Tag: National Thoroughbred Racing Association

50th Annual Eclipse Awards To Be Presented Virtually, Program Will Air Live On Jan. 28

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and Daily Racing Form announced today that the 50th Annual Eclipse Awards, presented by Spendthrift Farm, will air live on TVG and Racetrack Television Network on Thursday, Jan. 28, beginning at 8 p.m. ET., and also streamed on other outlets and platforms.

This year's ceremony will be a virtual telecast. NBC Sports' Kenny Rice will anchor the program from Lexington, and will be joined by many fellow Eclipse Awards' masters of ceremonies and presenters from the past 20 years. Britney Eurton and Jeannine Edwards will present from historic Spendthrift Farm, home to some of racing's greatest champions. Acacia Courtney and Gabby Gaudet will present from Gulfstream Park in Florida; Gary Stevens and Daily Racing Form National Correspondent Jay Privman from Santa Anita Park in California, and Kenny Mayne from EPSN Studios.

In addition to TVG and RTN, the Eclipse Awards ceremony will be shown live on the following outlets: NTRA.com; America's Best Racing Facebook page and Twitter feed; XBTV Facebook page; DRF.com; Bloodhorse.com; ThoroughbredDailyNews.com; Equibase.com; Breeders' Cup Facebook page and YouTube channel; MyRacehorse Facebook page and YouTube channel; and TOBA.org.

In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Thomas Goldsmith will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2020 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.

In keeping with the 50th anniversary theme, results from the NTRA Eclipse 50 Contest, a vote by fans of their 10 favorite Eclipse Award-champion horses and their favorite champion trainer and jockey from the past 50 years, will also be revealed throughout the show.

The Eclipse Awards are conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the NTRA.

The Eclipse Awards are sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel Group, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Stonestreet Farm, Keeneland, Racetrack Television Network, Jackson Family Wines, Florida HBPA, Runhappy, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Hallway Feeds and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

Order of Events for 50th Annual Eclipse Awards Ceremony:

1. Older Male
2. Older Female
3. Horseplayer of the Year
4. Steeplechase Horse
5. In Memoriam
6. Breeder
7. 3-Year-Old Filly
8. 3-Year-Old Male
9. Media Awards
10. FanDuel Moment of the Year
11. 2-Year-Old Male
12. 2-Year-Old Filly
13. Apprentice Jockey
14. Jockey
15. Trainer
16. Male Sprinter
17. Female Sprinter
18. Female Turf
19. Male Turf
20. Owner
21. Horse of the Year

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2021 National Horseplayers Championship Tour Begins Friday At HorsePlayers.com

The 2021 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour officially begins this Friday, Jan. 29 with a $75 online qualifier to be held on HorsePlayers.com, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today.

Friday's contest will be the first NHC qualifier to offer 2021 NHC Tour points awarded to Tour members who finish in the top 10 percent of officially-sanctioned NHC contests and among the first contests to offer berths to the $3,000,000-estimated 2022 NTRA National Horseplayers Championship to be held at Bally's Las Vegas Jan. 28-30, 2022. The officially declared Tour points leader will be eligible for a $5 million bonus should he or she win the 2022 NHC.

The 2021 NHC Tour, which offers an additional $365,000 in prize money, runs through January 9, 2022 and is expected to offer hundreds of online and onsite opportunities to compete for an NHC berth. The top 75 individual point leaders on the overall year-end Tour Leader Board, who have not already qualified through an official on-track or online contest, will automatically qualify into the 2022 NHC. Horseplayers cannot buy an entry into the NHC; they must earn a berth in qualifying contests held throughout the year.

Tour membership of $50 must be paid prior to participating in an online or on-track NHC qualifier to be eligible to win a berth in the NHC. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership.

For more information on the NHC Tour benefits and to view the official rules go to www.nhctour.com. A schedule of 2021 Tour events will be updated regularly at https://www.ntra.com/nhc/nhc-events/.

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National Horseplayers Championship Berths Up For Grabs In Upcoming Contests

Highly-coveted berths to the $3 million-estimated National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) in Las Vegas remain up for grabs as the 2020-21 NHC Tour season winds down with online and on-track contests offered over the next two weekends and berths tied directly to season-long participation are determined by end-of-season Tour points totals.

Only six contests remain in the 2020-21 Tour season with events scheduled for Friday-Sunday on each of the next two weekends. In addition to the six remaining NHC contests, “feeder” contests offering complimentary berths into the main qualifiers are available every day for as little as $18 per entry.

A total of $300,000 in Tour prize money will be awarded to the top 15 finishers in the NHC Tour, based on the official 2020 NHC Tour rules. The newly-crowned NHC Tour Champion will win $100,000 and be eligible to compete for a $5 million bonus at the 2021 NHC.

The top 75 individual overall points leaders, who have not already qualified for the 2021 NHC through an officially-sanctioned NHC on-track or online contest at the end of the Tour season on January 23, will automatically qualify into the 2021 NHC. In addition, $15,000 will be paid out to the overall, official Tour Points Leaders, as of January 23, who are first-time NHC Tour members (e.g., “Rookies”).

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 NHC, presented by Racetrack Television Network, Caesars Entertainment and Bally's Las Vegas, will be contested August 27-29 at Bally's. 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.

Details on the Tour-ending NHC qualifiers are below:

Friday, January 15
Horseplayers.com

Prizes: 2 NHC berths and 2020 Tour Points + travel package guaranteed
Entry Fee: $75
More: https://horseplayers.com/contest/854510/friday-featured-hp-nhc-2021-nhc-qualifier-pick-pray-only-75-two-2-pkgs-gtd.html

Saturday, January 16
Horseplayers.com

Prizes: 2 NHC berths and 2020 Tour Points + travel package guaranteed
Entry Fee: $165
More: https://horseplayers.com/contest/854512/featured-saturday-nhc-2021-nhc-qualifier-live-2-pkgs-gtd.html

Canterbury Park
Prizes: 1 NHC berth (no 2020 Tour Points) + travel package guaranteed
Entry Fee: $100
More: https://www.canterburypark.com/racing-promotions/last-chance-nhc-qualifier-contest/

Sunday, January 17
Horseplayers.com

Prizes: 1 NHC berth per 21 entries guaranteed (Tour points if 2 berths awarded) + travel package
Entry Fee: $500
More: https://horseplayers.com/contest/854515/featured-sunday-nhc-2021-low-ratio-reduced-nhc-qualifier-live-min-10.html

Friday, January 22
Horseplayers.com

Prizes: 2 NHC berths and 2020 Tour Points + travel package guaranteed
Entry Fee: $75
Details posted soon on Horseplayers.com

Saturday, January 23
Horseplayers.com

Prizes: 2 NHC berths and 2020 Tour Points + travel package guaranteed
Entry Fee: $100
Details posted soon on Horseplayer.com.

Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship
Prizes: Up to 5 NHC berths awarded (player's choice 2021 or 2022) and 2020 Tour Points + travel package
Entry Fee: $6,000 ($5,000 bankroll + $1,000 entry fee)
More: https://www.xpressbet.com/pegasus-world-cup-betting-championship

One must be a current NHC Tour member to be eligible to win NHC entries. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership. For more information on the NHC and NHC Tour, visit www.nhctour.com/nhc or contact Michele Ravencraft at mravencraft@ntra.com.

 

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Omnibus Legislation Will Allow Current H-2B Visa Provisions To Continue

A series of current H-2B visa program provisions are set to continue as part of omnibus legislation passed Monday by Congress.

  • H-2B visa program policies set to continue include:
  • Authority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), to increase the H-2B cap for fiscal year 2021 by up to approximately 69,000 visas if it determines that the needs of seasonal businesses cannot be met with U.S. workers;
  • Continuation of the use of private wage surveys for prevailing wage determinations;
  • A prohibition against DOL enforcing the corresponding employment and three-quarters guarantee provisions of its H-2B regulations relating to total work hours; and
  • Provisions extending the maximum employment season for up to 10 months, as opposed the nine-months in current DOL regulations.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, racehorse trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions. Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers without sufficient help.

The NTRA, through its involvement with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports efforts for comprehensive reform of the guest worker visa program.

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