Entries are open for the 2011 Aqueduct Fall Handicapping Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13 in the Equestris Restaurant at Aqueduct Racetrack. The official rules and entry form are located online at http://nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/HandicappingChallenge11.shtml.

Entry fee is $400 (limited to two entries per player) with a deadline of November 5 to sign up, and the active tracks will be Aqueduct, Churchill Downs and Calder Race Course. A lunch buffet will be served in the Equestris Saturday and Sunday for all contest participants.

All of the entry fees will be returned as prize money. Based on a field of 200 players, for example, the $80,000 in entry fees would be distributed as follows:

There will also be $1,000 awarded to the player with the highest bankroll at the conclusion of day one of the tournament, and another $1,000 given to the player that compiles the highest single day bankroll on day two.

In addition, a trip to the 2012 NTRA/Daily Racing Form National Handicapping Championship (NHC) awaits the top three finishers of the 2011 Aqueduct Fall Handicapping Challenge. The NHC, which will be held January 27-28, 2012 at Treasure Island on the Las Vegas strip, is giving out an estimated grand total of $1 million in prize money with the first-place winner receiving the crown of North America’s top horseplayer.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will provide reimbursement for airfare to Las Vegas for each of the top three finishers of the Aqueduct qualifying tournament per the official contest rules, while the NTRA will provide for a three-night stay at the official tournament hotel.

New this year, all contestants at qualifying tournaments must have paid a one-time annual NTRA membership free of $45 in order to be eligible to compete in the NHC.

For more information, visit NYRA.com or email Kathy Locke at klocke@nyrainc.com.