Las Vegas, NV (March 18, 2024) – Seth Morris, a bloodstock agent from Rockville Centre, New York, took home a huge runner-up prize of $250,000 for finishing in second place in the 2024 NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Mr. Morris just missed out on the first-place prize of $800,000, claimed by Mike Gillum from Fishers, Indiana. 

In the NHC format, over the first two days players bet fictitious $2 win and place wagers on a single horse in 36 races at various tracks across the country. Some races are optional, and some races are mandatory for all players. 

Mr. Morris led the contest after day 2, when the field was whittled down to the top 10 players, who took their two-day bankrolls to the final table for day 3 action. 

In finishing second in the high-profile contest, Mr. Morris bested all but one of the 764 opponent entries, an outstanding performance for the New York native against a field loaded with the top horse racing handicappers in the world. 

Mr. Morris started out on Day 2 in the 38^th position but tagged several good-priced horses early in the day to put himself in serious contention, the type of magical run needed to win such a competitive event. 

In an NTRA media interview after the conclusion of Day 2, Mr. Morris gave insight into the incredible day of action that propelled him to the top of the tournament leaderboard.

“I’m full of energy, I’m ecstatic,” said an exhilarated Mr. Morris, clad in an orange ‘Grateful Dad’ t-shirt. “I started slow yesterday, and I’ve just had an unbelievable day. Everything’s gone right. Every horse has run. The trips have been perfect. I feel really happy to be here, happy to be with friends, we’re having a great time.”

When asked about his handicapping process, Seth expanded. “The way that I handicap, I like to look at the horses on the track, I look at the odds, and I look at the pace scenarios. I look at some incremental fractions, and today it’s worked,” Mr. Morris said. 

On Day 3, Mr. Morris held fast to his lead, but he was outgunned in the end, and ended up taking the second-place check for $250,000. He was sporting in defeat. 

“Saturday was a blessed day. Today, not so good, but it’s horse racing, and it’s the NHC, and to get hot on one day was awesome.”

With his strong finish at NHC 2024, Seth Morris has stamped himself as one of the handicappers to watch out for during the rest of 2024 and into NHC 2025. 

The NHC is the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping tournament of the year for horseplayers. The tournament is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities and racing websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. The tournament is limited to qualifiers only – players are not able to buy their way into the NHC. 

Seth Morris is a bloodstock agent, a CPA, an experienced Wall Street professional, and an expert horse handicapper. 

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