Blogger's Worst Nightmare...the Firewall

Tweet IT folk are a curious lot. We had made a decision at my firm some time ago to install upgraded firewall software to protect our network from external viruses and the like, more powerful than the one that we had. I had some concerns (not for me) that this could be perceived as just another Big Brother move by 'the powers that be' by our staff and voiced them in a meeting. I said a lot of people work really hard and if they want to blow off a few minutes a day (especially if they are working until 7 or 8 at night for us) why can't they check their Facebook or external email accounts, or watch a youtube video, etc., it's not like we're IBM. Well, in typical IT fashion we all received an email at 4.55pm (convenient) that the firewall is up and if you're blocked on a site give me the business reason for unlocking it. The 'ole chuck and duck, I know it well. Facebook....blocked. Twinspires....blocked. Youtube....blocked. Aspiring Horseplayer....blocked. (Note to those who put the word "gambling" in their titles or profiles) I check some other sites like DRF, TBA, my blog, brisnet, Hotmail....not blocked. I will live as I can access Facebook and Twinspires from my phone, it'll just be a pain in the arse. Like I said, I wasn't worried about me.

The Space Gal and I have this running joke about The Man. She likes to work for The Man and she likes to tell me I am The Man. She says she doesn't have to worry about her next paycheck and she can live with the corporate BS (although it seems to be the constant complaint, rightly so, I may add) Some freedom comes with being The Man, but also a shat load of responsibility such as feeding 90 people's families, guaranteeing bank debt, making payroll, etc. We've always tried to avoid instituting all the typical corporate BS at our firm, but it gets harder and harder when you grow like we have. I came from a corporate environment and I'll never go back. I'm sure we'll unlock Facebook, as I've put forth a group initiative to build a firm Facebook page/group to help with college recruiting (this horse racing blog and the interaction I've been able to have with different folks has been a godsend) and staff communication. You know, trying to be the hip CPA firm. After searching my employees (by employer) I found 33% of my staff have facebook pages. Anyways, some of you other bloggers probably have to deal with this stuff. I'm sure the Space Gal will just tell me "you're The Man, change it." All I can say is, those IT folk sure are a curious lot. Ok, I said it twice.

Some post mortem on the Eclipse Awards. Umm, geez, what hasn't already been said. The IEAH owner loss to Stronach has been beaten like a dead _______ (fill in the blank I don't want PETA mad at me). I guess I don't have any post mortem. I did enjoy twittering with some fine folk (EJXD2, mibredclaimer and raceday360) all way more knowledgeable than I am, while watching the Awards on my slingbox (the coolest thing I own).

Anyone care about the Super Bowl? I like the Steelers -7 and the under and will head up to Canada to make a wager at the sports book to back up my gut feel on this one. They were good to me a couple years ago and I think their defense will prevail. Other than having the super awesome numbers of 1,9 and 5,4 in a fairly sized pool ($4K to final score with lesser payouts by quarter), I will be at a party probably doing more networking than football watching.

Looking forward to some handicapping on Saturday and getting this week over the goal line....isn't it the longest week in history? Is there some time thing I'm missing, did we gain half a day somewhere? Oh well....stay warm.

The Freedom of Information...

Tweet I was nosing around the Albany Law School Racing page tonight and I stumbled across the 2007 filing of The Jockey Club, Inc.'s Federal Form 990 tax return. Through the Freedom of Information Act, all non-profit corporation's tax filings are public record, most can be found at guidestar.org. It was interesting to find that TJC is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)5 of the Code (that's what us beancounters call it to sound cool..."the Code") which covers labor, agricultural and horticultural organizations according to IRS publication 557.

The Jockey Club's website states that its purpose is "dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and it maintains a leadership role in numerous industry initiatives, including the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA)." The filing was made in late July 2008 based on the signature of Laura Barillaro (Exec VP/CFO) after being extended. Here's the good stuff:

1) They made $2.56 million in 2007 based on revenues of $13.76M less expenses of $11.2M.
2) Of the $11.2M in expenses, the top 4 executives made up $1.5M or >10% of the total expenses of The Jockey Club, Inc. (nice gig if you can get it)
3) All four executives are listed as working 40 hour work weeks...
4) President Alan Marzelli made $729,610 and had an additional $21,662 of benefit plan contributions made on his behalf.
5) The Jockey Club has over $29.5M in net assets (net worth in 'for profit' terminology)
6) They had no external bank debt.
7) They had approximately $19.4M in cash and temporary cash investments and another $9.8M in marketable securities (based on some of the sales of securities they held during 2007, I'm sure that they probably took a tumble in their investments over the past two quarters).
8) They had ~$2.7M in investments in 100% wholly-owned subsidiaries, those listed as TJC Holdings, Inc. and subs (Information Services & Softwares Services), The Jockey Club Racing Services, Inc. (Collection of Thoroughbred Racing Data) and The Jockey Club Technology Services, Inc. (Technology Services), all of which have revenue streams north of $5M.

It will be interesting to see how bad of a beating their investments took in 2008, and with the new Form 990 requirements (the form has been widely expanded to include a number of new disclosures and questions, which tells me the IRS is going to start scrutinizing non-profits in the not to distant future) going into effect in 2008, we should be able to glom even more information when they file their 2008 return.

It sure seems to me for a not-for-profit organization exempt from taxation, they are pulling down some big cash and have accumulated some dough for a rainy day. Maybe someone will tell them it's raining...

TBA Gets Mention at Eclipse Awards!

Tweet Just home from work, whipped up a batch of linguine and clam sauce and remembered that the Eclipse Awards are on tonight on TVG! As I turned it on, the Media Awards were being presented (around 7:45pm EST) and after NBC's Gary Stevens accepted the television production award, the Hennegan Brothers took the stage and delivered a wonderful speech accepting their Eclipse Award in the television feature category. In his portion of the acceptance speech, Brad mentioned the work of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance in spreading the word about the movie! Awesome! Both guys delivered lots of thanks to all that helped them and they looked great on the big stage. Congrats to our fellow TBA'ers. [Update: Cristblog also gives the TBA a nod in his Eclipse recap]

Ooh, the MC Kenny Rice just bombed a joke....crickets.

If you don't have TVG, Paulick Report is live blogging (via text message no less) from the awards ceremony. A couple of us are twittering as we watch from afar....

Did You Know...

Tweet - 15 years ago today in 1994, rider Pat Day became the 10th jockey to win 6,000 races? It happened at Oaklawn Park on board Miss Popsnorkle in the first race.

- 35 years ago tomorrow in 1974 (a good year indeed), jockey Chris McCarron rode his first race at Bowie Race Track? He was aboard Most Active, who was not so active that day, finishing last. Interesting that the new Jockeys show on Animal Planet will be rolling out early next month.

- that according to The Samaritans, January is the month where most people suffer the most depression? Here are some of their tips to avoid the January blues:

1 - Don't give yourself a hard time. (Good advice I tend to expect perfection)
2 - Spot the signs of trouble. (Don't chase a losing day on the last race)
3 - Look after yourself. (Squash once a week, Hoops twice a week, no fries or wings since October, check)
4 - It's good to talk. (Just not to yourself)
5 - Ask for help. (Speechless.....Bueller?)



courtesy: dctrcurrty

Off to handicap the Sunshine Million races which are this week's DRF races for the Winter of our Discontent contest. I'm dropping faster than a prom dress and need to pick it up this weekend....

TwinSpires.com to provide 'capping contest updates

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This weekend's DRF/NTRA National Handicapping tournament will not be televised on ESPN as it has been in the past. Per a press release from CDI, updates will be provided on the net at twinspires.com and you don't even have to have an account to watch (but why not sign up for one anyway!). "Jill Byrne will be on site breaking down all of the NHC action with video updates, interviews and player reactions."

Why did TwinSpires step up to provide this service? “When we learned the major racing television networks were not going to be on site covering the event, we found a way to step in and help out those horseplayers who wanted to get closer to the action from the Red Rock,” said Jeremy Clemons VP of Marketing for TwinSpires.com. ‘We are constantly looking for unique and innovative ways to engage the horseplayer community.”

The coverage will be throughout Friday (1/23) and Saturday (1/24) as the contest progresses and can be found at http://www.twinspires.com/.

I know I'll be checking out the action (so jealous that I won't be competing) as it should be very exciting. My contest shot in Vegas resulted in a narrow miss to qualify back in September, but was a great learning experience. Jay Cronley had a nice article on the pressures of a handicapping contest last year that spewed some interesting advice.

Miracle of 74

Tweet It's one of those things from childhood I'll never forget. Sitting in our wood-paneled family room in Cayuga, New York with my father, watching my beloved Irish (at the time...what kid didn't love Notre Dame) take on mighty UCLA and the magical 88 game winning streak. With 3:30 to go and the Irish down 11 to Coach Wooden's Bruins, I was literally in tears (I took it seriously back then) before the Irish mounted the comeback of comebacks, culminating in Dwight "Iceman" Clay's baseline jumper with 29 seconds to go. They survived the last 10 seconds and probably four UCLA shots to snap the still-longest win streak in NCAA basketball history. It's hard to believe it was 35 years ago today. College basketball was shown on television very sporadically back then. I think the game was telecast on TSN. I could only follow this particular series and the Irish through the agate scores listed in the Syracuse Post-Standard for the most part as a game on TV was few and far between. It was a game for the ages and it is on my list of the great memories of my youth watching sports with my dad (see also Immaculate Reception when I put a hole in the chair I was jumping up and down, on as Franco headed to the endzone- sorry Mom).


1974 was the second year that I can remember horse racing from childhood, as it came on the heels of the mighty Secretariat's triple crown in 1973. Cannonade was the Derby winner in a stampede that included 22 horses (most ever) and was in front of over 163,000 fans. He finished third in both the Preakness and Belmont (yeah they actually ran in the third leg even if they lost in the Preakness) to Little Current, who had finished fifth in the Derby. Cannonade finished with 7 career wins in 25 starts, earning just north of $500K. It represented the first Derby win for famed jockey Angel Cordero, Jr. and trainer Woody Stephens. It was the last Derby that I watched in that unforgettable family room, before we moved to Syracuse and watching it again tonight for the first time in 35 years brought back some pretty cool memories of a young sports fan's childhood.

Here is the 74 Derby (courtesy: cf1970):

Golf Claps

Tweet I was having a bad day yesterday, so what do I usually do in this situation? Attend a mindless movie that will make me laugh at anything. So I convinced the Space Gal that we should go see Paul Blart - Mall Cop. If Kevin James (see dance move #1) can't pick up my mood, who can? Was pretty funny at spots, but at the end of the picture (and the house was packed) it received a rousing round of applause. Now, mind you, this movie has absolutely no potential to receive an Oscar or a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, for that matter, but the spontaneous show of hands started my wheels turning. Me, I couldn't even get myself to give it a golf clap. At least it took me to a better place than I was. Which brings us to today's topic: the golf clap. Is it the sarcastic applause as defined at Wikipedia, or the gentle applause (non-rousing version) in the first paragraph. I tend to use the golf clap more in the "way to go" positive mindset and not in the sarcastic sense. If I don't like something, I just don't clap. There you have it. So today, we'll give out a few golf claps and a few rousing applauses.

Golf Clap: For my college English professors Dr. Peter Schwartz and Dr. Gary LaPointe, both engaging academians, for teaching me creative writing and providing me with a waiver from having to take Handride's upcoming online video tutorial on basic feature-writing and opinion-writing methods. (ok sometimes I use the sarcastic version..tongue in cheek)

Rousing Applause: For Sully and his awesome piloting skills. Space Gal told me over coffee this morning, "if I ever hear "brace for impact," I sure hope Sully is at the helm."

Golf Clap: For The Lost in the Fog movie. I watched it (well, most of it, as there were some technical difficulties around the sixty minute mark) and really enjoyed the documentary chronicling this horse's incredible win streak ending on 2005 Breeders Cup Day at Belmont. I was at his King's Bishop victory at the Spa on that glorious Travers Day, and loved the fact that this horse won at multiple tracks away from his home base in NoCal. The passion shown in this film by the Fog's late owner was something to behold. I was moved at how they didn't rush this horse into the Derby and took the horse's interests to heart before entering him. Great race footage and personalities in abundance throughout the film.

Rousing Applause: For Valerie at Foolish Pleasure, who's hit the Top 60 in the DRF Winter of our Discontent Handicapping Contest. Go Val. Keep it up.

Golf Clap: For the New York State Racing & Wagering Board (don't worry I'm not going soft) for getting all of the industry stakeholders together on Thursday to discuss enforcement and implementation of the new Tote Standards Rule discussed in my post earlier in the week. It is my understanding that all three tote companies (United Tote, Amtote and Scientific Games), a majority of the state's thoroughbred and harness track operators, the various OTB factions and three monitoring companies met to discuss how this rule will be implemented. The rule went into effect on January 1. The regulators in this scenario have the horseplayers best interests at heart by protecting their wagers through a thorough monitoring process. Think of it this way, in the Casino business there are all kinds of cameras protecting the house from any misappopriations or illegal activity. This type of oversight that the NYSRWB is attempting to enforce is only protecting the integrity of the paramutuel pools and in turn, the horseplayer's money. For that, they get a golf clap from this side of the state.

Rousing Applause: For the 150-200 brave souls who turned out in subzero temperatures to the Save Fort Erie Racetrack Rally, unfortunately no word yet on the fate of the track. CanGamble writes a nice recap on the rally here. Buffalo News coverage of the event: zip, zero, zilch (in that order).

In closing, I made a solid attempt this week to turn the Saratoga Resident into the Buffalo Resident (again), to no avail, I guess Buffalo Resident just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Rally Caps

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I received a Facebook invitation for the rally being staged on Thursday afternoon at the Fort Erie Town Hall titled "SAVE FORT ERIE RACETRACK RALLY PART TWO." The rally per the invite page is scheduled from Noon to 4pm and the description of the invitation reads:

****Please note: the DATE for the rally has been changed. It is now January 15 at noon.****We were told there would be an answer as to the status of the racetrack's future by January 15. ** If this is not forthcoming by then *** then a rally will be held January 15 - Let's make it big. Let's show our support for the track and that we need to know where we stand. Spread the word to everyone in the town of Fort Erie and beyond, that you can! Bring signs - and horses if possible.

Currently it appears that over 300 Facebook invites were sent out. I think I might scoot over the bridge at lunch time to support the effort (and grab some of that awesome Ft. Erie chinese cuisine), it sure would be a shame to lose a track that has been open since 1867 (see Buffalo News blog here). Keep an eye on the CanGamble site, who always has up to date information on this issue.

So, if you're in the neighborhood (Buffalo and So. Ontario readers), stop over and put your rally cap on.

Somebody's Watching Me...

Tweet I ranted back around New Year's Day about the new 10 day cashing rule in New York State, that started to affect horseplayers effective Sunday (the 11th) regarding presentation of various forms of identification now necessary to cash said ticket. On Friday, Nick Kling wrote about it again in the Troy Record stating that "According to NYSRWB spokesman Joe Mahoney, this rule has been in the pipeline for a couple of years. It is the product of a lengthy process during which time interested parties had an opportunity to comment, he said. The kernel of the idea for the measure germinated after the ‘Fix Six’ scandal at the 2002 Breeders Cup. You may recall that a trio of conspirators were able to access the pari-mutuel tote system and create a winning Pick Six ticket. The scheme was uncovered when longshot Volponi won the Breeders' Cup Classic, leaving the thieves with a bizarrely constructed wager which immediately set off alarm bells. cash such tickets. During the subsequent investigation into their activities, it was learned that the crooks practiced their craft by ‘harvesting’ winning tickets not cashed within a reasonable amount of time. "

However, what really caught my eye in the article was this snippet: "He also said the tote companies which handle the bets have been under “extreme pressure” to comply. They will be required to have an independant monitor in place to watch over wagers. The part of the ruling which applies to the tote vendors is on hold until a Jan.15 hearing with the NYSRWB takes place..." So I did a little digging into the Tote Standards Rule Part 5100 (which is quite lengthy by the way) at the New York State Racing and Wagering Board website and found out what the tote companies are all up in arms about (even though I'm told they informed about the rule change in May 2008). I think this section is the real meat of the rule, not the 10 day issue.

Part 5100.24 (l) reads as follows:

Independent Monitoring System.

The totalisator company shall utilize an independent real time transaction monitoring system approved by the Board. This system is to provide information in a read only format. At a minimum the system shall:

- Verify all transactions performed by the totalisator;
- Provide access to the Board and the authorized pari-mutuel wagering entity for monitoring activity;
- Notify the authorized pari-mutuel wagering entity’s mutuel manager or duly appointed representative when the system detects a discrepancy in the totalisator operation and/or with the independent monitoring system automatically. The mutuel manager shall determine the cause of the error and make any necessary repairs or adjustments pursuant to the rules and notify the Board immediately after each occurrence; and
- Perform other requirements deemed appropriate by the Board.

From my understanding only the Texas Racing Commission currently utilizes an independent monitoring system for its totalisator. The focus has been on the 10 day rule, but I think more important than that is this section of the standard. If implemented the following should be achieved:

- Preventative controls to ensure the integrity of the tote system.
- Reduce the probablilities of past posting.
- Keep the tote companies honest with keeping their systems up to date.

I'm sure the other issue for the tote companies, is that this new requirement puts additional cost on them (as independent monitoring software will have to be procured). Just who will they try and pass this cost onto? The track? The bettor? Monitoring comes with a cost, whose gonna buck up?

I did some further research into who actually sells this type of service. Wah-lah, ESI Integrity Services, Inc., who partnered with RCI (Racing Commissioners International) back in 2005 "to provide a national monitoring service and database for pari-mutuel wagering." With the meeting scheduled for Thursday, it should be interesting to see if this section is further delayed, what the tote companies' gripes are and who is going to pay for the software. Stay tuned.

I'm just an average man with an average life
I work from nine to five, hey hell I pay the price
All I want is to be left alone in my average home
But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. And...

I always feel that somebody's watchin' me...

~Rockwell

Time to Get a Grip

Tweet As usual, horse racing is behind the major sports, it just took it's racing journalists eight months to start bashing the blogs. Buzz took the first shots back in April on Costas Now. At least Moran didn't use Hitler in his analogies like Bill Conlin of the Philly Daily News did when describing us pampheteers.

How does all of this affect me? Absolutely zero. Not a bit. Posts have been written ad nauseum regarding this topic (including this one, sorry...LOL) and people just have to get a grip. Bloggers aren't trying to replace journalists, nor do they want to be journalists, and they should laugh off Moran's article like I did. I could care less if I have a press pass (although I heard the food is good in the press box) or the scoop to some breaking story. Not my gig. I am a fan, I like to share my thoughts and experiences with others, unbiased and unedited (I think that might be the definition of a blog?). If people read, great. If not, who cares. Do I look at my statistics? Sure I do, but this blog doesn't pay my bills and since some people (and I thank you) actually do read what I write, I continue. I love handicapping (regardless of my lack of talent in this area), I love watching the horses run, I love to know more about the business side of things, and I love the thrill of the game. But most importantly, I don't and will never perceive myself to be a journalist. Do I go on the backstretch with a pad of paper and a pencil seeking out trainers, jockeys, etc. for the latest? No, again not my gig...that's for someone else to do that can do it better than I and maybe even get compensated for it. I do this because I have a passion for the game, that's it, plain and simple. And it's not always about horse racing, because man, life is too short to be boxed into one topic, which is why I like to read about Alan's take on NY politics, Patrick's twitters from the Devils game (Sabres rule, Devils drool) just as much as someone's trip to Turf Paradise or Golden Gate Fields.

One thing that the old media has to realize is that the internet (and whatever new technology will follow that) provides instant information and that the print media is going to eventually die a slow death, a la the horse and buggy. For example, The New York Times (gasp) is currently in deep financial trouble. Change is inevitable in life, how you handle it is how one is defined. I always point towards the Four Agreements. It's a good way to look at how you live and how one handles adversity. Some people thrash out at others with blame and anger over their own issues, I say follow Agreement #2 and don't take it personally. Don't worry what others say, it's their issue they are upset about, not yours. There are some great bloggers and writers out there, both on the TBA homepage, the Paulick Report and at the traditional sites like the Bloodhorse. Read what you want and enjoy it, whether it's a journalist, a blogger, or a half-wit like me. If you don't enjoy it, don't read it. It's actually quite simple. Do what makes you happy and good things will follow.

Like now, I'm going to grab a couple steaks for tonight, some wood for the fire, grab the PP's for Aqueduct, watch some football and racing simultaneously and enjoy some time with my wife. There you have it.

Third is a Charm

Tweet Since we're closing in on tax season (in my real world anyways), today's post was inspired by an email from one of my partners regarding a journal of taxation blast out to members firms titled "Better to Be a Third Place Winner." The IRS issues related to reporting withholdings on racing winnings is well chronicled (especially by Steven Crist) so I thought this article was semi-relevant, and it is quite entertaining (albeit lengthy).

Here is the main body of the article (courtesy WG&L):

"Most of us probably have day-dreamed about winning a large lottery prize or a mega-payoff in Las Vegas (or the local casino of your choice). Your editors are aware of two situations—30 years apart—where being the third place winner in a big stakes event would prove to be far better off—tax wise—than being the number one winner.
Flash back to the mid-1970s: A law school classmate of ours, who had taken up practice a few hundred miles away in a small town, called us out of the blue with a tax problem. He told us his client was a milkman who had a rural route and had last filed an income tax return in the 1940s. He somehow missed timely filing the following year, and rather than file late, he didn't file—and never filed again.

The milkman happened to purchase a ticket in the Irish Sweepstakes, which was a forerunner of the multistate lotteries common today. Lo and behold, the milkman won the Sweepstakes and along with it, a $125,000 prize (which, adjusted for inflation, would have looked like a gazillion bucks in today's dollars to the milkman). The check arrived, and the milkman cashed it.

Unfortunately, the milkman's identity was published in his local newspaper (without his advance knowledge or approval), presumably planted there by the Sweepstakes' promoters. (Note to all large lottery winners and those hoping to join their ranks: maintaining your anonymity is very difficult, as lottery officials love to publicize their lotteries' big payoffs and may blow your cover).

Our classmate told us an IRS agent had read the local newspaper and opened an investigation based on the Sweepstakes story. As a result, the milkman was facing tax liability on some 30-plus years that he failed to file tax returns, along with potential civil and criminal sanctions, all because he had the misfortune of winning the Irish Sweepstakes! My colleague wanted to know if there was anything we could do, and specifically, if the milkman gave up all of his prize, would the revenooers just go away? See Shop Talk, "IRS Scours Newspapers for Large Awards," 97 JTAX 63 (July 2001).

We never found out the milkman's name or whether he went to prison, but we saw first hand how the tax system can indeed take all the joy out of being the grand prize winner. One could surmise, however, that the third-place winner of the Sweepstakes—the recipient of a much smaller prize—garnered no IRS audit attention.

Flash forward to 2008 for "The Main Event of the World Series of Poker," which concluded in Las Vegas in November. The event drew more than 6,800 players, all dropping in a $10,000 entry fee and all seeking their pot of gold—which turned out to be slightly more than $9,150,000 for the first-place winner, a 22-year-old Danish national named Peter Eastgate. His prize swamped the amount won by the third-place winner, Dennis Phillips of Cottage Hills, Illinois, who won about $4.5 million. But thanks to the tax laws, once again we'd rather have been the third-place winner than the grand-prize winner.

How come? According to Enrolled Agent Russ Fox (of Clayton Financial and Tax of Irvine, California), who writes on the Taxable Talk website, Mr. Eastgate will get hammered by the tax laws applicable to gambling winnings. The U.S. and Denmark have a tax treaty that provides that foreign winners at casinos must pay taxes to their country of residence (Denmark), rather than where they win (here, the U.S.). So the IRS loses here, but Mr. Eastgate loses more. According to Fox's website, for casino gambling, the applicable tax rate is 45% on a Danish taxpayer's first 4 million Danish kroner, and 75% on his income above that amount. According to Fox's computations, Mr. Eastgate will have an effective tax rate of 72.77% of his winnings. In other words, he will only keep approximately $2,491,000 (27.23%) of his first-place prize, while owing approximately $6,660,000 to SKAG (Denmark's version of Uncle Sam).

But Illinois resident Phillips, who won about $4.5 million as the third-place finisher, will owe approximately $1,560,000 to the IRS, according to Mr. Fox, and approximately $136,000 to the Illinois Department of Revenue (based on Illinois' flat 3% state tax rate). More good tax news for the third-best poker player in the world: As he reportedly is an amateur (not in the trade or business of gambling), he would not appear to be subject to self-employment taxes on his winnings!

The net result for Mr. Phillips: his take-home amount, after taxes, should be approximately $2,804,000, whereas Mr. Eastgate, the first place winner, will net only about $2,491,000. As one commentator observed, a net of $2.5 million for a college-age kid for winning a poker tournament is still an insane amount of money, but the tax bite constitutes a lot of chips going into someone else's pockets. (See Roeper, "A Very Taxing Final Table," Chicago Sun-Times, 11/17/08, page 11.)

Once again, better to have been the third-place winner than the grand-prize winner, thanks to income taxes. Of course, Mr. Eastgate, facing Danish tax rates, undoubtedly would rather have been the first-place winner than the third-place winner, but given their respective marginal tax rates, we'd still rather be Mr. Phillips!"

And I thought the show bet was a dumb bet.....and doesn't SKAG seem to fit the IRS?

A TBA welcome to blog sites Amateurcapper, Gallop France, Keiblog, Michigan-Bred Claimer and The Chalk Eating Weasel, all bright new additions to our growing (49!) alliance of racing blogs. Check out the home page and vote for your favorite Do-Over photo of the year for 2008!

One Track Mind

Tweet - It's one of those Mondays...you know, sitting around wondering what ever happened to Stevie Cauthen? Now I know.

- So today's post title deals with how I tried to handicap Gulfstream and Aqueduct on Saturday at the same time, weaving between tracks. Bad idea. Please stop me if I try this again. I focused solely on Aqueduct on Sunday (other than the 3yo filly race and the Old Hat) to much better results. I guess I do have a one track mind...

- I got a break yesterday at AQU on Mister Triester, whom I played a $5WP on, as the stewards obviously don't read my blog, as they were nice enough to take down Believeinmenow after some bumping at the beginning of the race to open the door. Wah-lah. Of course, I had no idea what was going on and since they didn't post the results right away, I had a sneaky feeling I might be getting a break...and TVG was too busy showing TP or HAW than to show what the inquiry about. Can you say pleasantly surprised? Of course, if it was Tampa Bay Downs I could read about the stewards decision on why they took Believeinmenow down. The charts were very helpful: "Folllowing a stewards inquiry the winner was disqualifed from first and placed third." Wow, thanks for all that insight, Captain Obvious.

- Huge capping feux paux in the opener though. I was really digging Make the Point ($41.60) who drifted up to 20-1 and had him underneath Charging Hero and Energy Center on my exacta tickets. I need to commit to my gut more often. I saw something I liked in the form, but couldn't pull the trigger. It's what I love about this game though, you can see the most minute detail and it can make all the difference in the world.

- Almost caught the negative show pool on Saturday in the 6th at AQU, as huge 2/5 favorite Toulouse Lautrec was capturing almost 95% of the total show pool. I slipped two $2 show tickets on the two other horses that were less than 18-1 on the board, Tranquil Manner and Haitian Sensation, hoping Toulouse would miss the board and the payouts would be gargantuan. Toulouse and HS locked up in a speed duel and Tranquil Manner deep closed on them to win, but Toulouse saved all the bridgejumpers with his third place finish. My show bets paid $5.50, so all wasn't lost. But damn, oh so close. Here is an example of what can happen when the big favorite misses the board, in this case, War Pass.

- Dipped down to 497th (and $7.80) in the DRF Winter of our Discontent Contest picking only one winner (Jibboom - what a ride by GoGo) out of four. My two second choices won outright (Loch Dubh and Delightful Kiss) and a third choice, Notonthesamepage won. Oh well, 7 winners out of 20 to date, and still within striking distance. Fatal mistake not taking Loch Dubh instead of the chalk Rudy Flyer at this point in the contest.

- Bill Belichick received one vote for coach of the year, probably didn't come from here.

- Mr. Not Really discusses the bloggers/pamphleteers corollary in his post today, which I know I've heard somewhere else before....hmm.....oh yeah here it is. Good stuff if you haven't read Bill Conlin of the Philly Daily News at his finest, taking nasty shots at the blogging establishment.

- If you were on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette wouldn't it make sense if you made it to the finale to throw in the towel or tank it since you are almost assured of your own show in the next season as the main event with twice the exposure? Speaking of reality television, a number of bloggers have pandered around the idea of a reality television show related to horses, jockeys, owners and trainers, etc. " Imagine a camera crew following around the jockeys, trainers and connections for a reality TV show after the Derby, and possibly with the Triple Crown on the line."

- While reading Johnny U over the holidays, I was made aware of an interesting racing tidbit related to Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. who ended up taking a pass (no pun intended) on Mr. Unitas back in the mid fifties. It has been long rumored that Mr. Rooney enjoyed betting the ponies and supposedly won $2,500 at Saratoga Race Course in 1933, and turned those winnings into the franchise fee for the Pittsburgh Steeler football franchise. Makes me want to root on the Stillers (sic) this weekend. I guess he also had a few good days at AQU, but the details are a little sketchy everywhere you look. The Rooney family still owns Yonkers Raceway and the Palm Beach Kennel Club (well, as far as I know, if I'm wrong someone will call me on it.)

- Last night I was like a kid in the candy store after two days of handicapping racing, watching the NFL playoffs and then it just got better........Goldfinger on BBC America Network and the best line ever: Bond: You expect me to talk? Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE! And then on MASN, Game Five of the Orioles-Reds 1970 World Series. Wow. Stupendous. You never forget the first year you can remember a sporting event.

- Sometimes if you have a One Track Mind, you win!

Capping, Dance Fever Style

Tweet I had so much fun with my movie sponsorships a couple weeks ago, I figured I would subject you to a little more fun with my top four movie dance scenes (one just hitting the charts this week) sponsoring tomorrow's DRF contest races. Currently ranked 301st (over 10,000 entries, 6 winners out of 16 races) with a total of $10.40, after hitting three of four winners last week thanks to Bob Black Jack's big win in the Malibu and Gio Ponti's win in the Sir Beaufort. So here we go (with my dance scene rankings proudly noted)....

Race 1: The Spectacular Bid Stakes sponsored by Hitch/Kevin James scene.

This $100K six furlong sprint on the opening Gulfstream Park card features a lot of the big East Coast jockeys and trainers. I'm going with Silent Valor (ML 2-1) and the Pletcher/Velazquez deadly duo to overtake ML favorite You Luckie Mann (8/5) who has the top speed fig. Silent Valor finished eighth in the Breeders Cup Juvie where he bobbled at the break and still only finished 3 3/4 lengths behind the winner, Midshipman. You Luckie Mann has finished behind Delta Jackpot winner Big Drama twice and should be a major contender here. In the third slot I like Notonthesamepage, a Wesley Ward trainee shortening back up after a tough outing at a route distance. I probably should favor YLM as inside speed at GP is usually the ticket to victory, but I'll go with the second choice here, with Pletch hitting at 27% off the layoff.

My all-time favorite movie dance scene sponsors the Bid.....



courtesy: lunchi 2k6

Race 2: Hal's Hope (G3) sponsored by Tropic Thunder/Tom Cruise finale.

The $100K feature race on the opening card at Gulfstream Park for older horses has some very familiar names going one turn at the mile distance. I'm sticking with Johnny V in the second race for Michael Trombetta and 6-1 choice Now a Victor. A winner of four of five lifetime and three straight bullets on his work tab, makes him the choice here for the Space Man (apologies to the Turk for speaking in the third person). Our backup choice is Delightful Kiss with Calvin Borel in the irons for Pete Anderson. The Kiss is coming off a fine performance in the Clark Handicap at Churchill, finishing second to Einstein and also has some great workouts to show. Again I'll probably pay for going with an outside post (Now a Victor is in the #8 slot vs. DK's #4 slot), but we have some ground to make up contest wise, so we're going with the higher odds here. Rounding out the trifecta we'll select the talented Bribon, Alan Garcia breaking him from the 12 post at 5-1. This race also has a sentimental favorite, National Pride, who is trying his toughest competition to date for the Darley Stable, at 12-1 for Toga training champ Kiaran McLaughlin.

Moving up to #2 in my dance scene rankings is from the Tropic Thunder final scene, love Tom Cruise's moves in this one.....if you haven't seen it, you will definitely be in for a treat (pardon the suggestive language, but it's Ludacris, so what do you expect)



courtesy: ben2funny

Race 3: Turfway Prevue Stakes sponsored by Fred Claus/Vince Vaughan Elf dance scene

This $50K non-graded stakes on the all-weather stuff for the brand new three year olds is being run at six and a half clicks and I'm going with the chalk here. Rudy Flyer (9-5) has the top speed fig (by a lot) over most of these in here and looks to be fit based on his workouts and has won at the distance in his only race for William Connelly, who's hitting at 20% at the meet. To back him up (in case of scratch) our second choice is Loch Dubh, who has won on an off track by 5 lengths and has a hot jock aboard in Victor Lebron. Our third choice is Melo (not because I'm a Cuse fan) but because he is shortening back up for Dale Romans who hits at 18% with this angle and 19% with sprint-route-sprint.

#3 on my dance charts, the improbable Vince Vaughan, he of Swingers fame...



courtesy: draeger123

Race 4: Monrovia Handicap (G3) sponsored by Madagascar/Move it dance mix

The contest finale tomorrow is at Santa Anita going downhill (so cool) on the turf at 6 1/2 furlongs for a $100K purse. I'm all over Bobby Frankel's Jibboom at 9-2, but it's likely that line will fall by post time. With star jockey Garret Gomez aboard she appears to be the class of the race returning to the grass after trying the Cushion Track at Hollywood in November. She should be well rested and has some nice works to boot. My second choice is Lethal Heat, coming off a longer layoff than Jibboom, but has an impressive resume and should be the main contender here. We'll round it out with longshot Royal Taat, Rafeal on board for John Sadler, perennial training champ in these here parts.

If this dance number doesn't get you shakin' I don't know what will....so move it with #4.



courtesy: jafboy

Good luck and check for scratches....

Television Games

Tweet My battle cry back in September was "I want my HRTV," and now it looks like I'll need to take Power Cap's comment to heart and look into the DishTV option. Why, you ask? Well, as reported in the At The Races blog, the NYRA signal is currently being withheld from our boys over at TVG (sponsor of our Sprint division). WTF. I am relegated to Tampa, Delta Downs, Mountaineer and some quarter horse races? I'm not a harness player, so those races (which I will occasionally watch and enjoy) don't interest me as much as the NYRA races, that I maintain most of my investments. So, it looks like TwinSpires TV on my laptop is in my future this weekend. At least I won't have to switch back and forth between the NFL playoff games. Chucky, NYRA prez, issued a statment that said "blah blah working diligently blah blah regret the inconvenience blah blah blah" Nothing reported at the NYRA website, of course. Hey, thanks for all the positive vibes and screwing all those folks who bet on NYRA tracks on TVG. So much for my resolving for being nicer in the New Year, lasted a whole 34 hours. Oh well.

While I'm at it, the New York Racing & Wagering Board (RWB) is also making waves with horseplayers, as reported just after the New Year by the Cristblog (he must have been bored posting at 12.15am) and by Moran, implementing a new rule regarding uncashed tickets over $300 within ten days, require more identification than someone trying to obtain a passport or admission to an R rated movie. The new rule, timed coincidently, to the political hiring of the new Executive Director, Ronald Ochrym, a former lobbyist who used to serve under the pork king, Michael Bragman from Syracuse. Of course they replaced a perfectly competent attorney in doing this, nice going RWB, I'm sure this lobbyist knows exactly what's he's doing as the chief regulator in New York. Pure political BS. As reported both at Crist and Moran's respective blogs, Chucky also opposed this new rule and continued by saying "blah blah further inconveniencing the customer blah blah no other state in the country punishes its customers blah blah." F'd again.

Ok, I'm done ranting. Happy New Year.