Dec/100
Del Mar Racetrack: ‘Where The Surf Meets the Turf’
Southern California's Del Mar Racetrack has been somewhat forgotten by the general public in recent years, overshadowed by East Coast venues like Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. The reality is that the 72 year old track has a history to rival their better known counterparts. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and located 20 miles North of San Diego, its perhaps most famous for its iconic slogan "Where The Surf Meets the Turf" but that only scratches the surface of its star studded history.
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded by a group of well heeled enthusiasts in the mid'30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment--most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar quickly gained a reputation for being a player in the industry.
The starpower drawn to the course was unprecedented. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late'30s and early'40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour
Del Mar was the site of the'38 match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscut won the $25,000 winner take all challenge by a nose, and this race set Del Mar betting and attendance records and remains one of the most famous races in history. The racing at Del Mar continued to flourish until the start of WWII, when the track went 'dark' for racing. It was used at times by the military for, among other things, a training ground for Marines and later a production facility for bomber parts.
After the war Del Mar didn't miss a beat, and reopened the day after Japan surrendered to Allied Forces in Tokyo Bay. That day drew over 21,000 fans to the park and set a new wagering record of over $950,000. The track flourished during the post war economic boom years, and improved transportation between the major urban centers in Southern California--along with a new crop of stars including Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Durante and Desi Arnez, Jr.--kept the track in the limelight.
The annual race meet at Del Mar remains a highlight of the summer to this day. Del Mar remains one of the top tracks in the country, and have recently upgraded their facility with a state of the art grandstand and was one of the first tracks to install a new synthetic racing surface.
Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Aug/100
Future Book Betting Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them
Sports book futures bets are an increasing popular and potentially profitable way to wager on the outcome of a full season. There's a few common mistakes that novice players make that can be easily avoided by paying attention to the following:
You gotta shop around: More specifically, you have to 'shop points' just as you would with a straight bet. This is crucial in all forms of sports betting but particularly key with futures wagers. There are often greater variances in the prices from book to book on future plays than any other type of wagering proposition. The reason for this is simple--most books are less concern with what the 'other guys' are doing as they are with keeping their own position 'in balance'. All in all, the sports betting marketplace just doesn't react as quickly to changing futures prices as it does to individual game lines.
Don't try to pick the winner in a competitive marketplace: This may sound sort of counter intuitive since the general idea of betting on futures is to determine the actual winner but it's really not. Like everything else, its essential to always be mindful of the value you're getting. In a futures market with several legitimate contenders at the top the price offered is seldom high enough to properly compensate for the risk you're assuming. Here's an example: in a hypothetical NCAA hoops tournament Duke is +200 to win the national championship. They've certainly got a shot, but at a payback of only 2/1 its hard to justify a wager at this point with the potential for so many interceding events that can make a championship more problematic. Such events as injuries, a tough tournament draw or even just going into a slump at the wrong time can happen to any team but when you bet a higher priced team--a 'dark horse mid major at 15/1 for example--you're getting "compensation" for assuming the "risks" of betting on a proposition with so many unknown variables.
To put this in more theoretical terms, the "true odds" of Duke winning the NCAA Championship are almost certainly higher than the price we're getting. Obviously, determining the "true odds", or actual probability of a future event is an inexact science but think of it this way: if the NCAA tournament was played 100 times would Duke wind up winning 50 of those? Given the number of other good teams and the propensity for upsets along the way, its doubtful. For the sake of argument, lets say that Duke has a 33% chance to win the tournament. That means that I wouldn't consider a bet on Duke to be a good value unless I was getting a price that a) accurately reflected the true probability of their winning and b) gave me some compensation for assuming the "risk of the unknown" inherent in taking the position so far in advance. At +500 I might be interested, but at +200 the value just isn't there.
In a less competitive field, there can be instances where even a big favorite is a good value. For example, lets say a book was to take action on a bikini contest between a Victoria's Secret supermodel and three members of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The model would essentially be a 100% probability to win the contest, meaning that even a high chalk price would be a good value. Risking a lot of money to win a little is a tough thing to justify, however, even if the math makes sense.
Don't go for the big killing: Sports wagering is not a good arena in which to make a 'big killing'. It may happen from time to time, but it is extremely rare. A perennial doormat can come out of nowhere to win a championship at a big price, but the fact that it happens from time to time doesn't make it a good value. If you're a recreational player and want to throw a few dollars at a big long shot, no real harm. If you aspire to any degree of seriousness as a sports better, however, you need to maintain your discipline and commitment to value at all times. If you want to hit a big jackpot play the lottery or the slot machines, but don't try to do it in a sports betting paradigm.
Simply stated, the concept of value works the same at the bottom of the wagering ladder as it does at the top. Even if you're betting a big underdog at a huge price make sure that it accurately reflects the 'true odds' of the event occurring.
Don't bet one sided props: Sometimes sports books will offer silly bets just to get publicity or in some cases just to be funny. While there may be life on other planets, the 'true odds' of a Martian being named to President Obama's cabinet wouldn't justify a +5000 line that it would occur.
Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Nov/090
Finding Advice On Road Law Online
There will always come a time where you will be in need of legal advice. Whether this advice is for motoring, your rights, your property or finance, you will always be searching for some form of knowledge.
With the coming of the internet you are now able to find most sources of the knowledge online. Some excellent resources can be found when searching online but legal information can be difficult to find. Legal advice is one of the few areas where the internet has yet to take over.
Free motoring legal advice however is not difficult to find on the internet. This is because motoring advice is one of the things we are most in need of and of course going to a lawyer can be very costly. The internet proves to be the beginning level of information and when told to consult a lawyer we take that advice. However more often then not we know people who have experienced the same difficulties as ours and therefore their solution is usually a good option.
There are many free forums online that you can find legal motoring advice. However there are also some paid legal advice sites too, these are mainly when you are looking at the next level. These free forums are often moderated by actual attorneys and lawyers and the information that is passed is exceptional. Such freely shared information is the solutions to your problems, loopholes that can be found in the system and fines people have had to pay. The best forums are the ones that host question and answer sessions where you receive free answers from legal experts.
There are other places online other than forums where you are able to find motoring advice, which are dedicated to motoring accidents, driving and other areas of motoring legal advice. If you are comfortable with the online world then finding these websites will not be a problem and nor will asking them your questions!
For further information, and a free consultation please contact either patterson law, legal motoring advice or driverdefenceservice.co.uk, Driving without Due Care and Attention
Sep/090
Free Legal Advice
If you have been caught committing a motoring offence then you will need to act fast in order to be prepared. There are many areas of the law that are open to interpretation, everything needs to be completed correctly by the prosecuting officer otherwise you may well have grounds to contest the case.
A Special Reasons argument can be used to try to persuade the Magistrates, after giving evidence on oath, that it would not be appropriate in the circumstances to impose the penalty points. Special Reasons arguments are normally used in relation to avoiding bans in drink driving cases but, they can be used to avoid penalty points in relation to any of the endorsable offences.
When you argue Special Reasons you will have to provide evidence under oath that given the situation you were in it would be unfair to issue penalty points. The most common reason given is that they had an emergency i.e. there was a seriously injured passenger who they were taking to the hospital and exceeded the speed limit or ran a red light.
If the court deems that there were indeed Special Reasons in your circumstances, then you will not be issued any licence points. There aren't any particular definitions of Special Reasons, however you will have to prove that your situation was one of the following:
1. A mitigating or extenuating circumstance
2. It must not amount in law to a defence to the allegation
3. It must be directly connected to the commission of the offence
4. It must be something that the Court ought to take into consideration when deciding what punishment to impose.
Section 34 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act of 1988 is where you will find mention of the Special Reasons argument.