TwinSpires.com Player Gregory Takes Home $150,000 at NHC
Though it takes a lot of luck to earn one of the top prizes in the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC), runner-up Bob Gregory needed a different kind of luck just to make the field for the 11th annual two-day competition on January 29-30 at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas.
Gregory participated in the 25-Seat Guarantee online tournament presented by TwinSpires.com on November 21, where the top 15 finishers earned berths into the NHC. While it initially appeared Gregory missed the cut after finishing 16th, it was soon discovered that Scott Carson, the 11th-place finisher in the 25-Seat Guarantee, had already qualified for the NHC. Gregory was thus elevated to 15th and earned a seat at the NHC for the first time, an opportunity he took advantage of by finishing with a bankroll of $249.80, good enough to land the second-place check of $150,000.
"I had tried a couple times (to qualify) earlier in the year but came up short both times," Gregory said. "I did not play any other qualifiers during the year so I feel very fortunate to have qualified at the last moment."
A self described "country boy from Kentucky," Gregory has been a Domino's Pizza franchise owner for 28 years. He started in the business as a delivery driver in the heart of horse country -- Lexington, Kentucky -- and now owns 10 restaurants in Colorado and New Mexico. Gregory said his first experience at the track was at age 18 at Churchill Downs in 1974 where he became hooked after turning $20 into $70, and also said he was part of the record throng of more than 163,000 at that year's Kentucky Derby (G1).
"I typically look for horses between 7-1 and 15-1," said Gregory about his strategy heading into the NHC. "I try to find 'live' horses that I think might outrun their odds.
"My goal going into the tournament was (a bankroll of ) $120 per day, $240 total. I knew from past tournaments that this would be a very competitive number and might just win."
Success was in short supply for Gregory through the first part of Day 1 until a $21.20 winner at Laurel kick-started a run of four winning plays that brought his Day 1 total to $104.20, good for 22nd place, though well behind eventual winner Brian Troop's record first-day total of $232.60. More study was needed for Day 2 as Gregory fell below his goal of $120 per session.
"I spent about three hours studying for the next day's races and I looked deeper on the odds than I normally do as I knew that I would need to have some prices to have any chance at all," he said. "My search was for horses between 10-1 and 20-1."
Gregory started Day 2 off strong by hitting an optional race at Gulfstream with 82-1 chance Dreamed to Dream (Deputy Wild Cat). Unfortunately, the actual win and place payoffs of $167.60 and $63 were instead capped at $42 and $22, respectively, but the boost helped.
After hitting the first mandatory race at Gulfstream with a 10-1 chance, Gregory's bankrolled swelled to over $200, but the cancellation of racing at Aqueduct, Laurel and Oaklawn Park led to an adjustment in strategy.
"I knew that the players would be chasing fewer races and I thought I should hold onto as many optional bullets as possible until later in the day, so I sat tight with my six remaining optionals," Gregory said. "I was praying for chalk to come in while I held tight. Mostly, that is what came in."
After the last mandatory race, Gregory was in fourth place and had two optional plays left for the final two races at Santa Anita. After hitting the 10TH race with an 8-1 chance that returned $18.60 and $10, Gregory had thought he moved into the lead over Troop with a bankroll of $248.80. However, Troop had played the second-place finisher in the same race which paid $17.20 to place, giving him a total of $266. Neither of the two horses Gregory considered playing in the finale would have panned out and he was forced to settle for second when the dust cleared.
"It was not my year to win but I gave it all I had," he said. "Brian Troop is an excellent player and held his first day lead. Actually, it was very close for second, third, fourth and fifth so I feel very fortunate to have finished the way I did. What a dream come true!"
Gregory was one of three TwinSpires.com Players to finish in the top 15 of the NHC. In total 23 of the top 30 finishers were members of Brisnet.com handicapping data services. All eleven NTRA Handicappers of the Year are members of Brisnet.com.
"I really love this game and I love our four-legged friends," Gregory said. "I am partners in eight horses with Josh Pons, owner of Country Life Farm in Maryland. They are my babies!"
Gregory participated in the 25-Seat Guarantee online tournament presented by TwinSpires.com on November 21, where the top 15 finishers earned berths into the NHC. While it initially appeared Gregory missed the cut after finishing 16th, it was soon discovered that Scott Carson, the 11th-place finisher in the 25-Seat Guarantee, had already qualified for the NHC. Gregory was thus elevated to 15th and earned a seat at the NHC for the first time, an opportunity he took advantage of by finishing with a bankroll of $249.80, good enough to land the second-place check of $150,000.
"I had tried a couple times (to qualify) earlier in the year but came up short both times," Gregory said. "I did not play any other qualifiers during the year so I feel very fortunate to have qualified at the last moment."
A self described "country boy from Kentucky," Gregory has been a Domino's Pizza franchise owner for 28 years. He started in the business as a delivery driver in the heart of horse country -- Lexington, Kentucky -- and now owns 10 restaurants in Colorado and New Mexico. Gregory said his first experience at the track was at age 18 at Churchill Downs in 1974 where he became hooked after turning $20 into $70, and also said he was part of the record throng of more than 163,000 at that year's Kentucky Derby (G1).
"I typically look for horses between 7-1 and 15-1," said Gregory about his strategy heading into the NHC. "I try to find 'live' horses that I think might outrun their odds.
"My goal going into the tournament was (a bankroll of ) $120 per day, $240 total. I knew from past tournaments that this would be a very competitive number and might just win."
Success was in short supply for Gregory through the first part of Day 1 until a $21.20 winner at Laurel kick-started a run of four winning plays that brought his Day 1 total to $104.20, good for 22nd place, though well behind eventual winner Brian Troop's record first-day total of $232.60. More study was needed for Day 2 as Gregory fell below his goal of $120 per session.
"I spent about three hours studying for the next day's races and I looked deeper on the odds than I normally do as I knew that I would need to have some prices to have any chance at all," he said. "My search was for horses between 10-1 and 20-1."
Gregory started Day 2 off strong by hitting an optional race at Gulfstream with 82-1 chance Dreamed to Dream (Deputy Wild Cat). Unfortunately, the actual win and place payoffs of $167.60 and $63 were instead capped at $42 and $22, respectively, but the boost helped.
After hitting the first mandatory race at Gulfstream with a 10-1 chance, Gregory's bankrolled swelled to over $200, but the cancellation of racing at Aqueduct, Laurel and Oaklawn Park led to an adjustment in strategy.
"I knew that the players would be chasing fewer races and I thought I should hold onto as many optional bullets as possible until later in the day, so I sat tight with my six remaining optionals," Gregory said. "I was praying for chalk to come in while I held tight. Mostly, that is what came in."
After the last mandatory race, Gregory was in fourth place and had two optional plays left for the final two races at Santa Anita. After hitting the 10TH race with an 8-1 chance that returned $18.60 and $10, Gregory had thought he moved into the lead over Troop with a bankroll of $248.80. However, Troop had played the second-place finisher in the same race which paid $17.20 to place, giving him a total of $266. Neither of the two horses Gregory considered playing in the finale would have panned out and he was forced to settle for second when the dust cleared.
"It was not my year to win but I gave it all I had," he said. "Brian Troop is an excellent player and held his first day lead. Actually, it was very close for second, third, fourth and fifth so I feel very fortunate to have finished the way I did. What a dream come true!"
Gregory was one of three TwinSpires.com Players to finish in the top 15 of the NHC. In total 23 of the top 30 finishers were members of Brisnet.com handicapping data services. All eleven NTRA Handicappers of the Year are members of Brisnet.com.
"I really love this game and I love our four-legged friends," Gregory said. "I am partners in eight horses with Josh Pons, owner of Country Life Farm in Maryland. They are my babies!"
