Professional Horse Race Handicappers Hit Your TV Screen in 2014 Reality Show
HBO launched way back in 1972 offering access to movies which were previously only available on the big screen. In early 2012 the company released the series "Luck" which was loosely based around mobsters, horse racing, the Santa Anita racetrack and a promising Irish racehorse named "Pint of Plain". If you are a horse racing aficionado and gambler that missed that fictional equestrian-based series, never fear, another TV network has something custom-made for you.
A new Esquire Network series will premiere to kick off the New Year in 2014, and this will also be centered around horse racing. However, this will be a reality show series instead of a fictional account. And instead of mobsters and shady horse racing stories, the action will focus around professional horse race handicappers. The press release for the new horse racing series follows:
"In the high-stakes world of professional horse race handicapping, the only thing bigger than the bets are the characters placing them — and the best in the business are members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). Esquire Network's new series HORSEPLAYERS, premiering Tuesday, January 21 at 10p e/p, follows the lifestyles of a diverse cast of handicappers as they compete for a chance to face off in the annual National Handicapping Championship (NHC). One winner will walk away with the title of America's top handicapper and nearly $1 million."
This will be a 10 part series that will track expert handicappers who make a living using gut feelings and technical data as the basis for their legal horse betting strategies. The Santa Anita Park which was featured prominently in "Luck" will play a part in this series, as well storied racetracks such as Churchill Downs, Saratoga and others. Producers say the series will show vastly different methods which are at times wildly successful and incredibly unsuccessful, and will focus on the unique lifestyles and personal differences of the handicappers.
If you are interested in this upcoming horse racing TV series, you probably want to meet the participants. The upcoming series "Horseplayers" will include the following teams and individuals:
Christian Hellmers is a Southern California professional horse racing gambler, also a vegan, and he uses statistics and karma to create his betting style. Currency traders Peter Rotondo Sr. and Lee Davis are also best friends and avid equestrian gamblers, and they team up with Peter Rotondo Jr. to form "Team Rotondo". (Rotondo Jr. is an executive at Breeder's Cup LTD.)
Kevin Cox enters the horse gambling competition as a retired mounted police officer for the NYPD, and John Conte owns the 2009 National Champion title. Conte has qualified for the NHC competition 7 times in its 13 year history. Michael Beychok Enters the competition as the 2012 NHC title winner, with the 23-year-old Matt Bernier entering the fray as the youngest qualifier in the NHC.
