
Last weekend in Las Vegas, 779 horse racing handicappers gathered for the 2025 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). By Sunday, one participant concluded the event with a life-altering reward.
At the Nevada gambling event, retired disability officer from Kansas City, Mo., Paul Calia, came in first and fourth with his two entries. His efforts earned him a total of $960,000, which included an $800,000 prize for the first place.
How did Calia do it?
Throughout the year, horseplayers can qualify for the NHC via satellite tournaments. They have the opportunity to earn multiple entries, illustrated by Calia who achieved high placements in two qualifying events.
At the Horseshoe Las Vegas event, every handicapper placed 18 imaginary $2 win-place bets on both Friday and Saturday. Following Saturday’s events, the field was narrowed down to the top 10 percent on the leaderboard. These successful handicappers moved forward to the semifinal round on Sunday. After the semifinals, the top 10 made it to the final table.
Calia’s performance on Saturday was outstanding, propelling him to second place on the leaderboard. After the contest, Calia shared his thoughts on his performance:
I began slowly on Friday, though I did decently with some second and third place predictions. However, my performance significantly improved on Saturday, as I accurately predicted almost every underdog. The number of successful predictions I made on Saturday is difficult to express in words.
After Sunday’s semifinal and final table rounds, Calia ended up with $362.50 from his winning entry. Besides his cash reward, he will also receive the Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the Year. His entry that came in fourth place garnered $305.50 from a total of 53 races.
Francis Boustany, the frontrunner on both Friday and Saturday, ended up in second place with $330.30. Gary Fenton secured the third position with $309.60. Besides Calia, Steven Wells was another horseplayer who had two entries among the top 10. His finishes were seventh and ninth, earning him $289.40 and $281.60 respectively.
Plenty of growth at the 2025 NHC
This year’s event saw the top 78 finishers cashing, an increase from 68 in 2022. The total purse of the 2025 event exceeded $3.1 million, marking a 33% increase from the previous year.
Tom Rooney, the President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, was present at the NHC. He expressed his awe at the significant progress of the event.
“We owe our existence to the horseplayer in this tripartite stool of horse racing. My family’s connection with this sport and with football has its roots in horse playing. The thrill generated at the NHC is the crux of all our activities in this industry. This year, the NHC has grown more than ever, and I am honored that the NTRA can display the crème de la crème of handicapping and applaud the essence of being a horseplayer.”