It was quite a day and quite a finish for Mike Gillum of Indianapolis in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Qualifier Saturday, Dec. 3, at Horseshoe Indianapolis. In an unprecedented finish, all three of Gillum's entries finished first, second and fourth with Gillum earning $7,000 worth of prize money and a seat at the NHC Final March 10-12, 2023, at Horseshoe in Las Vegas.
Gillum started off the day hitting a 6-1 winner at Gulfstream that placed him near the top of the leaderboard early and grew that tally slowly throughout the six-hour contest. Heading into the final contest race at Del Mar, Gillum was leading the field of 118 entries and decided to let his first place spot sit to see how it played out for the overall standings.
Several entrants still had live wagers heading into the final race, including Gillum's other two entries. Everyone tried hard to overtake Gillum, but it ended up being Gillum who overtook them all.
“Heading into the last contest race, I decided to let the entry that was in first place sit,” explained Gillum, who operates a Produce Company in Central Indiana. “I went all in on my other two entries to try and overtake my top entry. And they did. Those two were the ones that finished first and second in the final standings. The original entry I had in first ended up in fourth place.”
Gillum keyed in on a few horses at Del Mar with a $10 Superfecta and $10 Trifecta. Both tickets ended up returning $8,000-plus which catapulted him to the top with tallies of $8,804 and $8,315. Jay Lietzau of Shakopee, Minn., finished third with a tally of $4,928.50 and took home $2,000 in prize money. Because only one seat could be granted to the top three individuals, fifth-place finisher David Sellner of Hoffman Estates, Ill., advances to the NHC Final. Sellner had a tally of $3,444.10, just $12 behind Gillum's fourth place finishing entry which had $3,456.55.
“This is only the third time I've placed in a live tournament,” said Gillum. “I generally play in tournaments online. I qualified for the NHC here in 2019 (Gillum finished fourth to advance). That's my only time playing in the NHC final. I missed last year's local contest due to a prior commitment.”
Gillum, Lietzau, and Sellner will represent Team Horseshoe Indianapolis in the $3.5 million NHC Finals. In addition to trophies and prize money for the top two, all three will get contest and hotel fees paid by Horseshoe Indianapolis along with a $500 travel voucher for airfare.
“It was just one of those days where everything clicked,” added Gillum. “All three tickets connected. I'm excited to be heading to Vegas for the finals.”
The 21st season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing resumes Tuesday, April 18, and concludes Friday, Nov. 17. Racing will be held during the week beginning at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday post times set at 2:10 p.m. Saturday racing will be offered on 16 dates in 2023 with six of those dates reserved for all-Quarter Horse action.
For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.
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