National Handicapping Championship

Churchill Downs’ popular “Who’s the Champ” Handicapping Tournament will take place every Wednesday and Sunday during the 2009 Fall Meet through Nov. 22.

    Horse racing fans can pit their handicapping skills against the best Louisville has to offer for twice-weekly cash prizes and an invitation to the Sunday, Nov. 22 final. The top two finishers in the final will win coveted berths in the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association Handicapping Championship XI scheduled for Jan. 29-30 at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

    Prize money for each contest, which requires participants to place mythical $2 Win and Place wagers in Races 3-9, totals $4,000, including a $1,400 first prize.

    The top 25 unique participants in each contest through Wednesday, Nov. 18 will be invited to the Nov. 22 final.

    The participation fee for each contest is $30 and includes complimentary lunch. It’s discounted to $25 for Twin Spires Club members. Registration will take place in the Champions Club Lounge on the second floor of the clubhouse from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on contest days. Additional contest seating will be available in the Churchill Downs Lounge when necessary.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010. The track will conduct its 2009 Fall Meet from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 28. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on November 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

Horse racing fans will vie for lucrative cash prizes and coveted berths in the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship XI when the popular Who’s the Champ? Handicapping Tournament returns to Churchill Downs every Thursday and Sunday in June.

The twice-weekly contest will feature $4,000 in prizes each day, ranging from $1,400 for first place to $150 for eighth.

Participants will be required to place mythical $2 Win and $2 Place wagers on horses in Races 3-8 at Churchill Downs on contest days. Those days are June 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21 and 25.

The highest bankroll at the conclusion of each contest will determine the order of finish. The top 25 unique participants in each contest will be invited to the Churchill Downs final on Sunday, June 28.

In addition to cash prizes, the top two finishers in the June 28 final will receive an automatic berth to the National Handicapping Championship XI final, which is scheduled for Jan. 29-30, 2010 at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.

The fee to participate in each contest is $30 or just $25 for members of Churchill Downs’ customer rewards program, the Twin Spires Club. Registration will take place on contest days in the Churchill Downs Lounge on the second floor of the Clubhouse from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The first live race on each contest day in June will be 12:45 p.m. ET and grandstand admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m.

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A field of 275 horseplayers is scheduled to gather in Las Vegas later this week to take a shot at record prize money and recognition as racing’s “Handicapper of the Year” in the ninth Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship (“NHC IX”), but only seven of those handicappers have a shot at a $1 million bonus offered by Churchill Downs Incorporated’s Twin Spires Club (“TSC”).

The seven handicappers who became eligible for the $1 million bonus did so through victories in qualifying tournaments that were part of the Twin Spires Club’s “Million Dollar Bonus Tour,” which is now in its third year. The $1 million bonus will go to any player who completes a sweep of a “Million Dollar Bonus Tour” qualifier and NHC IX. The bonus would be in addition to the record first-place prize of $500,000 in the two-day championship, which carries record total prize money of $1 million. NHC IX is scheduled for Jan. 25-26 at Red Rock Resort and Casino.

In addition to the bonus, the “Million Dollar Bonus Tour” handicapper that finishes atop the field in NHC IX will also receive a spectacular trophy created by internationally acclaimed glass artist Ken vonRoenn Jr., president and lead designer of Louisville-based Architectural Glass Art.

The TSC’s “Million Dollar Bonus Tour” qualifiers for NHC IX include:

• Samuel Guillory of Breau Bridge, La., winner of the tour qualifier at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots;
• William Marsh of Oak Lawn, Ill., winner of a qualifier at Arlington Park;
• April Scanio of Brooklyn, NY, winner of a qualifier at Arlington Park;
• Steve Stupka of Ankeny, Idaho, winner of a qualifier at Churchill Downs;
• Timothy Aupied of Houma, La., winner of a Dec. 8 Twin Spires Club qualifier that matched TSC members from Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Calder Race Course, Arlington Park and off-track betting outlets in Illinois and Louisiana;
• Jeff Cookson of Weston, Fla., winner of a tour qualifier at Calder Race Course;
• Tony “T.J.” Taylor of Independence, Ky., winner of the “Biggest Vegas Qualifier Ever,” a Dec. 15 online competition presented by TwinSpires.com, the official advance deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks.

To be eligible for the $1 million bonus, winners of “Million Dollar Bonus Tour” events were required to be registered members of the Twin Spires Club prior to those qualifying contests. Membership in the Twin Spires Club is free and information is available at www.twinspiresclub.com.

The format for the National Handicapping Championship requires players to earn the highest possible bankroll based on 15 mythical $2 win-and-place wagers on each day of the two-day tournament. Eight of those wagers must be placed on mandatory races selected by a panel, while the remaining seven races each day are optional plays to be made on races at one of seven designated NHC tracks: Aqueduct, Fair Grounds, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Oaklawn Park, Santa Anita Park and Tampa Bay Downs.

The dazzling trophy that will accompany the $1 million bonus earned by the TSC “Million Dollar Bonus Tour” qualifier who also wins NHC IX stands 26 inches tall and measures 14 inches at its widest point. The creation by vonRoenn features a flame-worked glass sculpture of a Thoroughbred and rider that rests on a base of dichroic glass, which reflects a broad spectrum of colors.