LAS VEGAS – Dylan Donnelly improved on his fifth-place finish in the 2025 National Horseplayers Championship by winning this year’s NHC by less than $1 after three days of contest play. Donnelly was in fourth place going into the contest’s final race, the fifth race at Santa Anita. His $2 win-place payoff of $37.80 on Crazy Cavalier pushed him to the top of the leaderboard by just 84 cents over Frank Polk, who earned $12 for his bankroll when None Above the Law finished second. The totals were so close that it was difficult to determine who the NHC winner was until the race was made official at Santa Anita. After a few anxious moments, some people in the ballroom started to calculate that Donnelly had a slightly higher total and the reality began to sink in for Donnelly. “It was weird emotions. I didn’t know I won, I was sweating out the payouts. Eighty-four cents, doesn’t matter how small it is, it’s still important,” said Donnelly, a 34-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Donnelly finished with a total of $342.84 in one of the most dramatic finishes in the 27-year history of the NHC, beating Polk, an Oklahoma City native with $342. Donnelly is a familiar name in the contest and tournament space. Heading into NHC 2026, he was ranked fourth in NHC Tour points and has become one of the top tournament players over the last few years. He holds the record for largest bankroll victory during a live-money handicapping contest at Los Alamitos. Donnelly was involved in a vehicle accident 10 years ago where he sustained a fracture of his C5 vertebrae and now uses a wheelchair. His energy and enthusiasm for racing make him one of the more popular players on the NHC Tour. Donnelly is confident in his handicapping ability, using Daily Racing Form Formulator past performances along with his own speed ratings. Richard Sugimoto of Big Bear City, Calif., led the NHC field with a mythical bankroll of $301.22 at the conclusion of Sunday morning’s semifinal round. Sugimoto finished fourth. Dan Piazza, the 2025 NHC winner, finished sixth. There has never been a two-time winner of the NHC. The top 10 finishers at the 2026 NHC and prize money won are: 1. Dylan Donnelly $825,000 2. Frank Polk $300,000 3. Tommy Lenberg $200,000 4. Richard Sugimoto $150,000 5. Tammy Johns $125,000 6. Dan Piazza $100,000 7. G.T. Nixon $90,000 8. Kenneth Jordan $85,000 9. Roger McDow $80,000 10. Terrence Frank $75,000 The NHC is the most prestigious tournament of the year for horseplayers and its winners is named Horseplayer of the Year and honored with an Eclipse Award. The NHC is the final stop after a series of NTRA-approved contests and tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino racebooks, offtrack betting facilities, and horse racing and handicapping websites. There are no buy-ins to the NHC. Players must earn their way in through the qualifying process. Over the three days, participants make mythical $2 win-and-place wagers on races from tracks pre-selected by the contest organizers. The 2026 NHC began Friday with 828 entries from 651 players and was cut down to 83 entries after Saturday. Bankrolls amassed during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning, carried over to the Final Table, with 10 finalists settling the NHC score in seven mandatory assigned races. This year’s NHC had record prizes totaling $5,229,000, including $3,238,000 in cash prizes. The top 83 finishers, representing 10 percent of the field after Saturday, were each guaranteed a cash prize of at least $10,000. In addition to Sunday’s semifinal round and Final Table, all NHC players who did not make the top 10 percent were eligible to play in the Silver Sunday Contest, a consolation tournament offering $100,000 in prizes. Michael Saletta had the lead after Friday, earning himself a spot in the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, valued at $10,000. Tammy Johns of Meridian, Idaho, took the overall lead after Saturday. This year, Daily Racing Form returned as an NHC sponsor and put together “Team DRF,” a group of 25 handicappers representing some of the company’s most engaged customers. Longtime horseplayer and tournament fixture Basil DeVito had the highest placing of anyone on Team DRF, finishing 49th. John Gaspar also made the top 10 percent, finishing in 80th position. Additionally, a pair of DRF staffers had strong showings at this year’s NHC. DRF handicapper Kenny Peck finished 19th after holding the tournament lead midway through Saturday. He won $24,000. Lonnie Goldfeder, DRF's vice president of client relations and player development, finished just behind Peck in 21st place. Goldfeder finished second in the Silver Sunday tournament to take home more than $37,000 in total prizes. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.