Friday, January 2, 2015

Money and Markets
www.moneyandmarkets.com

Everyone Else Paid Up to $10,000 — You Can Have It For
Up to 50% Off!

That’s not a typo. Others have paid up to $10,000 for a two-year membership to my Ultimate Stock Options service. But here today, you can get it for up to 50% off and SAVE $5,000! Please read on to see how you can take advantage of this incredible offer. — Martin

MASSIVE GIVE-AWAY!

ONE WEEK ONLY!

The power to multiply your money up to 34 times over with a major breakthrough in the art and science of wealth-building …

You could earn gains up to 160% in as little as one week or less!

Click this link to get on-board NOW or scroll down for details!

Dear Fellow Investor,

Weiss Research’s “Project 2015” initiative has led us to the single greatest breakthrough in the art and science of wealth-building I have ever witnessed.

It is a breakthrough that I believe will completely revolutionize the way you invest.

It gives you the potential to achieve BOTH very large winning trades AND, at the same time, a very high ratio of winners to losers.

As a result, this breakthrough gives you a new strategy with ...

The power to multiply your
speculative funds by 34 times*!

Moreover, it gives you the opportunity to achieve this result with consistency and SPEED over time.

For example, in January of 2005, if you had set aside $10,000 to follow this new strategy, you could have over $340,000 today.

With a bit more — just $15,000 — you could have over a half-million dollars by now ($511,000 to be exact).

Or if you doubled that, starting with $30,000, you could be sitting on over $1 million.*

That’s one million EXTRA dollars for all the special plans and interests you may have, whether during your retirement or before.

The key to our discovery is our new Weiss Timing Index. For each and every one of the 12,000 stocks we review each day, this new index addresses two critical issues:

Which way is this stock likely to move — up or down?
What is the likelihood that the move will begin within the next three trading days?
Then, for each stock, our new model gives us a rank — from rank #1 to rank #12,000. Thus ...

Stocks with the ultimate Weiss Timing Index have an extremely HIGH probability of moving almost immediately, giving us a great deal of certainty regarding market timing, while ...
Stocks at the very bottom of the list have an extremely LOW probability of moving right away, meaning any investment action at that stage could be very premature.
This is a huge breakthrough for me — and for you. Now instead of just estimating the market timing, we have a thoroughly tested, mathematical measure to guide us!

This project was driven by my personal commitment to help you build wealth even more efficiently with stocks.

But as we began to see positive results, the project quickly exploded in both scope and size, ultimately involving a dedicated team of investment specialists and ratings analysts ... nearly our entire computer network ... and the single largest mountain of data any of us has ever seen in one place at one time.

It became an obsession with my entire team: We literally worked around the clock ... through weekends ... even through vacations and family holidays ... to bring this to you.

All to help you make 2015 your most profitable year ever.

Now the final testing is complete — and I can tell you that the results are spectacular to say the least:

Not only have we greatly enhanced the tools for maximizing your profits on stock investments …

We also have the power — and confidence — to apply these tools to TIME-SENSITIVE speculative vehicles.

And that means, we have the power to build wealth far more quickly — in ways that investors and traders could only have dreamed of before!

Now, you could turn a small grubstake
into a formidable pile of money the WEISS way.

At this point, you’re probably wondering if I’m talking about stock options. If so, you are 100% correct.

If that surprises you, I certainly understand. I’m known far and wide for being one of the most risk-averse investors on the planet. And even though purchasing stock options limit your risk, they are more volatile than stocks.

And you’re right: Without the power of my award-wining Weiss Stock Ratings to select the safest stocks ... and now, the additional power of my new Weiss Timing Index to time the market, I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable with options.

But WITH these two exclusive and thoroughly tested tools to help guide us, I now have a stock options approach I’m absolutely comfortable with.

I call it my Ultimate Stock Options strategy. But I’m not talking about go-for-broke options.

I buy only options which are the most widely-traded, and most likely-to-succeed based on my tools. And I’m buying them only on the best-rated stocks on the market.

Nor am I doing this just for the “thrill” of hitting some grand slam home runs once in a while. Rather ...

I’m talking about using these highest quality options to build substantial wealth consistently, over time; over the long haul.

And because we’re using options, we’re set to grow our speculative funds much faster.

This has rarely been done with options before — and that’s why I believe this new strategy is such a landmark breakthrough.

Three big advantages and
one important disadvantage
of buying options …

As you probably know, the main reason options are so powerful is because of LEVERAGE: The ability to deliver gains of $5 or more for every $1 generated by the underlying stock.
Options allow you to effectively control large blocks of stocks for a period of time with very little money. And that gives you three major advantages:

Advantage #1 — Buying stock options gives you virtually UNLIMITED profit potential and STRICTLY LIMITED RISK.

Other highly leveraged investment vehicles expose you to unlimited risk — but when you buy stock options, that is never the case.

The absolute most you could ever lose is the small amount you spend for the option plus the tiny brokerage commission. Unlike futures or short-selling, you can never suffer a margin call.

In fact, since options let you control lots of shares with very little money, your dollar risk can actually be less than if you bought the actual stock.

Advantage #2 — Options give you enormous money-making power at a very low cost: Right now, for example, 100 shares of Microsoft would set you back about $4,900. But with options, you can control 100 shares for as little as $119.


And because you effectively control the stock, you can profit almost as if you actually owned the stock outright. But because you pay so little for your position, your gains are amplified many times over.

So let’s say that last April, your next-door neighbor decided to pay $7,500 to buy 100 shares of Apple at $75 per share.

By July, the stock was selling for about $100 per share — a 33% gain. He’s telling everyone he knows that he just snagged a $2,500 profit (before commissions and taxes).

Not bad! But look at what could have happened if you had used options instead:

For starters, you would have taken effective control of those 100 shares of Apple for a fraction of what your neighbor paid:

Instead of shelling out $7,500 to buy 100 shares of the actual stock, you could have paid as little as $119 for an option that gives you the right to control those 100 shares.

That’s 98% less than the stock investor paid! So when the stock rises $25 per share, your percentage gain is far greater. Plus, it also means that, if the stock falls, the amount of money you have at risk is far smaller.

Advantage #3 — The low cost of options can actually REDUCE your capital risk: Let’s say your neighbor bought 100 shares of Amazon last February at $354 per share — an investment of $35,400. You used options instead, paying only $1,025 for an option that gives you the right to control 100 shares of Amazon.

But by October, the stock had plunged 19% to around $285 per share. Your neighbor wound up with a painful $6,726 loss. Your loss would have been just $1,025 (plus a small brokerage commission), but not a penny more.

Now, here’s the important disadvantage of options: As time goes by, if the stock does not make its move pretty soon, you will begin to see the value of your options erode.

And if you run out of time entirely — if the stock doesn’t make its move before your option expires — you could lose the entire amount you paid for the option (although never a penny more.)

This is the main reason why many investors lose money with options: They buy or sell them at the wrong time.

And that’s where my new Weiss Timing Index makes all the difference in the world, in my view. Instead of just aiming for some big home runs here and there, my Weiss Timing Index gives us the power to hit an almost endless series of singles, doubles and triples, with few losing trades in between.

I repeat: Instead of trading options just for the “thrill of it,” you can also use options for SERIOUS — and VERY RAPID — WEALTH BUILDING.

To prove my theory, I ordered
the most exhaustive tests
in my company’s history:

First, I focused a dedicated team on this effort. I gave our senior analysts, our ratings experts and our research people full access to our vast computer network and gave them explicit instructions for the development and testing of this strategy.

Second, we spent $32,000 to purchase a vast database that includes all 10,598,077 unique stock options that have been traded on U.S. exchanges since 2005.

Third, we considered only options on stocks with a Weiss Stock Rating of “Buy.” That step alone eliminated about 75% of the stocks on the market, leaving me with a list of strictly 3,150 high-quality investments.

Fourth, we ranked the remaining stocks from #1 down to #3,150 based on my Weiss Timing Index.

Fifth, each day, we produced a list of stocks ranked #1 through #5 — the absolute best of the best on all measures of market timing.

Sixth, from that list, we selected only the best options available — those that are (a) at or very near the money, and (b) have plenty of time remaining.

And seventh, we applied a similar strategy (in reverse) during the period that our Weiss Bear Market Indicator clearly identified as a bear market.

Now, here are the results ...

Using our Weiss Stock Ratings to pick the best stocks AND the Weiss Timing Index to pick the best time, turned out to be a very powerful combination, which could have yielded a series of outstanding benefits to investors.

Benefit #1. Superlative win ratio. Our results produced an astounding win ratio of 80.2%. In other words, four out of five trades would have been winners and only one out of five was a loser. For any options-buying strategy, a win-loss ratio over 50% is considered unusually good; 80% is simply unheard-of.

Benefit #2. Excellent consistency from year to year. The win ratio was mostly consistent year after year. In the last three years, for example, the percentage of wins has been 86% (2012), 85% (2013) and 85% again (in the first 10 months of 2014).

Benefit #3. Overall profits year after year. In the entire 10-year period, our results show only two losing years; and the losses were moderate — 14% and 4% back in 2006 and 2007. In contrast, our results showed eight winning years, with yearly gains of 60%, 47%, 15%, 32%, 45%, 77%, 118% and 107%.

Benefit #4. Thirty-four times wealth growth in 10 years. Your total return since 2005 could have been 3,307%, enough to multiply your money 34 times.

All with options that I believe are suited for less aggressive options investors — in or very near the money and with plenty of time remaining before expiration.

Benefit #5. Ideal for bear markets as well. We also found that everything that could be achieved in a bull market could also have been done in a bear market.

Instead of targeting our buy-rated stocks, we target our sell-rated stocks. And instead of buying call options (designed to profit from rising stock prices), we buy put options (designed to profit from declining stock prices).

Winning trades that will
make most options traders
turn green with envy ...

I want to make this perfectly clear: For me, extremely positive, OVERALL performance matters a lot more than some home runs on individual trades.

If time runs out on your option and the stock fails to make its move — or moves in the wrong direction — you could lose up to 100% of your small investment in that particular trade. And even with all the best tools in the world, my results show that could happen from time to time with my Ultimate Stock Options strategy.

Moreover, the overwhelming bulk of the option trades — a whopping 8 out of 10 — were winners, including ...

Some hefty doubles and triples:

A 130.4% gain in 23 days on Catamaran Corporation ...
A 133% gain in 10 days on Philip Morris ...
A 160% gain in one day on Five Star Quality Care ...
A 169.23% gain in 47 days with ON Semiconductor.
And on many trades, you could have also more than TRIPLED your money:

You could have purchased an option on American International Group for just $315, then sold it for a 234.9% gain in just 10 days.
You could have bought an option on AIG for just $183 and sold it 11 days later for a 255.2% gain.
You could have bought an option on Family Dollar Stores for just $207, then sold it for a 276.8% gain in 84 days.
And you could have bought an option on Sanofi for just $170 and sold it 10 days later for a 283.5% gain.
Let’s say you had invested $5,000 in that last trade on Sanofi. Your 283% gain means you could have walked away with $19,150 — nearly FOUR TIMES your investment and in just ten days!

And on many trades, you could have grabbed your gains in one week or less: Over the ten years of the study, among 609 trades, over 300 trades took one week or less, generating gains of 24.4% ... 51.1% ... 79.3% ... up to 160%!

And I repeat: You could have done it without EVER buying the kinds of options that are generally considered riskier and more volatile — out of the money or with a very short time remaining before expiration.

To my knowledge, nobody has ever developed a strategy with the power to deliver an 80% win rate with the purchase of options.

Nobody has ever created the tools with the power to use options for a serious, reliable wealth building strategy — to multiply your money more than 34 times over in ten years.

... Until now!

That’s why I created Ultimate Stock Options — an entirely new service dedicated to trading stock options with your speculative money.

The ultimate in expertise:
Meet the Ultimate Stock Options editors:
Exclusively qualified to help you profit.

Make no mistake: I am deeply involved in this strategy. Not only did I design it myself — I also led the team that developed all of the tools we’ll use on every trade.

But editing Ultimate Stock Options demands the editor’s full time and attention. Plus, of course, I’m absolutely committed to my work as editor of Martin’s Ultimate Portfolio.

So I’ve recruited the two professionals who are the most qualified of all the analysts I know to serve you as editors of Ultimate Stock Options:


MIKE BURNICK is the expert on my Ultimate Strategy. He was at my side as I created it, fine-tuned it, tested it and finalized it. He understands how the Weiss Stock Ratings work and he is highly qualified for stock selection.


DAVID DUTKEWYCH is one of the few professional traders I know who has CONSISTENTLY had success with options even without the benefit of my Weiss Stock Ratings and Weiss Timing Index. I’m not talking about a winning streak or two throughout his career: David is hands-down the single most consistent options winner I’ve ever seen.

Together, Mike and David are like words and music — Mike using my Weiss Stock Ratings to identify the stocks we’ll base our options trades on ...

And David using our Weiss Timing Index to issue “buy” and “sell” signals for puts and calls.

The ultimate in confidence:
I’m so confident Ultimate Stock Options
will multiply your money ...

I’m going to be investing
right along with you!


I want you to know that I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

I want you to be able to trade before I do.

And I want you to see exactly what results I get, warts and all, in my own brokerage account.

That’s why I’m investing right along with you in my Ultimate Portfolio ... and it’s why I will do the same in Ultimate Stock Options.

I have set aside some money that I can afford to risk, and I’m using that money to invest in the very same trades as members of Ultimate Stock Options!

That’s important; let me repeat it:

I am so confident in these enhanced tools and our team, I am going to invest in every “buy” and “sell” signal for these options right along with you.

And of course, as publisher of Ultimate Stock Options — and one of your fellow investors — I will monitor every move they make with an eye to maximizing performance.

The ultimate in exclusivity:
Enrollment is strictly limited
and could close at any
moment without notice.

I must do this in all good conscience. If too many people receive our trading signals, it could become difficult for you to get advantageous prices when you buy or sell.

As a result, less than one-half of one percent of our readers will ever be able to join — and memberships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis only.

The ultimate in SAVINGS:
Exclusive, heavily-discounted
membership pricing is available
for a limited time ONLY!

I want to be 100% up-front with you about this: For the rest of the world, membership in Ultimate Stock Options will be expensive — $5,000 for a single year; $10,000 for two years.

The good news for you is that, if you act now, you can add a one-year membership in Ultimate Stock Options for just $4,000. You save a whopping $1,000.

Or, for just $1,000 more, you can add two years of Ultimate Stock Options for just $5,000. That’s $5,000 off the $10,000 rate.

No guarantees, but with just one $2,250 trade that makes a 200% gain, you could easily cover the cost of your membership for two whole years. After that, the rest of your membership is gravy.

Your complete satisfaction
is fully guaranteed for a full year!

Plus ...

You are entitled to the lowest membership rate that will be available for this service, saving you $1,000 on one year and $5,000 on two years ...
You have my guarantee that you will be delighted with the profits my Ultimate Stock Options service helps you make after one year, or I’ll refund every penny you paid.
—OR—

You can get full access to my Ultimate Stock Options investing service when you join Money and Markets Ultimate for just $39.

That means you’ll get all of our other services and strategies for a full month for a meager $39 — and receive a full month of Ultimate Stock Options too!

To take advantage of this remarkable bargain, click here right now.

Just in case you’re not familiar with our Money and Markets Ultimate service, let me take a minute to fill you in…

Money and Markets Ultimate lets you in on 18 of our investment trading services — services that would normally cost you $15,000 a year.

With Money and Markets Ultimate, you get instant access to ALL of our Money and Markets’ experts and their investment recommendations on virtually all investment vehicles. Stocks, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, precious metals, options, and more …

You get FREE access to a bucketful of valuable gifts that come with full-price memberships, including our special reports on immediate investment opportunities, timely investor briefings, webinars on current hot topics, our top-performing model portfolios, and more …

And you get access to my Ultimate Stock Options investment service …

All for less than the price of a nice dinner.

You get all 18 services
that others would normally pay over
$15,000 per year to receive!

You get our highly active premium trading services: Mike Larson’s Interest Rate Speculator and Energy Stock Alert; Larry Edelson’s Gold and Silver Trader, and Martin’s Ultimate Portfolio.

You get powerful portfolios including Weiss Family Million-Dollar Portfolio where Dr. Weiss has invested his own family’s money.

You get our stock and ETF trading services including Bill Hall’s Park Avenue Society and Jon Markman’s New Technology Superstars!

And you get all three of our investment newsletters: Mike Larson’s Safe Money Report, Larry Edelson’s Real Wealth Report and Charles Goyette’s Freedom and Prosperity Premium.

Normally, to get a full month of all 18 services would be over $1,400. But now, for a very limited time, you can experience them all for just $39.

You also get a big pile of FREE gifts, all yours to keep, worth more than 100 times your $39 investment

When you take profitable advantage of this unique offer, you’ll be treated exactly like a full-price, full-year member. That means, in addition to all the trade alerts, you also get every FREE gift that full price members get, including ...

Weiss Million-Dollar Ratings Portfolio Lowest Rated Stocks to Sell Now. If you own any of these dogs, sell them immediately.
Valuable special reports loaded with profitable tips and recommendations, including ...
• Options 101

• Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game

• How to Profit from the Next Phase of the Great Gold Bull Market

Invitations to quarterly members-only, Live War Room Video Briefings. You’ll get forecasts for the weeks ahead, sneak peeks at investments being considered, and answers to questions you may have live on the spot.
Invitations to timely and crucial live investment webinars. Plus, transcripts of past webinars.
You get 30 days of access
to all 18 of these services
for a mere $39!

I must repeat this because it’s so important: The bare bones LOWEST price anyone would normally pay for all these services would be over $15,000 a year. That’s over $1,400 per month.

But if you say “yes” by clicking this link by this coming Friday, you get all 18 services for the next 30 days for just $39. That’s $39 for the entire package of 18 services, plus all the FREE gifts and valuable resources.

What happens when your 30-day test drive ends is completely up to you.

If you like what you’ve seen, you can simply do nothing. We will notify you first and then, if you agree, we will begin billing your credit card for a monthly membership in these services at far less than anyone else would normally have to pay for them:

Instead of the more than $1,400 per month that everyone else would pay, your preferred price is just $299.

Otherwise, if you wish to cancel, just call TOLL-FREE 1-800-891-8485 before your 30-day trial is complete and let us know. Your memberships will be terminated instantly with no questions asked and no hard feelings.

There’s no obligation whatsoever. The decision is completely up to you.

You can KEEP everything you’ve received — including all the FREE gifts — and owe nothing further.

Furthermore, your $39 investment is fully protected by the strongest guarantee in Money and Markets history:

You’ll have the opportunity to make 50 times your money
or this “all-access” membership is FREE ...

The purpose of the nominal $39 fee is to encourage you to take the wealth-building recommendations you’ll get over the next 30 days seriously. And to ensure that I’m not overrun by freebie seekers who have no intention of giving these services a fair shake.

However, I also want to make sure you’re comfortable with even this small $39 investment. So, to make sure you risk nothing on your membership — and also to underscore my confidence that these services will help you grow your wealth — I have insisted that you be fully protected with the strongest guarantee we’ve ever offered anyone:

Just click this link and use our secure online ordering form. Your 30-day access to these services will begin immediately.

At the end of your 30-day access, these services must have given you the opportunity to make 50 times the $39 you paid — a bare minimum of $1,950. If not, let us know and we will refund every penny you paid for your membership, with no questions asked.

And you keep everything you’ve received for your trouble.

What could be fairer than that?

This unprecedented marketing test
must expire this coming Friday!

To sum up ...

You get all 18 of our V.I.P. wealth-building services, including three that are closed to other investors ...

Trading services that other investors would normally have to pay over $15,000 per year — over $1,400 per month — to receive ...

You get 30 days of full access to these services — every bulletin, every online briefing, every recommendation they release and every resource and free gift given to new members — for just $39 ...

And within that 30 days, the recommendations you receive must give you the opportunity to make at least 50 times more than the $39 you pay or you can call us to receive a full refund of every penny you paid, with no questions asked. No hard feelings, either.

Remember, this marketing test expires on Friday. And I don't know if I’ll ever make this offer again. So I urge you to act now before it expires.

Click here to start now.

Or call toll-free 1-800-291-8545 M-F, 9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time. Outside the U.S., call 1-561-627-3300.

But please remember: You must grab your membership quickly. Membership is strictly limited and enrollment may close at any moment without notice.

When the last membership is purchased, your only opportunity to join will be to get your name on our waiting list in case a vacancy occurs in our membership rolls.

Good luck and God bless!

Martin

posted from Bloggeroid

 theracingstandard.blogspot.com The Racing Standard Day 31

 theracingstandard.blogspot.com
The Racing Standard
Day 31
Most Likely Winner- Race 1- #1 Havana

Best Upset Chance- Race 9- #3 Classic Point
Race 1- 1. # 1 Havana 2. #7 Financial Mogul 3. #2 Chomsky

Race 2- 1. #2 N.F.'s Destiny 2. #3 The Lumber Guy 3. #5 Night Maneuver

Race 3- 1. #1 Crackerjack Jones 2. #7 Coaltown Legend 3. #3 Dehere of the Cat

Race 4- 1. #4 Bashful Bandit 2. #1 Yo Blue 3. #8 Pyro City

Race 5- 1. #2 Momma's Mark 2. #7 Ainteasybeinggreen 3. #1 Maybrys Challenge

Race 6- 1. #1/1A Klaravich Entry 2. #8 Joey N 3. #9 El Dreamer

Race 7- 1. #7 Sheerflakesofgold 2. #9 Alwaysinmycircle 3. #8 Bustle

Race 8- 1. #8 Subtle 2. #9 Karakorum Electra 3. #7 Jitney

Race 9- 1. #3 Classic Point 2. #8 Judy the Beauty 3. #1 Dance to Bristol

Race 10- 1. #5 Doc Cebu 2. #3 Parnelli 3. #11 Marine Patrol

Top Pick Stats to Date- 304 races 64 winners $634.30

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posted from Bloggeroid

LeBron James breaks Thabo Sefolosha's ankles! Almost his too

LeBron James breaks Thabo Sefolosha's ankles! (12…: http://youtu.be/q2Eb3ZpDSMs

posted from Bloggeroid

Thursday, January 1, 2015

racenet.com.au Latest Australian TAB information - Friday, 2 January 2015| Racenet

racenet.com.au

Latest Australian TAB information - Friday, 2 January 2015| Racenet


Track and weather conditions for Australian TAB meetings, Friday, 2 January 2015.R>R>
VIC Benalla
TRACK RATING Good 3 Pen: 5.10 Finalised 2/1 - 7:45am - Late Scratching - R6 N1
RAIL Out 3m from 900m-350m; True Remainder
FORECAST Clear/Sunny - 40°C
Benalla Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
VIC Cranbourne
TRACK RATING Good 4 Pen: 5.09 Finalised 2/1 - 7:45am - Late Scratching R3 N2
RAIL Out 4m Entire Circuit
FORECAST Clear/Sunny - 37°C
Cranbourne Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
WA Esperance
TRACK RATING Good 3 (Official Changes at 30/12/2014 01:58:42 PM)
RAIL Rail is at the inside position.
FORECAST Clear/Sunny - 26°C
Esperance Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
QLD Kilcoy
TRACK RATING Good 4 Finalised 2/1 - 7:45am
RAIL True Entire Course
FORECAST Patchy rain nearby - 31°C
Kilcoy Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
NSW Sapphire Coast
TRACK RATING Good 4 Finalised 2/1 - 7:30am - R5 N9
RAIL True
FORECAST Clear/Sunny - 27°C
Sapphire Coast Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
NZ Tauherenikau
TRACK RATING GOOD3
RAIL True
FORECAST Partly Cloudy - 21°C
Tauherenikau Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
NZ Tauranga
TRACK RATING GOOD3
RAIL True
FORECAST Light rain shower - 23°C
Tauranga Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
QLD Townsville
TRACK RATING Soft 5 Pen: 4.70 Finalised 2/1 - 7:30am
RAIL True Entire Course
FORECAST Patchy rain nearby - 33°C
Townsville Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
NSW Wyong
TRACK RATING Good 4 Finalised 2/1 - 7:45am- Late Rider - R7 N8
RAIL True
FORECAST Patchy light drizzle - 32°C
Wyong Races - free form with video comments, racebook, stats for this track and a punters' worksheet.
Scratchings - Riding changes for this meeting.
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Mucho Macho Man Stakes 2015; Derby Promise Mawthooq by SIGI MENDOZA | JAN. 1, 2015

 ladyandthetrack.com
Mucho Macho Man Stakes 2015; Derby Promise Mawthooq
by SIGI MENDOZA | JAN. 1, 2015
Mucho Macho Man Stakes 2015; Derby Promise Mawthooq: With full steam ahead, the 2015 season begins this weekend with stakes races around the country for three-year-old horses with Kentucky Derby aspirations. The one-mile $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes, formerly the Gulfstream Park Derby, will be contested at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, January 3, 2015. Although the Mucho Macho Man Stakes does not award Kentucky Derby Trail points, the last two years have produced horses that also entered in the Kentucky Derby; Itsmyluckyday in 2013 and General A Rod in 2014.


In 2014 McLaughlin had a great opportunity with Cairo Prince, but the horse sadly was injured before the first Saturday in May. However, this year McLaughlin has some great horses with Kentucky Derby goals, including Frosted, Imperia, and Mawthooq, who is entered in the 2015 Mucho Macho Man Stakes.
Photo: LATT

The Kentucky Derby is a race that has been somewhat elusive for the trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. In 2014 McLaughlin had a great opportunity with Cairo Prince, but the horse sadly was injured before the first Saturday in May. However, this year McLaughlin has some great horses with Kentucky Derby goals, including Frosted, Imperia, and Mawthooq. Three-year-old Mawthooq is entered in the 2015 Mucho Macho Man Stakes.

Mawthooq is a son Distorted Humor – Ready’s Gal, by More Than Ready. The colt is owned by Shadwell Stables and will be ridden by John Velazquez in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes. Mawthooq is a full brother to Machen, a horse who won the Derby Trial G3, and is of the same generation as Mucho Macho Man.

Mawthooq made his debut at Belmont Park on October 11, 2014 in a race over 6-furlongs finishing in second place just seven lengths behind the super speedy Ready for Rye. In his second start at Aqueduct on November 26, 2014, he appreciated the stretch out to one mile and won gate to wire by 10 ½ lengths over a sloppy track. The race was like a paid workout for Mawthooq and McLaughlin.

Mawthooq will face a field of 8 horses in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, including A. Rod Again, a horse who broke his maiden in fashion style at Churchill Downs. Mawthooq will also take on the Florida bred Brother Bobo, and Juan And Bina, who finished second behind the injured prospect Mr. Jordan.

With Distorted Humor and More Than Ready (Southern Halo) in his bloodline, Mawthooq has the pedigree to handle 1 1/8 mile without problems since he has the combination of stamina and speed. The 1 ¼ mile is a mystery that will be deciphered on Derby day if he finally enters in the longed 20 horse field list.

Mucho Macho Man Stakes 2015 Post Position & Odds
Race #10 5:01 PM ET
1 Dekabrist Chavez/Dorochenko
2 Ami’s Flatter Contreras/Carroll
3 Bluegrass Singer Castellano/Vitali
4 A. Rod Again Leparoux/Maker
5 Twotwentyfive A Rios/Gold
6 Honest Lopez/Plesa Jr
7 Juan and Bina Prado/Delgado
8 Brother Bobo Saez/Servis
9 Mawthooq Velazquez/McLaughlin
*Odds Updated Upon Release

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Universal Birthdate No Joke www.thoroughbreddailynews.com American Pharoah, who turns 3 today © Benoit by T.D. Thornton

Universal Birthdate No Joke
www.thoroughbreddailynews.com

American Pharoah, who turns 3 today
© Benoit
by T.D. Thornton


Today is the “universal birthdate” for all Thoroughbreds foaled in the Northern Hemisphere. Regardless of their actual foaling date, all racehorses turn a year older every time the calendar flips from December to January.
Ever wonder how Jan. 1 came to be the standard?

Like many of the sport’s long-accepted traditions, the answer traces back to the Jockey Club in Britain.
A potential mistake in how the rules were set down in ink also might have played a role.

Shortly after the Jockey Club’s formation in London in 1750, the epicenter of racing shifted to Newmarket. There the organization’s noblemen took it upon themselves to publish a “calendar” of proclamations, which initially pertained only to the racing upon Newmarket Heath.

But according to Robert Black’s 1891 book The Jockey Club and Its Founders, safety measures like “putting a stop to the detestable practice of crossing and jostling” were deemed logical enough to become accepted at meets all across Britain.
The Jockey Club’s outlawing of the “mischievous practice” of racing yearlings against 2-year-olds was also widely adoptedbut it demonstrated the need for a better way to determine a Thoroughbred’s age.

Prior to 1833, May 1 had been accepted as the “natural” time of year when foalings occurred. So that date was used in determining weight-for-age allowances--even if it meant yearlings became 2-year-olds in the middle of the racing season.

On April 25, 1833, the Jockey Club decreed that “from and after the year 1833, horses shall be considered at Newmarket as taking their ages from Jan. 1 instead of May 1.”

This rule “put a stop to the confusion caused by a sudden change of age in the very middle of the racing season,” Black wrote. “So far as the breeding of racehorses is concerned, [it was] a complete revolution.”

Yet it was not the Jockey Club’s intent to force other jurisdictions to adopt the decree: “With respect to other places, they will be considered as taking their ages from May 1 until the Stewards of those races shall order otherwise,” the rule continued.

Despite this distinction, the Jan. 1 decree was copied--perhaps in error--into the books under “Rules Concerning Horse–Racing in General” instead of just the course rules for Newmarket.

Other jurisdictions felt compelled to comply, presumably out of fear that the Jockey Club would refuse to recognize them.
By the time the Jockey Club rules were revised in 1851, the exception pertaining to “other places” had been deleted. By 1857, any mention about Jan. 1 only applying to Newmarket had vanished entirely.

The United States largely followed Britain’s lead, but several jurisdictions (notably Louisiana) used May 1 through the Civil War years.

As late as 1883, Krik’s Guide to the Turf listed Savannah Jockey Club in Georgia as the lone holdout to May 1.
A 1947 Daily Racing Form article notes the last serious attempt to change the universal birthdate in America. Al Luke, president of the California Thoroughbred Owners and Trainers Association, advocated a switch starting with foals of 1949.

But Luke’s campaign never gained traction, possibly because the date he chose seemed in and of itself a joke
April 1.

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5 fears that founders and funders have in common

5 fears that founders and funders have in common

Image Credit: Ruslan Murtazin/Shutterstock
December 31, 2014 7:00 PM
Roberto Bonanzinga, Balderton Capital



As 2014 draws to a close, while I read all the amazing achievements by my colleagues and all the upcoming new year solutions, I find myself thinking very philosophically about the topic of fear.

As individuals, we all have fears. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a founder or a funder, it’s an emotion nobody is immune to. That said, as individuals, I believe that we’re able to overcome our fears once we understand them.

Given my experience as a venture capitalist, I truly believe that both founders and funders could greatly benefit by better understanding each others’ fears.

While this might seem like common sense, my personal experience in the industry is that we never speak of fear because we believe that such behavior is a sign of weakness. The truth is, having the courage to openly discuss our fears would allow all of us, founders and funders alike, to develop deeper and better-quality relationships based on understanding the other.

When a founder and funder enter into a partnership, there are several fears that tend to reveal themselves in that relationship. Below, I’ve identified five of them and explained how you can effectively manage them. Thank you to my smart friend Christoph Janz for being the inspiration for this post.

1. Fear of the unknown
It is important for both parties to recognize that “fear of the unknown” is an emotion felt by BOTH the founder and the funder. In my experience, this fear generally takes a few board meetings and several workshops to be addressed and hopefully mitigated. Some of the questions that arise:

Is this the founder I thought I invested in?
Is this funder here to help me as promised during the fundraising process?
Unfortunately, over the years, what I’ve observed is that founders/funders avoid addressing this fear and end-up developing unhealthy relationships based on managing each other.

Tip to founders and funders
Accept that upon entering into a new partnership, you’re both somewhat fearful. It’s totally legit. Do not hide from your fears and turn what could and should grow into a powerful, mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationship into a sub-optimal political situation where you each believe that you’re “managing” the other. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s be honest about them and focus on learning from each other and collaborating with each other. Truth be told, I absolutely abhor the word “managing” when referring to the founder/funder relationship in an early stage startup. It’s poison!

2. Fear of feeling irrelevant
All founders are leaders by definition and so are most funders. As such, founders and funders’ natural instinct is to want to build consensus around his/her ideas and to foster acceptance by employees, partners, customers, etc. We tend to derive energy from the acceptance of our ideas and the recognition of our status. Without both these components, we often have an overwhelming feeling of rejection.

To compensate for our need to be seen and feel relevant, we have created an entrepreneurial ecosystem with a typical “star” system structure. Thanks, Hollywood, for showing us the framework!

Tip to founders and funders
In the dynamic founder/funder relationship, there is no need for anybody to feel rejected or accepted, we should just be. We are relevant because of what we do and what we achieve, not because of what we say. We have created this star system approach to entrepreneurship, but do we really need it?

Too often I see both founders and funders abusing publicity for fear of being rejected by the community and to enforce their need to be relevant. We almost become obsessed by our fear of rejection and we end up using publicity to drive acceptance around us (as individuals).

Why? Do we really build larger entrepreneurial ventures in this way? I strongly doubt it. I think all of us should focus much less on our personal publicity and on developing empty hype. If we really want to deal with the fear of being irrelevant and being rejected, there is one simple thing to do: work together to make our ventures relevant in the world (not our personal profiles).

3. Fears of death
I am a firm believer in a Darwinistic approach to entrepreneurship. Great founders and funders will survive, mediocre ones will die … and this is ok!

However, being a natural optimist, I also think that when we die we learn a lot, and therefore we will have a better chance to succeed in the future.

Tip to founders and funders
Fear of death is healthy, and both founders and funders should keep that in mind and derive energy from it instead of anxiety. This is why I feel companies should never be over-financed, and I am totally against funders supporting a company with internal funding rounds if the business is not gaining traction in the broader investment market. Instead of fearing death, we should figure out how to gain energy from that type of last-resource approach: the extreme motivator. That last-resource feeling is the last injection of adrenaline that allows all of us to achieve the unachievable.

4. Fear of Missing out (FOMO)
I’m going to state the obvious  — we are over-connected, we are the Matrix. As soon as we wake up, we obsessively look at our devices, worried about what’s happening somewhere else and terrified that we are missing it. This is in part the result of the times we are living in. Some of it is due to the the type of work we do, but more broadly, this is a generic attitude issue across the whole industry.

Founders are always concerned that they should be doing something new: If we don’t start this new business unit, somebody else will do it. Funders are obsessed by the next deal they are missing out on.

Tip to founders and funders
Although the founder/funder relationship is immersed in the fear of missing out, we could all make immeasurable gains by focusing our time, energy, and skills on impacting our existing relationship. We need to stop and take a look at what we have directly in front of us instead of being distracted by that elusive something out on the horizon or in our peripheral field of vision. Founders and funders need to invest quality time in the relationships, businesses, and ideas that they have already committed to. Smart focus is the best tool to help us to fight FOMO.

5. Fear of performance
Last but not least, the whole tech ecosystem is super conscious of performance. Some of this obviously is super healthy and a key driver of shareholder value creation. In some cases, however, this element creates a dysfunctional behavior also known as a need for unsustainable performance. Short-term performance should be seen as a tool to ensure that the day-to-day business operations are in sync with the strategy of the company and its medium/long-term objectives.

But I often see short-term business performance taking over the strategic perspective of a company and trapping the company in a state of low quality growth/unsustainable growth.

Tip to founders and funders
Both founders and funders should always be focused on building up healthy performance but should also make sure that the healthy tension of performance does not take over and become unhealthy unsustainable growth. I often hear of founders building companies for funders with the objective of achieving successful fundraising rounds. I have also seen many funders influencing the company building process thinking more about their LPs and fund structures than the benefit of the venture. We should all work together in building a culture of core sustainable performance around core business strategies. Founders and funders alike must be focused on same thing: the end customers.

Over the past several years, I have invested in many companies and have had the chance to work with amazing founders. As such, I have experienced these fears hundreds of times. Often, I had to deal with these fears in absolute isolation. Even to share them within my own partnership was at times difficult.

My key discovery during the years has been that some fears are exactly the same for founders and funders. Therefore, to share them freely actually helps to cement a deep relationship. This is the magic of some of the deepest relationships I have with founders.

I hope that my personal experience here can lead to greater founder/funder relationships. I hope we can all realize that talking about these fears does not make any of us sons of minor gods. We can all be great founders and funders if we recognize these fears, talk about them, and don’t allow them to take control of our interactions and relationships. Fears can help all of us build better, deeper relationships.

After 7 years as a Partner at UK-based Balderton Capital, Roberto has taken a step back from the firm since last July. He now is a Venture Partner and will pursue other interests while he continues to be strongly affiliated with the firm. During his tenure as a Partner in the firm, he led investments in companies such as Banjo, Contentful, Depop, SaatchiArt, Tictail, Vivino and Wooga, and LifeCake. Prior to joining Balderton, he spent 15 years working with entrepreneurs in the U.S. and in Europe.

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