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. The 2021 NHC is now slated take place in the Bally's Events Center from August 27-29.

Joseph Perry of Hamilton, N.J. has qualified for what will be his 13^th appearance at the NHC. Perry has twice finished sixth in the NHC and has cashed four times for a total of $147,000.

William Price of Peru, N.Y. will be making his second NHC appearance when he heads to Las Vegas in 2021.

Bill Cox of Matawan, N.J. has qualified for his first NHC appearance.

David Peed of Ellicott City, Md., will be making his second NHC appearance.

Don Allen of Bradley, Ark., has qualified for his 13^th appearance at the NHC. Allen has cashed five times for a total of $37,700.

John Behnke of Golden, Colo., will be making his third NHC appearance.

Tony Zhou of Jersey City, N.J. will be heading to the NHC for the sixth time.

Eric Bialek of Saint Paul, Minn., will be making his sixth appearance in the NHC. Bialek finished seventh in 2020, cashing for $58,500.

Dennis Hubbard of Daly City, Calif., has qualified for his first NHC tournament.

Paul Belanger of Los Angeles, Calif., will be making his third NHC appearance.

Josh Reims of Encino, Calif., has qualified for his first NHC appearance.

Dan Shugar of Los Angeles, Calif., is now dual qualified for what will be his tenth NHC appearance. Shugar has cashed once for $7,700 in 2014.

Andrew Asaro of San Diego, Calif., is now dual qualified for what will be his first NHC tournament.

Dennis Desenberg of Norwalk, Iowa will be heading to the NHC for the fifth time.

Matthew Kroska of Elko, Minn., will be making his NHC debut when he heads to Las Vegas in 2021.

Bill Chenvert of The Villages, Fla., is now dual qualified for what will be his eighth NHC appearance.

Jeff Higgins will be making his NHC debut in 2021.

Francis Drew of Clearwater, Fla., will be heading to the NHC for the sixth time. Drew has cashed twice previously for a total of $64,200.

Scott Fitzgerald of Westford, Mass., has qualified for his fifth NHC appearance. Fitzgerald has cashed twice for a total of $36,000.