Brett Wiener receives his prize. (NTRA Photo)
Tour Champ Will Compete for $5 Million Bonus at 26th NHC
NTRA Release
Lexington, Ky. – Topping a field of more than 5,500 of the nation’s best horseplayers over a 12-month period, Brett Wiener of Clearwater, Fla., captured the 2024 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour. Wiener earned $75,000 for winning the Tour and is eligible for a $5 million bonus if he captures the 26th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) March 14-16 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Wiener, who kicked off 2024 by being inducted into the NHC Hall of Fame, won online and ontrack contests during the 2024 Tour season while amassing 25,160 Tour points.
“I’ve been close to winning it (the NHC Tour) about five times before,” said Wiener, a longtime horseplayer and 16-year veteran of the NHC Tour.
Gregory Lewis of Chicago, Ill., finished in second-place in the Tour standings with 24,793 points. He was followed by David Brownfield of Toledo, Ohio, who finished in third place with 24,540 points. Both Lewis and Brownfield shared the Tour lead for much of the season before being overtaken by Wiener. Chris Inman of Houston, Texas, finished in fourth place with 23,825 points. Hall of Famer Roger Cettina of Rumson, N.J., finished in fifth place with 23,339 points.
Michael Abernathy of Port Charlotte, Fla., finished in 22nd place with 20,684 points and won the Jim Nace Award as the Tour’s Rookie of the Year.
“I’ve been telling my wife I might win the Rookie of the Year title in the NHC,” said Abernathy. “Her response has been ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ After I was notified, I went in the kitchen and finally had my “Drop the Mic moment” and that’s exactly what I did.”
Official NHC Tour Leaderboard standings can be found here.
Wiener arrived on the handicapping contest scene in 2009 when he won the first NHC online qualifier he entered. Since then, he’s won or placed in major contests held at racetracks from coast-to-coast and in Canada: They include Aqueduct, Arlington Park, Belmont Park, Del Mar, Fair Grounds, Gulfstream Park, Keeneland, Kentucky Downs, Laurel Park, Monmouth Park, Santa Anita Park, Saratoga, Tampa Bay Downs, Turfway Park, and Woodbine, among others.
Wiener, who spends part of his year in Las Vegas, Nev., also participates in the NHC Mentor program, which connects Tour members to many of the most formidable horseplayers who impart their wisdom on handicapping and contest play. He and his wife, Sarah, also a highly accomplished contest player, who finished the 2024 Tour in sixth place, have been annual mainstays at the NHC.
The NHC Tour is a yearlong bonus series awarding $345,000 in cash prize money and 75 qualifying berths to the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Membership in the NHC Tour is mandatory in order for top finishers of sanctioned NHC qualifying events to be eligible to compete in the NHC Finals in Las Vegas. Membership in the NHC Tour is open to adults 21 years of age or older and requires a one-time, annual membership fee of $50. The NHC Tour membership must be in place prior to the start of any given qualifying tournament in order for one to qualify for the NHC Finals at that qualifying tournament.
Over the past 25 years, more than 11,000 individuals have qualified to the NHC, which has awarded nearly $50,000,000 in cash and prizes. This year the NHC will host more than 600 individuals and will award nearly $4.5 million in cash and prizes.
To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership.
