Round two of big-money handicapping tournaments in Las Vegas is set for Bally's race book today and Saturday. The $836,750 Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship will showcase 255 players chasing a $400,000 first prize.

The players qualified in either a satellite or Internet tournament held during the past year. Think of the process as a horseplayer's version of "American Idol," with more than 100,000 people trying for just 255 spots.

Last week, Geoff Dutton beat out 715 players to win the Coast Casinos' Horseplayer World Series at The Orleans, earning $357,500.

The first-place money in these tournaments is huge. More than $1.5 million will have been paid out in the NHC and HWS. And the prestige from defeating the best handicappers lasts a lifetime.

I suggest you make plans now to qualify for next year's tournaments. For qualifiers and updates, go to www.ntra.com for the NHC, or www.coastrace.com for the HWS.

Last year's NHC champion, Ron Rippey, returns on a special exemption. Rippey is a public handicapper for the Newark Star-Ledger.

Rippey is bucking a tough trend. There have been no two-time NHC champs. Three other previous winners are also in the field: Jamie Michelson (2005), Steve Wolfson (2003) and Steven Walker (2000).

If you're looking for another Rippey-type winner, I see six that stick out: Jerry Brown is president of Thoro-Graph, a company that produces speed figure performance sheets; Howard Hong is a handicapper for Turf Paradise; Tom Quigley is the publisher of Horseplayer Magazine; Bill Handleman, who for years reported on horse racing, is now a general columnist for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press; Terry Turrell is a syndicated Southern California handicapper; and Ken Massa is the developer of HTR handicapping software.

Four Las Vegas residents are in the field: Mark Anderson, Mack McClyment, Richard Goodall and his wife, Sally Wang.

Seven people who qualified via the Churchill Downs Twin Spires Club are eligible for a $1 million bonus should one win the NHC: Phil Crone, Jeff Daich, William O'Neal, John Pappalardo, Dennis Perillo, Myles Richards and Trey Stiles.

One of the contest tracks, Aqueduct, already has canceled Friday racing. Tampa Bay Downs will replace Aqueduct on Friday.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.