Piazza leads all the way in winning National Horseplayers Championship

LAS VEGAS - Dan Piazza, a wealth management adviser from Chicago, led all three days en route to winning the 2025 National Horseplayers Championship at Horseshoe Las Vegas on Sunday.

Piazza won $825,000 in first-place money.

The NHC tournament format has players attempt to earn the highest possible bankroll based on mythical $2 win-place wagers. On Friday, each of the 623 players, totaling 800 entries, wagered on 16 races, including six mandatory races, from eight tracks around the country.

On Saturday, contestants wagered on 20 races, including eight mandatory races, from seven tracks around the country. After Saturday's action, the field was cut to the top 80 entries. Sunday's players were left with 19 optional races to choose from. Each of the 80 entries had to make at least 10 wagers out of those 19 races.

Piazza had nine winners on Friday, to lead the tournament by 4 cents, $167.22 to Alex DeVito's $167.18. The first-place finish on Friday also earned Piazza an automatic berth into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.

On Saturday, Piazza was atop the leaderboard by a much wider margin, increasing his bankroll to $318.92. Dylan Donnelly was second with $255.66.

Coming into Sunday, Piazza said he was very confident and comfortable with his position atop the leaderboard.

“My handicapping was done. I just went back through the races. When I walked in this morning, I went over and put my picks in,” Piazza said in an interview with Daily Racing Form.

Piazza, 64, started playing the races in Chicago during his younger days. He first went to the track with his buddies, and made trips to the Kentucky Derby, before moving into contest wagering. Piazza also said he figured some things out from prior years - he never made the cut in his first three years at the NHC.

“Every year you learn something," Piazza said. "You're with the 800 best handicappers in the world right here, so if you talk to them, you'll learn new things.”

When asked about the resources he uses to handicap the races, Piazza said "I read DRF every day, and I have a subscription to the Daily Racing Form All Access plan for past performances."

The top 10 finishers at the 2025 NHC and prize money won are:

1. Dan Piazza $825,000
2. Tom Boyd $250,000
3. Ray Hassan $200,000
4. Dean Malizia $150,000
5. Dylan Donnelly $125,000
6. Len Hanson $90,000
7. Peter Dresens $85,000
8. Greg Bone $80,000
9. Alex DeVito $75,000
10. Sean Nolan $65,000

The top 10 percent of the field, all players who made it to Sunday and finished in the top 80, made at least $10,100. Prizes also were awarded to the top three finishers for Friday and Saturday, with a Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge spot awarded to the highest total on those two days.

The second-highest bankroll on Friday and Saturday earned $5,000, and $2,500 was awarded to the third-highest for Friday and Saturday.

This year's field represented 43 different states as well as Canada, with 13 former champions in the field.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.