Photo courtesy of Steve Byk
NTRA Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the 5th consecutive year the “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will return this summer as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and Steve Byk, host of the Thoroughbred radio news magazine “At the Races” on Sirius XM, once again partner to send one NHC Tour member to Las Vegas to compete in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) in March 15-17, 2024.
The “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will be conducted over eight weeks beginning July 15 and concluding September 4. The popular promotion drew more than 2,000 entries in 2022.
“I am always excited for the ‘Beat Byk’ season because it means some of the best racing of the year and a chance for a NHC hopeful to earn a free seat to Vegas,” Steve Byk said. “It’s become a great introduction to contest play for many players and I’m proud to be part of the NTRA’s ongoing effort to bring people into the sport.”
Each Thursday throughout the promotion, Byk will select the weekend stakes races to comprise that week’s promotion and announce them on “At the Races” and on his twitter page, @Steve_Byk. Byk’s selections will be announced no later than each Friday. There will be 17 chances to qualify to the Beat Byk NHC Online Qualifier on September 16 during the promotional period. Listeners will be encouraged to log into https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/ where they will either use Byk’s selection to win the featured race or try to ‘Beat Byk’ by selecting another horse.
All who correctly select the winning horse in each round will advance to a NHC “Beat Byk” online qualifier on September 16. Participants may qualify only once during the promotional period. The winner of the “Beat Byk” online qualifier will represent “At the Races” at the 2024 NHC where qualifiers will be celebrating the NHC’s 25th anniversary at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
NHC Tour membership is required to compete in the September NHC online qualifier. Complete rules for the Beat Byk Challenge can be found at https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/. “At the Races with Steve Byk” is Thoroughbred racing’s only national daily news and talk show. The show also streams live on www.stevebyk.com.
About the NHC
The NHC is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities, and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards and is named Horseplayer of the Year. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc.
