Goldsmith wins 2020 National Handicapping Championship

Thomas Goldsmith, a 57-year-old manager of a trucking company, took first prize of $800,000 at this year’s National Handicapping Championship on Sunday at Bally’s in Las Vegas, Nev., by amassing the second-best total bankroll in the history of the tournament.

Goldsmith, who was competing in his second NHC, posted a winning bankroll of $404.10, besting a field that included 694 entries from 564 individual players. The bankroll was short only $3.60 of the record of $407.70, posted by Roy Aresenault in 2017. Arsenault finished third this year to Goldsmith.

“I’m just like in shock,” said Goldsmith, who lives in Montgomery, Calif. “This is it. I’m never going to top this, right? $800,000? How am I going to top that?”

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Montgomery came into the Final Table of 10 players on Sunday afternoon in fourth place, having climbed up from sixth place in the day’s earlier semi-finals. He had three winners and one 24-1, second-place finisher in the first five of the seven mandatory races in the Sunday final, establishing a lead he wouldn’t give up.

“I was just trying to find something that’s going to win, like anything else,” Goldsmith said. “I’m not a numbers guy. I look for horses that are in trouble, whatever. Bad break. Excuse trips. Bad trips. And in this place you’ve got to bet longshots.”

The leader after the second day of the three-day tournament, John Vail, finished second.