Plot Synopsis

HORSEPLAYERS is a one-hour reality series that follows a group of National Thoroughbred Racing Association handicappers, as they vie for $1 million in prizes and the title of America's top handicapper. These larger-than-life characters face off in the National Handicapping Championship (NHC), as they travel across the United States, placing bets at America's best horseracing destinations -- from the storied racetrack at Churchill Downs to Saratoga and Santa Anita Park. 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. This series opens with the players sharpening their skills with the Triple Crown as the 2013 season kicks off, with the handicappers competing for $40,000 -- and a guaranteed spot in the championship -- in the season's first competition. This series features the following handicappers: Matt Bernier, a 23-year-old realtor, whose hobby grew into an obsession, leading him to become the youngest competitor in the 2013 NHC; Michael Beychok, a political consultant from Baton Rouge, who grew up betting on horses with James Carville; John Conte, a 13-year veteran of the NHC, who has qualified seven times and already won once; Kevin 'The Brooklyn Cowboy' Cox, a retired NYPD mounted police officer, who is a two-time NHC qualifier and is eligible for a $2 million bonus if he wins the top prize this year; Christian Hellmers, a native of Southern California, who previously finished in second place at the Breeder's Cup Betting Challenge; and Team Rotondo, headed by Peter Rotondo Sr. and Lee Davis, former currency traders and fast friends, who are joined by Peter Rotondo Jr.