NTRA/Harold Roth
Jim Benes poses with an oversized check for $750,000, his cash prize for winning the 14th annual National Handicapping Championship.
LAS VEGAS – Jim Benes never imagined he would win $750,000 on a $3.60 place horse, but that’s exactly what put him into the winner’s circle with the $750,000 first-place prize at the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Benes, a 50-year-old professional horseplayer from Countryside, Ill., topped a field of 455 horseplayers vying for the top prize and title of Handicapper of the Year at the 14th annual horse handicapping tournament in the ballrooms at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.