Handicappers chase $500,000 prize at Red Rock

The 12th annual $1.1 million Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship will be today and Saturday at Red Rock Resort. First prize is $500,000, which is the pot at the end of the rainbow for 305 handicappers who qualified for the event.

A bad winter storm back East might prevent some contestants from reaching Las Vegas in time. Considering how hard it is to qualify, that would be as bad a beat as one will have in horse race betting.

The degree of difficulty in winning the NHC is epitomized by the fact that no winner has repeated. Former winners in this year’s field include defending champion Brian Troop, Richard Goodall (2008), Stanley Bavlish (2007), Ron Rippey (2006), Steve Wolfson Jr. (2003) and Judy Wagner (2001).

The local economy could receive a boost if one of eight confirmed starters from Las Vegas wins. They are John Conte, James Cumming, Joe DeMaria, Richard and Sally Goodall, Allan Rose, Michael Rosenthal and Harold Wafer.

The player with the largest upside is Tom Noone, a 53-year-old auto service manager from Redondo Beach, Calif., who won the 2010 NHC Tour, earning a $75,000 first-place prize. The kicker is Noone, if he wins the NHC, would make a $2.5 million payday based upon a $2 million bonus plus a $500,000 first prize.

The intensity at Red Rock’s race book will be at a fever pitch this weekend, especially during the eight mandatory races that all must play. For horseplayers, this is their Super Bowl, the chance to win the big one.

Finally, I tip my cap to the NTRA for doing something so simple that it defies logic: It listened to its customers and business partners. First, it lowered the fee to join the NHC Tour to $45, making it affordable to all. Second, it is reaching out to its business partners to hopefully increase the number of tour events.

Being open to suggestions is not a sign of weakness — it’s good business.

■ SOUTH POINT SIX — The South Point Six contest was not held Thursday but will return next Thursday with a carry-over of $3,610.

■ SUNDAY QUALIFIERS — You might want to clone yourself Sunday with overlapping qualifiers at The Orleans and Red Rock Resort.

The Orleans Winter Gallop costs $100, and the top three finishers will get a free entry into the Horseplayer World Series. The Red Rock Shootout also costs $100, and the top two finishers will get a spot in the 2012 DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.