74-Year-Old Horseplayer Takes Down National Handicapping Championship

John O’Neil of Huntington Station, N.Y. topped a field of 606 horseplayers to win the16th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, and at the age of 74 years old, he became the oldest winner of the event. 

The win was worth a payday of $800,000, and O’Neil will be awarded an Eclipse Award as Handicapper of the Year at next January’s Eclipse Award dinner at Gulfstream Park.

The contest, the most prestigious in horse racing, involves horseplayers making 15 mythical win and place wagers on the first two days of the contest. The top 50 make the final round on Sunday and place 10 more wagers, and then the top 10 make it to the final table for seven more wagers.

The NHC offered record overall prize money of $2.363 million.

O’Neil amassed a winning total of $327.20. He took the lead in the middle of Day 2 on Saturday, only to lose it briefly on Sunday before grabbing it back and getting to the wire first overall.

Ken Jordan of Farmingdale, N.J., finished second with $291.70.

O’Neil started going to the races in the 1950’s with his brother, going to Jamaica Racetrack in Queens, N.Y.

“My brother took me one day when I was 14 or 15 and I’ve been doing it every day since,” O’Neil said after his big victory. “It’s been a journey to get here, believe me. This probably makes me even after a lifetime.”

He is a small business owner on Long Island. “We work 60, 70 hours per week pushing trucks and asphalt,” he said. “This will make it a little easier.”

Anyone can join the NHC Tour with a $50 membership fee and play in qualifying contests that are held both online and at racetracks throughout the country. Nearly 5,000 NHC Tour members participated in 2014 qualifiers hoping to win a spot in the NHC Finals.

The NHC Tour leader in points for 2014 was Eric Moomey, who was eligible for a $2 million bonus if he could win the NHC tourney, and he had two entries. However, it was not his weekend, as one entry finished in 493rd place with a $41.40 bankroll, and the second checked in 598th with just $7.00.

The Official Top 10, with Final Bankroll (and Prize)

First – John O’Neil, $327.20 ($800,000 and Eclipse Award for Horseplayer of the Year)

Second – Ken Jordan, $291.70 ($250,000)

Third – Matthew Ransdell, $269 ($125,000)

Fourth – Joseph Muzio, $266.30 ($100,000)

Fifth – Myles Richards, $262.20 ($75,000)

Sixth – Joe Scanio, $260.20 ($65,000)

Seventh – Jonathon Kinchen, $256.60 ($59,000)

Eighth – Robert Pontani Jr., $247.90 ($54,000)

Ninth – Brian Troop, $245.60 ($52,000)

Tenth – Mike Ferrozzo, $234.40 ($50,000)

Official results courtesy of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

NBC’s Bob Neumeier Wins NHC Charity Event

Saturday’s $10,000 NTRA NHC Charity Challenge, a handicapping contest to benefit Old Friends thoroughbred retirement farm and a charitable cause of the winner’s choosing was won by NBC’s Bob Neumeier.

The popular Neumeier has covered horse racing for decades until he suffered a serious stroke just prior to last fall’s Breeders’ Cup.

A check in Neumeier’s name for $5,000 will be made to Old Friends, and another $5,000 to a charity of his choosing.

Among the celebrities Neumeier bested were political strategist and commentator James Carville, actress Bo Derek, former NBA coach and ESPN/ABC analyst Avery Johnson, sportscasters Jeannine Edwards, Kenny Mayne, Chris Fallica and Randy Moss, and retired jockeys Jerry Bailey, Richard Migliore and Rosie Napravnik.

Follow Michael Dempsey on Twitter @turfnsport