Contest Series Winners Announced
NTRA Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.—After an exciting contest series featuring 25 free handicapping contests exclusively for subscribers of Race Lens, Jim Henry of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Francis Drew of Clearwater, Fla., captured the top spots in the “Race Lens Final 50” contest on February 22 to earn berths into the 2025 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). This was the first “Race to the NHC” series sponsored by Race Lens, Equibase’s interactive past performance product.
The Race to the NHC kicked off in September on Horseplayers.com and continued every Saturday through February 15, 2025. The top two contestants from each weekly contest qualified for the Race Lens Final 50. Nearly 400 individuals competed over the contest series. The weekly contests were free for Race Lens customers who held a monthly, quarterly, or annual Race Lens subscription. Participants in the Race Lens Final 50 also had to be a current member of the NHC Tour to win an entry into the NHC.
Henry and Drew earned qualifying berths to the NHC, a four-night stay at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, and a $500 travel voucher, courtesy of Race Lens. The third- through seventh-place finishers from Saturday’s final won entries into the Last Chance/First Chance Contest to be held prior to the NHC at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
“Making it to the NHC is not easy so we were happy to partner in this series to create another opportunity for players to qualify and send two people to Vegas,” said Equibase President and COO Kyle McDoniel.
“We thank Equibase for its ongoing support of the NHC and for providing hundreds of Race Lens subscribers with a new and unique pathway to compete for a chance to win a berth into the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping contest,” said NTRA Chief Operating Officer Keith Chamblin. “We also congratulate Jim Henry and Francis Drew for defeating some of the best handicappers in North America in the Race Lens Final 50 and look forward to hosting them in Las Vegas as they represent Equibase and Race Lens at the NHC.”
