Dave Nichols of Wayne, Pennsylvania, gained the 2025 Nationwide Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour by topping greater than 3,725 of America’s finest horseplayers in 12 months. Nichols earned $75,000 for his NHC Tour win and is eligible for a $5 million bonus if he wins the twenty seventh NTRA Nationwide Horse Gamers Championship (NHC), which might be held March 13-15 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Nichols earned 24,492 Tour Factors by profitable on-line and on-track contests through the 2025 Tour season.
Nichols mentioned, “I am very excited to win on the NHC Tour. As an everyday contest participant, this has all the time been my greatest objective, so I am actually joyful to have gained.” “There’s little or no that separates the highest gamers on Tour, so we had been very fortunate to have a winner. The highest 10 or 15 gamers on Tour this 12 months ought to level to at least one race or contest the place they might have been Tour champions if issues had gone just a little in a different way. Gilles Mazzatto was simply nearly as good as I used to be this 12 months. In the long run it was purported to be a photograph end between us, and I used to be fortunate sufficient to seize a nostril on the wire.” ”
Jill Mazzatto of Boca Raton, Fla., completed second on the tour with 24,432 factors. She was adopted by Luis Masry of Solana Seaside, Calif., in third place with 23,784 factors. Dylan Donnelly of Rancho Cucamonga, California, who made the NHC remaining desk in 2025, positioned fourth with 23,670 factors. Paul Sherman of Dix Hills, New York, positioned fifth with 23,415 factors.
Nichols has appeared within the NHC 12 occasions, qualifying for the primary time in 2014. He might be competing in Las Vegas this 12 months and subsequent as properly. He stays very grateful to everybody who helped him get so far.
“An enormous thanks to the parents at NTRA who replace the tour leaderboards each week and reply the fixed questions from our gamers. Michelle Ravencraft and Holly Brief are the extremely affected person rock stars who make NHC what it’s.
Most of all, I’m grateful to my spouse, Jen. She all the time listens to my horse racing complaints, however for the previous 4 months she’s needed to take care of the added nervousness of me being so near profitable on the NHC Tour. I could not have gained with out her assist. ”
Larry Pirolo of Largo, Fla., completed sixty fourth with 15,909 factors and gained the Jim Nace Award as NHC Tour Rookie of the Yr.
“Final March, I noticed Dave Portnoy selling the NHC on the X and was instantly intrigued. I had a sluggish begin in April and needed to shortly be taught the match sport, however I developed a system that began producing constant outcomes, and a 12 months later, right here I’m because the NHC Rookie of the Yr,” Pirolo mentioned. “I grew up going to the racetrack with my father (Larry), uncle (Joe/John) and grandfather, which led me to proudly owning horses with my nice buddies from New Jersey, Joe, Eddie and Kenny. This 12 months, the sturdy teaching of John Fisher and Kenny Orchard made this run extremely particular. I respect the efforts of everybody within the match and am really grateful and excited for what is going to occur in the primary occasion.”
The NHC Tour is an annual bonus sequence that provides $345,000 in prize cash and 75 berths to the NTRA Nationwide Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Membership on the NHC Tour is required for prime finishers of sanctioned NHC qualifying occasions to be eligible to compete within the NHC Finals in Las Vegas. NHC Tour membership is open to adults 21 years of age and older and requires a one-time annual price of $50. With a view to qualify for the NHC Finals in that qualifying match, it’s essential to set up membership on the NHC Tour earlier than the particular qualifying match begins.
Over the previous 25 years, greater than 11,000 individuals have certified for NHC, which has awarded almost $50 million in money and prizes. This 12 months, NHC will host greater than 600 people and award roughly $4.5 million in money and prizes.
To enroll in the NHC tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership.
