Jan. 2000. He compiled a contest-winning bankroll of $305.40 based on 20 mythical $2 win and $2 place bets.

Key NHC win

Star of Rio, who paid $40.40 in Gulfstream's seventh race. "I needed that win to build up my confidence."

Personal data

Walker holds the distinction of being the only person to have qualified for the first five National Handicapping Championships.

Other hobbies

His interests include fishing, camping, travelling, and collecting sports cards and memorabilia.

Walker describes himself as . . .

An underdog from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Handicapping style

"I exclusively use the Daily Racing Form online past performances, which I download and print in advance. My goal in most tournaments is to select as many medium to long-odds winners as possible. I try to select "limit" horses in at least three of the optional races. My remaining optional selections generally have odds between 10-1 and 19-1."

Quote

"It was all about winning. The $100,000 never really entered my mind,"

*******

JUDY WAGNER - 2001

Judy Wagner won the second DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, defeating a field of 203 players and taking home a $100,000 grand prize in January 2001. She was in eighth place after the first day of the contest and used a strong rally on day two to leap to the top of the leader board. Her final national bankroll of $237.70 based on $2 win and place wagers on 30 races from eight tracks around the country was good for a $7.30 margin of victory. Wagner picked up her Handicapper of the award a week later at the Eclipse ceremony in her home city of New Orleans.

Key NHC win

Wagner's big break came late in the event when Hoovergetthekeys won the Golden Gate Derby, and then survived a 10-minute inquiry to return $33 to win and $12.20 to place.

Personal data

Wagner was introduced to handicapping by her husband Bryan just five years before her victory. The couple is active in the industry as horse owners in racing partnerships including the Karmak Galactic Stable and GWM Farms. She owned Prankster, a horse who won the Claimer of the Year award from the Kentucky HBPA in 1999. Wagner qualified this year for her fourth national finals appearance in 2004 with a win and a $29,000 payday in the River Downs Handicapping Contest.

Other hobbies Judy also enjoys tennis, sewing, cooking, travel, and spending time with her two grandsons.

Wagner describes herself as . . . Someone who "doesn't exactly fit the typical profile of a horseplayer."

Handicapping style She concentrates on pedigree, and relies heavily on trainer stats, troubled trips, trainer and jockey changes, and horses that are improving.

Quote "Whoever would have thought someone who has been handicapping for such a short time could win? I'm absolutely thrilled."

*********

HERMAN MILLER - 2002

Herman Miller jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on his way to victory over a field of 177 players in the third annual $212,000 DRF / NTRA National Handicapping Championship on Jan. 25-26, 2002 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Miller prevailed after a seesaw battle with several challengers to take first prize of $100,000. He hit nine winners in the 30-race tournament on his way to a contest-winning bankroll of $205.30 despite missing a race and making only 14 of his 15 available plays on the first day of competition.

Key NHC win

Miller built an early lead thanks to Crazy Star who returned $75.20 to win and $22.60 to place in Friday's 10th race at Gulfstream.

Personal data

Miller qualified playing in his first handicapping contest, and was officially the final qualifier in the final qualifying contest for NHC III based on his fourth-place finish at Golden Gate Fields on the final weekend of the 2001. Winning the NHC enabled Miller to help pay for some of his daughter's college education, and also paid for his trip to attend his first Breeders' Cup at Arlington Park.

Other hobbies

Enjoys golf and chess. "Golf is like handicapping because it's you against the course," Miller said. "Chess also helps me, because it's an analytical game, just like handicapping."

Miller describes himself as . . . Someone who focuses on strategy.

Handicapping style "If it's a full field and I think the favorite is going to lose, than I use my own system to find the winner. I take the raw data from the Daily Racing Form and rely heavily on the Beyer Figures. I then come up with a formula in which I coordinate my speed/class/pace 'spectrum' and decide which is more important in that race."

Quote

"I'm 90 percent sure I'll be able to defend my title next year. There's no sure things besides death and taxes, but I'm confident."

*********

STEVE WOLFSON JR. - 2003

Steve Wolfson Jr. became the fourth DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year thanks to his victory in NHC IV on Jan. 17-18, 2003 at Bally's-Las Vegas. Wolfson defeated a field of 213 players and claimed first prize of $100,000 with a final bankroll of $279.60, which is the record-high bankroll in National Handicapping Championship competition since the tournament was switched to its current 30-race format.

Key NHC win

Wolfson leapt into contention in the contest on Saturday with his play on Offlee Wild ($56.80 to win and $21.60 to place) in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream.

Personal data

Wolfson Jr., or "Junior," is the grandson of Louis Wolfson, the founder of Harbor View Farm who owned 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Wolfson has been an avid handicapper for many years and a tournament enthusiast since 2001. He stands as the all-time NHC money earner with prizes and bonuses totaling $105,833. Following his national championship, Wolfson topped off a memorable 2003 when he got married to his wife Darlene.

Other hobbies

Crossword puzzles.

Wolfson describes himself as . . .

A somewhat serious bettor when he has time to get away from his day job as a teacher.

Handicapping style

"I play good-priced horses. I keep taking good shots and finding overlays, and I never change that strategy."

Quote

"Me and my dad are pretty comprehensive handicappers. A lot of my success came from working together as a team. We take everything into account and I couldn't have done this without him."

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KENT MEYER - 2004

Kent Meyer became the fifth winner of the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, topping a field of 261 players on Jan. 23-24, 2004 at Bally's-Las Vegas. Meyer won first prize of $100,000 and earned the crown of DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year for 2004. Meyer compiled a total of $238.40 based on mythical $2 win-and-place bets on 15 races per day on each day of the two-day contest. In total, Meyer had 8 winners between $14.40 and $51.80 plus two additional seconds in the 30-race contest.

Key NHC win

Meyer's win on Farnum Alley in race five at Gulfstream ($35.20 to win, $10 to place) cemented his victory.

Personal data

When Meyer qualified for NHC IV the year before his eventual victory, he used his free trip to Las Vegas as an opportunity to elope with his girlfriend Cammie. Meyer got married- Elvis-themed ceremony and all - on the night before the contest started, and ended up finishing 32nd in NHC IV. Meyer returned as a more experienced and focused player in his second straight Championship appearance, and came away with a $100,000 anniversary present.

Other hobbies

Kent's interests include playing golf, watching football, studying civil war history, and going to the races with his wife.

Meyer describes himself as . . .

An avid horseplayer who is rarely seen not carrying a Daily Racing Form.

Handicapping Style

Meyer looks for prices and tries to beat favorites. "You're always looking for prices in tournaments. I usually look at a race and see if I think I can beat the favorite."

Quote

"I knew going in that this is a really tough tournament to win, but I knew if I had a couple big days I could do it."

Horsephotos

Inaugural championship winner Steve Walker hopes to qualify for NHC VI in Bally's last chance contest on Wednesday, Jan, 19.

More than a few people breathed a sigh of relief last month when Bally's-Las Vegas announced that it would offer players one last chance to qualify for the finals of the National Handicapping Contest. But nobody breathed deeper than Steve Walker of Lincoln, Neb., who won the first title in January 2000 and is the only player to qualify for each of the five previous championship finals.

Going into 2004, the logical question was not whether Walker would qualify for NHC VI - but when.

He took six shots: in April at Hawthorne outside Chicago; in May at Horsemen's Park in his home state; again in May at the Bettor Racing OTB in Sioux Falls, S.D.; in July at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa; in October at Sam Houston in Texas; and finally last month at Turf Paradise in Phoenix. His best finish was at Bettor Racing, where he was eighth in a field of 90 but not good enough to qualify. He was 26th at Sam Houston and far back in the other contests.

On Wednesday, he and one other player at Bally's-Las Vegas will get a chance to add their names to the original list of 212 finalists. The full field of 214 players will compete for a $200,000 first prize in the two-day national finals on Friday and Saturday, also at Bally's-Las Vegas. The national championships are sponsored by the Daily Racing Form and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

"I played in a lot of tournaments and just didn't get the job done," said Walker, who turned 50 last month. "The funny thing is I think I'm a much better handicapper now than the year I won. It's just gotten a lot tougher to qualify."

Walker thought he'd blown his last chance at NHC VI when he finished out of the money at Turf Paradise on Dec. 11. Then, days later, he got a new lease on life when Bally's announced the "Win a Place in the big Show Tournament," with two slots up for grabs in the NHC finals. Upon hearing the news, Walker's $250 entry fee was in the mail almost immediately.

"Being the only person to qualify for the championship every year means a lot to me, Walker said. "The streak is something I'm really proud of. I'm still driven to keep qualifying."

It's easy to see why 2004 might have been an off year for Walker. He went through a difficult separation from his wife of 19 years, Caroline, and he said that the divorce left him distracted and unprepared for the handicapping tournaments. In fact, he entered a seventh qualifier, at Hawthorne on Nov. 27, but was unable to compete when he had to return home because of urgent issues in the divorce.

"I don't mean for it to sound like I'm making excuses for not qualifying," he said. "I've had my chances, but it's just been a very tough year. It takes a great deal of luck to qualify, and I either didn't have luck this year or made some wrong decisions."

Now that things have quieted down in his personal life, he said he is able to concentrate on tournaments again. He said that he would be better prepared for Wednesday's contest and that he has taken off an entire week from his job as an environmental worker to try to qualify and compete in the finals.

"I had more than my share of luck in winning the first national championship and qualifying five years in a row," he said, "so I'm still very appreciative of the luck I've had so far. It takes a desperate person to fly out to Vegas at the last minute, but it gives me hope.

"If I don't qualify at Bally's on Wednesday, I obviously will be disappointed. I'm grateful to Bally's for providing the last chance, and like they say, it's not over until the fat lady sings. I'm not done until they stick a fork in me."