or


[12/16/13 - 12:12 PM]
Horse Racing's Top Gamblers Place Their High-Stakes Bets When "Horseplayers" Premieres Tuesday, January 21
The series follows the lifestyles of a diverse cast of handicappers as they compete for a chance to face off in the annual National Handicapping Championship.

[via press release from Esquire Network]

HORSE RACING'S TOP GAMBLERS PLACE THEIR HIGH-STAKES BETS WHEN "HORSEPLAYERS" PREMIERES TUESDAY, JANUARY 21

LOS ANGELES - December 16, 2013 - 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.

The 10-part series follows expert handicappers as they travel the country in search of instant riches. From the storied racetrack at Churchill Downs to Saratoga to Santa Anita Park; the competitors put it all on the line at the top horseracing destinations in America. Along the way, they share often wildly-different methods, their unique lifestyles and personal insider secrets to picking the perfect pony, placing the right bet and having the guts that lead to glory in the horse racing history books.

Handicappers featured in HORSEPLAYERS include:

Team Rotondo - Best friends and former currency traders Peter Rotondo Sr. and Lee Davis, along with Peter Rotondo Jr., an executive at Breeder's Cup LTD., make up this unstoppable team.

Christian Hellmers - High-earning Hellmers brings his Southern California lifestyle to the track, with a signature headband, vegan diet and a betting style that's based as much on statistics as it is on karma and essential oils.

John Conte - Holding the 2009 National Champion title, Conte has some of the most solid credentials in the business, having qualified seven times in the NHC's 13-year history.

Michael Beychok - The 2012 National Handicapping Champion and the man to beat. A political consultant traveling from Baton Rouge, Beychok grew up betting horses with political heavyweight, James Carville.

Matt Bernier - New on the scene, this 23-year-old realtor by day was the youngest qualifier in last year's National Handicappers Championship.

Kevin Cox - A retired mounted police officer for the NYPD and former jockey agent, Cox is set to make his mark in this year's championship.

HORSEPLAYERS is produced by Go Go Luckey with Julie Auerbach, Henry Capanna, Tina Gazzerro and Dennis Principe serving as executive producers.





  [december 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· HORSEPLAYERS (ESQUIRE)





[10/07/25 - 03:52 PM]
FOX Sports' ALDS Coverage Up 14% Year-Over-Year Across FOX and FS1
3,187,000 viewers tuned in on average for the first four games of the 2025 ALDS across FOX and FS1.

[10/07/25 - 03:10 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN & ABC Score Three of Week 6's Top Four Games
ABC's telecast of Vanderbilt at Alabama on Saturday averaged 6.4 million viewers.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
College Football on FOX Scores Big in Week Six
In Week 6, "Big Noon Saturday" scored 4,627,000 viewers for Michigan's 24-10 win over Wisconsin on FOX - the most-watched noon game on any network.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN Scores Most-Watched Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in 28 Years
Coverage averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 62% from last year.

[10/07/25 - 02:40 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Roars in Week 5 as Most-Watched Telecast of the Week on Any Network
20,333,000 average viewers on average tuned into the network for Week 5.

[10/07/25 - 01:41 PM]
NBC Sports' 2025-26 Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball Schedules Announced Featuring 75+ Games Exclusively on Peacock
Peacock Big Ten men's basketball schedule tips off with a non-conference tripleheader on Friday, November 7.

[10/07/25 - 12:49 PM]
FOX Sports Acquires U.S. Rights to the 2026 World Baseball Classic
FOX is set to air seven games, including three Pool B games featuring the United States team, two Quarterfinals games and the World Baseball Classic Championship Game on Tuesday, March 17 from Miami's loanDepot Park.

[10/07/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 29: "French Lover" Swoons at No. 1, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" Chills in Top 10 Debut
Plus: "Wayward" reached No. 1 on the TV list for a second consecutive week, with 14.1 million views.

[10/07/25 - 11:31 AM]
Video: "Molly-Mae: Behind It All" Series 2 Part 1 - Official Trailer - Prime Video
A new chapter in her story begins.

[10/07/25 - 11:08 AM]
Friends Furrever: Prime Video Announces Cast for Upcoming Animated Series "Kevin" from Aubrey Plaza, Joe Wengert, and Dan Murphy
Series regulars include Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, Whoopi Goldberg, John Waters, Amy Sedaris, Gil Ozeri, and Aparna Nancherla.

[10/07/25 - 11:01 AM]
Netflix Gives Fans a First Look at Laboon in "One Piece" Season 2
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure returns for Season 2 - unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.

[10/07/25 - 11:01 AM]
ESPN Unveils Prolific 2025-26 SEC Men's Basketball Schedule, Beginning Nov. 3
More than 200 linear games will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network, ESPNU, ESPNews and the all new ESPN app.

[10/07/25 - 10:23 AM]
First Look at Catherine Zeta-Jones in Prime Video Revenge Thriller "Kill Jackie"
Zeta-Jones stars as Jackie Price, the glamorous art dealer whose lethal past as an international drug smuggler resurfaces when a squad of the world's most terrifying assassins, The Seven Demons, come after her.

[10/07/25 - 09:12 AM]
ESPN and the ACC Announce Men's Basketball TV Schedule for 2025-26 Season, Tipping off November 3
More than 215 games will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, ESPNU and the all new ESPN app during the regular season.

[10/07/25 - 09:11 AM]
Kate Scott Named USA Network's Lead Play-by-Play Voice for Upcoming WNBA Coverage
Scott, who enters her fifth season as the TV play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers, will anchor USA Network's season-long coverage of the WNBA through the Playoffs and WNBA Finals.