The great equalizer visits New York’s Belmont Stakes! [gplus count="true" size="Medium" ]

All this week, I felt pretty confident that AK would take this race. It definitely was his to lose! The race between between AK and Shackleford proved to be the ONLY thing to consider.

After all, S loves the front end, but can’t hold on… AK loves to come from behind to take the win… especially since the Belmont is the longest race of the Triple Crown at a mile and a half!!

How could a come-from-behind horse with the stamina of AK NOT win???

Answer: When the great equalizer comes to the track!

The Weather!

It’s a mess there as I write this. Not only is it a sealed muddy track, but it’s compacted! I’ve watched the early races there today, and it’s obvious to me that front runners rule the day!

So, with that said…

Here are my picks for today’s Belmont Stakes IN A VERY LOOSE ORDER:

1 – Brilliant Speed – Pedigree, Stamina, BS has it! Was forced wide in KD – expect much better here.

2 – Animal Kingdom – just too good to ignore – but can’t catch the winner in this slop!

3 – Master of Hounds – why did the 5th pl KD finisher ship home to Ireland and then ship back here for this????

4 – Prime Cut – The early challenger to Shackleford without a doubt, and may the leader at the first turn.

5 – Shackleford – I’d like him more if he had a better Post Position, because he’ll be pushed at the start.

6 – Nehro – If you’re playing the exotics (and you should in a 3Crown race), this bridesmaid must be included.

7 – Santiva – Has early speed, so cannot be ruled out if speed counts as much as I think it will today.

So,

I’ll play AK to PLACE behind my other first 4 picks and ahead of them as well for the trifecta and superfectas. Then AK to SHOW behind them. Throw in a mix of all the picks above and you’re looking at some expensive tickets. So, throw darts, flip coins, meditate and play the odds OR do some serious handicapping, and you’ll get paid with those above…

Good Luck!

I hope you all hate (hmmmm dislike) Microsoft. If not for their poor (Horrible) products, then for their poor (Horrible) business practices. (Don’t get me started – ’cause it goes all the way back to their early days – read about those pirates yourself).

Now, our beloved Yahoo has decided to get into bed with the Redmond, WA bandits. They’re merging their Search Marketing with (gag) Bing!

We who love Gambling (and that really includes EVERYONE – if you don’t believe me – stop buying Stocks, Bonds, Insurance Policies, and picking your Mate) had to leave Google… and now Yahoo too!

Because of this new alliance which begins August 15, 2010, Yahoo is now pulling all Gambling related Ads. We can’t learn how to play anymore, we can’t research where to play anymore, we can’t enjoy our favorite pastime thanks to Bill and his Boys!

I don’t understand why they believe THEY should be the police, this affects much more than just the USA. Further, here in the USA there are already laws against online Gambling thanks to that poor (Horrible) ex-President Bush who snuck (yes snuck – on a late Friday nite)the uigea INSIDE a Freedom Protection Bill that the lawmakers didn’t even notice was in there.

I’ve written umpteen blog posts on the subject – please go back and get all the details. Let it suffice to say, the law is bogus, the Internet isn’t owned by the USA (thank God), there are stupid stops in place to prevent USA Players from gambling online, the powerful lottery, sports betting and horse racing lobbyists got THEIR gambling interests exempted, the financial institutions have been strapped with the responsibility to police online gambling (who do you think pays for that??? maybe the bank bailouts???), the law will be changed (sooner than later – I hope) because it’s so poorly (Horribly) written now.

The UIGEA isn’t working anyway – USA players get around it everyday. Think of the money the USA is losing. Estimates are the US Gov’t is losing $40 Billion in the next 10 years in Taxes alone. Add to that the fact that the US entrepreneurs had to move their businesses to other countries (and with it, all their jobs). Maybe they’ll move back here when it’s legal and that means more taxes, more jobs, and more money for the US Gov’t. The banks can save the money it’s costing to police CC sales.

What’s Bill and Bing, and Yahoo and Google going to do from atop their high-horses when the anti-gambling bill is revoked? They’re making a moral judgment that they may regret.

And by the way, just WHO was getting “hurt” by a marketer selling a book on how to play Poker, or Roulette, or Craps, or any Casino game? Millions of USA Players want the information and the right to read those books – they were not getting “hurt” – but they are NOW! More lost money; the authors lose, and even Yahoo loses! Why?

There are some SERIOUS addictions out there folks… but either they are legal, or the US Gov’t spends Billions of Tax Dollars on getting USA citizens off their addictions. Still, we see those products marketed everywhere we look. The notion that one will get addicted by reading one of those Gambling books is just Stupid!

I don’t know what can be done about this nonsense until the law is changed. Yahoo is getting tons of complaints now as each marketer sees his stuff removed… add your voice to the mix. Call them and let them know how wrong it is to “protect us” from ourselves. Yahoo: 1 866-924-6676

I attended an event this weekend, and when the word got out to the group that I was a Gambler… the stories began. Everyone seems to have a funny story about their Gambling adventures, and this one really cracked me up…

Robert was often found at the local Greyhound Track. He admits that he was a regular there. I too found the attraction unavoidable. If you’re a good speed handicapper, Dog Racing is your gamble of choice. In Dog Racing, NOTHING beats pure speed. Robert liked the dogs because he’d observed a Jockey pulling back (obviously with ALL his might) on his mount at the local Horse Racing Track. It seems the horse was in front by two full lengths when the Jockey applied the brakes. “Dogs don’t carry those Damn Jockeys” said Robert.

But I digress… Robert’s story goes like this:

He awoke one morning with the sound of his phone screaming in his ear. He was in no condition to answer the phone, let alone carry on a coherent conversation. The ringing wouldn’t stop, so he painfully attacked the receiver.

It was a call from his bank!

“Robert”? “Yeah” he struggled… “This is xxxxx from the bank”

“Yeah?”

“Robert, did you go to the Dog Races yesterday”? his banker asked. “Yeah”.

“Were you drinking, Robert”? “Yeah” mumbled Robert. But he was about to come to full attention…

“We thought so Robert, when we opened the Bank this morning, we found a lot of hundred dollar bills inside the front door…”

Fully aware and very interested, Robert asked: “How much did I win”?

Laughing, the bank executive said “You did pretty well, Robert, are you able to come in this morning”? “Yes”, said Robert.

“Good”, said the Exec, “while you’re here, we’ll teach you the difference between the night deposit receptacle and the front door’s mail slot”!

At least he wasn’t too drunk to forget to throw in a deposit slip with his cash… even though it was unintelligible except for a scribbled “Robert” He just used the wrong slot!