Ellis Park Handicapping Contest Aug. 20 Sending 4 To NHC 

Ellis Park, in conjunction with AmWager, is staging a live-money handicapping tournament that will send its top four finishers to the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, Feb. 9-11, 2018.

The Bluegrass Tournament Presented by AmWager will be Sunday, Aug. 20, the same day that Ellis Park stages its pair of stakes for 2-year-olds.

Entry fee is $500: $200 going toward prize money, and $300 for each participant’s bankroll. Players bet a minimum of $20 (win, place, exacta or double) on each of 10 contest races, comprised of Ellis Park’s card and optionals to be announced, keeping their bankroll balance after the competition. Participants can have up to two entries, with the tournament capping at 150 entries.

The top four finishers based on bankroll earn automatic berths to the NHC at Las Vegas’ renovated Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, with hotel room provided and airfare paid up to $500.

Ron Geary, Ellis Park majority owner and president, long has been an enthusiastic handicapping contest player. That includes finishing second in the 2011 National Handicapping Championship, as it was called until recently. A member of the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, Geary was a pioneer in online handicapping contests, launching with McKay Smith “The BIG One” mega-contest and the popular Horsetourneys.com website that helped propel the handicapping-contest circuit into the big-time.

“Although business demands make it difficult for me to actively participate as I did in the past, I’ve never lost my passion for handicapping-contest competition,” said Geary, who bought Ellis Park from Churchill Downs Inc. in 2006, a year after a tornado ravaged parts of the track. “We’ve had some economic challenges and Mother Nature has thrown us some curveballs, but Ellis Park is on an upward trajectory and it seemed a good time to bring back the handicapping contest. We think having a live-money competition with four berths to handicapping’s Super Bowl on the line, staged against the Midwest’s best summer racing and an outstanding jockey colony, will make this an attractive event for horseplayers.”

Registration is available in advance by calling Ellis Park group sales at 812-435-8905 to pay the entry fee with a credit card. Registration on the day of the contest begins at 10 a.m. Central, with cash and credit cards accepted. Entry fees can be paid by check (must be postmarked by Aug. 4) in the amount of $500, payable to Ellis Park, and sent to Amanda Phipps, 3300 U.S. Highway 41 N., Henderson, KY, 42420. Advance registration is strongly encouraged to avoid lines the morning of the contest.

Rules and pre-registration here www.amwager.com/bluegrasstournament

The National Horseplayers Championship and the NHC Tour are owned and operated by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Participants in the Bluegrass Tournament must be members of the NHC Tour in order to earn a qualifying spot for the NHC in Vegas. NHC Tour membership costs $50 per year and can be obtained through ntra.com/nhc.

The Bluegrass Tournament will be run by AmWager and its parent company AmWest Entertainment, a diversified account-wagering and international simulcast services company based in Prospect, Ky.

Horsetourneys.com is conducting feeder tournaments, with the winners getting the $500 entry fee and bankroll paid to the Bluegrass Tournament.