National Handicapping Championship: New York man wins NHC Tour title

Paul Shurman, a 57-year-old attorney from Dix Hills, N.Y., will go into the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship finals Jan. 27-28 in Las Vegas as the 2011 Daily Racing Form NHC Tour champion. Shurman won a $75,000 first-place prize for accumulating the most points among tour participants and is eligible for a $2 million bonus in addition to the NHC’s estimated first-place prize of $1 million.

A total of 484 handicappers will compete in the 13th annual NHC, which has a purse estimated at $1.65 million and will be conducted for the first time at Treasure Island.

Shurman finished first, second or third in 10 qualifying tournaments during 2011, though only his top five finishes counted for scoring purposes. He finished the contest year with 13,200 points. Wayne Collier (12,675 points) of Slidell, La., finished in second place, good for $25,000. Third was Christopher Skotz (11,775) of Campbell, Calif., who won $15,000, with Gaylord Grundy (11,600) of Airdrie, Alberta, Canada finishing fourth and earning $7,500, and Mark Streiff (10,350) of Mission Viejo, Calif., checking in fifth for a $2,500 payout.

Among the participants will be last year’s NHC winner, John Doyle of Scottsdale, Ariz., who as defending champion was exempt from qualifying.