Why Is The Melbourne Cup 'The Race That Stops A Nation'?

May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

From Melbourne to Maroochydore, Kalgoorlie to Kangaroo Island and everywhere in between, the Melbourne Cup is the horse race that truly captivates all of Australia, the race that stops a nation. Year after year on the first Tuesday of November, Flemington Racecourse comes alive with glamour, glory and of course, the GGs. And the 2012 Melbourne Cup, the 152nd to be held, is sure to be no different.

The week long Melbourne Cup Carnival is part of the greater Spring Racing Carnival, but Australia stops particularly on that first November Tuesday at 3pm AEDST for the 3+ minute, 3200 metre horse race whether they are at work, at home or out shopping.  Whatever your reasons for getting into the spirit of the Melbourne Cup Carnival – be it the fashions, the races or anything in between – once the horses leave their barrier everyone’s eyes are glued to the nearest TV screen, their ears listening intently to the nearest radio. 

You can bet on an amazing day with the Melbourne Cup

 

Bookmakers and betting agencies typically experience their busiest day of the year on Melbourne Cup day. In 2010 Australians nationwide gambled over $140 million on the race. Even the most inexperienced of gamblers will usually put a bet on for the race or at the very least will enter a sweepstake with workmates or family members.

We can’t forget the fashions that have become synonymous with the Melbourne Cup, not just in Melbourne alone but across the country at the many Melbourne Cup luncheons. From the Fashions In The Field on display amongst the women and men at Flemington to similar events nationwide, the fashions have become almost as big a highlight to many as the race itself. 

But ultimately the Melbourne Cup is considered ‘the race that stops a nation’ because it’s a cultural and sporting event that transcends borders. With national media coverage and millions of dollars at stake it truly becomes an event that people across the country still talk about hours and days after the winner has been crowned. Bring on the 2012 Melbourne Cup!

 

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Christine Molloy has 2 articles online

 

Christine Molloy has been watching the Melbourne Cup ever since her grandfather took her to Flemington Racecourse when she was four years old. She lives and breathes the Spring Racing Carnival, and claims to be already planning her outfit for the 2012 Melbourne Cup. Christine keeps a keen eye on the Melbourne Cup field each year by reading Racenet, Australia’s trusted resource for horse racing. 

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Secret Horse Racing Betting Strategies – The Overhyped Horse

May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Often one of the best betting opportunities is to avoid betting on an over-hyped horse. Examples would be Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup and Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Both were formidable rivals and yet most veteran handicappers agree they were overbet. Yet passing over an overbet horse certainly gives the bettor an advantage, but it still doesn’t pick the winner.

There is no question that Zenyatta was one of truly great mares of all time, and comparisons to Ruffian, Winning Colors, Personal Ensign, Go for Wand, and Bayakoa are not without merit. However, such was the degree to which her reputation preceded her going into the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic that any reasonable handicapper would say that no matter what her chances, she would be taking more money than was justified. Certainly a great deal of casual money was bet by spectators that were just looking for some fun, and in the absence of any real handicapping, casual bettors tend to go with name brand value – that is they tend to go with whichever horse gets the most media coverage.

Any reasonable assessment of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic field would suggest that the eventual winner Blame, ought to have been a bit shorter price than the 5-1 odds he went off at. Zenyatta went off at even money come post time. This means that about three times the betting money wagered on Blame was placed on Zenyatta, suggesting that she had about three times the likelihood of winning. Blame was a multiple Grade 1 winner and had and had even won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster and the Grade 2 Clark Handicap the previous fall, both of which were run at Churchill Downs, which would seem to give him a horse for course advantage.

The ultimate result as history has shown, was that Zenyatta came up a head short to Blame at the wire. It is easy to say after the fact, but Blame really was a logical value bet at 5-1 that day. Basically, if you can isolate that race where a horse that is given excessive media attention is running (a Kentucky Derby winner, for example), and you can find a reasonable alternative to that hyped horse, that is a formula for success.

Once the general public and the media get involved in the world of horse racing, the betting opportunities really do open up, as it did in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. By any reasonable measure, Smarty Jones was the best of a mediocre group, and didn’t stack up with the great horses of history. And yet the media built him up as the next superhorse – one that was invincible. Any reasonable analysis should indicate that at best he should have been even money, which indicates a 50% chance to win. He actually went off at odds of 1-5, which means that five of every six dollars bet were placed on Smarty Jones. In other words, the betting public felt there was an 83 percent chance that Smarty Jones would win. The smart bet in this race would have been to bet all the other horses in the race, or perhaps pick four or five other logical alternatives to Smarty Jones and bet them.

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Lee Lane-Edgar has 234 articles online

Lee Lane-Edgar

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Ideal Nutrition For Your Barrel Pony

May 29, 2012 By 2 Comments

Because Barrel horses are athletes and put in lots of hard work at training and participation in events, their nutritional needs alter considerably from those of horses that lead less laborious lives, like horses living in pastures and getting ridden a couple of times every month. Here are some guidelines.

Hay: Regardless of breed or use, horses require fibre in their feed, whether hay or grass. Fibre should comprise a substantial portion of equine diet. Feed takes second pace, and serves to bring balance to the diet. A method to continually monitor your horse’s nutritive needs is to have your vet conduct blood tests yearly to test for nutritional inadequacies. Feed your pony hay which has been evaluated for nutrient content so that you know what you are feeding your horse. Rural extension offices will generally test your hay without cost. These tests offer a clear picture of the nutritive value of your hay. Together with the result of your veterinaria’s blood tests, these tests will give you an exact idea of what nutritional supplements your horse may require.

The best form of hay for your horse is top class grass hay. You can feed alfalfa to your horse in small quantities, as it is protein rich and in contrast to grass hay, isn’t suitable for feeding in enormous quantity. You should limit daily feeding of alfalfa to one or two flakes, compared with three or four flakes for grass hay. If you mix in alfalfa hay with grass hay, your grain needs will go down. Alfalfa can also be used to maintain the balance if your feed to your barrel pony has a lower nourishment share of say 10%.

Feed: Together with top class hay, feed forms another essential part of a barrel horse’s regular diet. A barrel pony is subjected to heavy work in training and in events, and desires extra staying power and energy to cope. Feeds comprising 10 to 12 percent of protein are acceptable for mature barrel horses. Younger barrel horses will require higher protein part, say 14 to 16 %. This is not to say that you want to get different feeds for different barrel horses; you just need to supplement them differently. I have recommendations on the best feeding formulae below; you would do well to stick to them. Always feed your horses by weight. The feed need for each pony depends on its weight and levels of work load.

Feed is available as grains or pellets. Define the composition before deciding on feeds for barrel horses. Most makers these days have a variety of feeds available as grain mix or as pellets. A barrel horse’s wants cannot be met adequately with plain oats, which will not offer him the level of nutrition required. You must go in for easily digested grains or pellets that have high protein content. Till some time ago, horses found it more complicated to digest pellets, but this difficulty has been resolved now. Pellets are made so they’re more easily broken down in the digestive process, reducing possibility of colic or other digestive conditions. Plenty of horses have a leaning for the taste of sweet grain mixes, but you can slowly bring them over to pellets if you find pellets work better.

Supplements: Supplements are used extensively with barrel horses. It is possible to get a supplement for nearly any specific requirement: hooves, coats, energy, weight building, you mention it. The right supplements can play an exceedingly important role in keeping your horse’s daily diet ideal.

You shouldn’t decide on supplements without consulting your vet. Don’t simply go blindly for the latest trend on the market just because some huge name racer endorsed it. While surplus supplements may not affect your horse’s health, they’ll definitely impact your financial health negatively. Almost invariably, claims that so and so supplement can boost your horse’s performance and win percentage are falsely made. You also have to give seriousness to the indisputable fact that supplements impact different horses in different ways.

A perfect balanced diet is the first step to making your horse the best barrel racer. Correct nutrition gives him just the edge he needs to raise his performance to maximum.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about simco saddles

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Kegasus: The Preakness Stakes Betting Infield Event Mascot

May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s surprising that absolutely no one expected that Kegasus, the tweeting centaur, would return as the official mascot of the Preakness Infield party for this year’s Preakness Stakes Betting event when the Maryland Jockey Club made the announcement.

This decision was predicted as early as February when various media watchers noticed a new anonymous advertising campaign as the Jockey Club made a transparent bid to inject an element of mystery in the event.

Back in February, the signaling horn for the kickoff part for the Preakness Stakes betting event started with an anonymous ad campaign that premises on the idea that the fictional character known as Kegasus had vanished, and two new characters—the Easter Bunny and the Leprechaun—have taken its place as the event’s mascot.

The ad campaign consisted of billboards and a social media drive with impressive videos. It also had a professional imprimatur that seemed like a teaser for Kegasus’ inevitable return.

However, both the Maryland Jockey Club and Elevation, Ltd., the company that handles all the marketing for the Preakness Stakes betting event, denied the idea for the ad campaign came from them. This happened despite the messy screw up in one Facebook profile that linked to Elevation’s official website.

And just like clockwork, the last chapter of the story that no one was particularly interested in was unveiled: Kegasus has returned. The filthy centaur has made his grand appearance last March 30 at the Pimlico Race Track and then later on at the Orioles’ Opening Day on April 6.

But this time, he has a sidekick: a half-man, half-unicorn creature named Uni-Carl.

Without making any reference to the anonymous ad campaign, both the Maryland Jockey Club and Elevation are proud of what it sees as avant-garde marketing.

Bringing Kegasus back was a logical move. It gives the principals a good strategy that has already been proven to work. Tom Chuckas, president of the Jockey Club gives credit to Kegasus with boosting ticket sales last year.

But if the objective of the stealth ad campaign was to stir excitement for the unveiling of this year’s mascot, it failed miserably. It only succeeded in bringing in a measly 191 likes on the Facebook fan page of one of the new characters.

Launching a stealth campaign fits Elevation’s unorthodox marketing strategies, but it also has risks involved: While you might think you are pulling one over everybody, there is great risk that it’ll backfire and do damage, and people will revel in the thought of exposing you.

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Steven Hendricks has 130 articles online

Are you looking for the best place to bet on the Preakness Stakes Betting this year? Come to Sportsbook.ag and do your Preakness Stakes Betting here. Sportsbook.ag is the #1 choice of millions of online bettors around the world.

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Horse Racing Handicapping Speed and Class Comparison

May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

While it may be obvious that the horse who can run the fastest will ultimately win the race, it isn’t nearly as obvious whether a horse will run as fast today as it ran last week. That, in a nutshell, is the whole mystery of trying to pick winners by handicapping a horse race. If horses always clocked the same speed figure in each race, then simply glancing at the speed figures for their last race would tell which horse was fastest.

Form cycles are the changes that occur in a horse’s conditioning, so it must be considered when determining how fast a horse will run today. Is its form improving, peaked, or declining? That is the question the handicapper must answer about form. The biggest consideration, however, is whether the horses it is facing today are faster or slower than the field of horses it raced against last time out.

Looking at the statistics for the races run at any track and comparing races at the same distance and run over the same surface for the same age and gender of horse, we find that the higher the purse, generally speaking, the faster the times. For instance, older horses that compete in $10,000 claiming races over the 6 furlong course may average winning times of 1:11.2 while older horses racing over the same course for a higher claiming tag of $25,000 may average 1:11 flat. In other words, the classier the horse, the faster the race.

There may be aberrations, but overall, this speed/class bias holds true. That means that the speedier a horse is the higher the class it should be able to compete in, right? Not always. This is where we run into the intangible class factor. While some horses may burn up the track at a lower class, when they are put in with classier horses their speed and ability seem to vanish and they run slower times.

This may be seen as a mystery but what really happens is that internal fractions and short bursts of speed wear the runner out early and it winds up using all its energy reserves before the end of the race. While internal fractions can be measured, those mini fractions in between cannot. On the other hand, when a horse moves up in class and throws in a real clinker of a race, it may improve dramatically in its next race because it has had a taste of the higher class and will be ready to deal with the short burst of speed that the other horse’s used to keep it unsettled.

Therefore, don’t rely on speed figures alone when a horse is moving up in class to determine that it will be competitive with the other horses. Sometimes it will need a race or two to acclimate to the higher class. Its first and second races against tougher foes will sometimes be run much slower, but once it catches on, it may actually post those higher speed figures again.

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Bill Peterson has 1 articles online

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://horse-racing-handicapping.co and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill’s handicapping store.

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Bringing A Dressage Horse On The Bit

May 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Are you prone to sawing side to side on your horse’s mouth at dressage, or to using both hands to wriggle the bit to get your horse ‘on the bit’?

‘Sawing’ on a dressage horse’s mouth means to alternatively squeeze and release with the hands, and you ride the pony front to back when you do this. To all appearances, your pony is on the bit with his head down and his nose vertical, but there is no true front to back connection.

Actually, the 1 piece of your horse that’s impacted by your sawing is his jaw. A moving bit leads him to chew, and when he does chew, his jaw flexes.

In essence, this suggests nothing less than this: when you saw you are basically manipulating a jaw that’s flexed. And you may still have no leverage over plenty more body that your pony will have left over.

Flexion might lead you to believe the horse remains on his bit, and you are rather surprised about his disposition to go off his bit when asked to do stuff like transitions.

The reality you might not realize till too late is that your horse wasn’t on the bit. And obviously flexed jaws are of no use at all.

Get your horse truly on the bit by using ‘connecting aids’ close both your legs so that power from behind is added. You need to act like you’re calling for lengthening. When the horse reaches your outer hand, make a fist of that hand so that you can capture and contain the power and recycle it back to your horse’s rear legs. Keep this up for roughly 3 full seconds.

Finally, you have two reasons to squeeze or vibrate the interior rein:

1. The first is to keep your horse’s neck straight. Your objective is to prevent him from twisting his neck outwards by way of response to your closed outer hand. This way, you in all probability won’t be requiring the interior rein when riding with his soft inside since your pony will not be making an attempt to look outside if you should close the outer hand.

2. You can move the bit by making him chew and flex in the jaw.

You need to remember that you ride a dressage horse front to back by wiggling the bit on both sides. What this implies is, don’t do with both hands when you can make do with one. Keep the second hand free for the essential task of power recycling to the horse’s hind legs.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about reinsman

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How To Bend Your Pony

May 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’ve seen considerable puzzlement among riders about the right aids for bending. You should know the simplest way to evenly bend your pony from his poll to his tail not just on corners, circles or schooling figures like serpentines, shallow loops and figure eights, but also on lateral exercises of the more advanced kind, like haunches-in, shoulder-in and half pass.

I give you a brief guide on these bending aids below.

When circling left:

– Your weight should be on the inside (left) seat bone, cueing the pony into engaging his inside rear leg;

– Your inner (left) leg should be on the girth; it should function as a pole for the pony to bend round and as a technique of sustaining his inside rear leg’s activity;

– Your outer (right) leg should be behind the girth to enable bending of the horse’s body round your inner leg and to prevent any swinging out of his hindquarters. The circle’s size establishes just how far behind the girth you ought to have your outer leg. On a circle of 20 m, for example, you should place your outer leg 1 or 2 inches to the rear the girth. It should be about 4 or 5 inches behind if you’re on a 10m circle;

– Your inner (left) rein demands a 1 flexion to the inside. You must just be able to see the horse’s nostril and inside eye;

– Your outer (right) rein should be steady and supportive. Consider it to be a side rein that controls the extent of bend in the horse’s neck, and as the turning rein that brings the horse’s shoulders round the curve. When the shoulders are turned, the rest of the body follows.

Think of making the perfect union between your outside and inside aids. You’ll require both aid sets to be able to bend the horse along a prescribed turn. The inside aid bends him and the outside aid turns him.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse fencing

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The Equestrian Outfit You Need To Think Of

May 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Are you struggling to find high quality equestrian clothing? Why don’t you check out the most recent designs and colours available at retail store and internet sites? You’ll find a competition-level line of fine clothing at very enticing costs.

What do you require in equestrian clothes? First you will want to look at fashionable men’s and women’s show jackets and show shirts. There’s even a wide selection of chaps and gaiters in a huge selection of designs and shades. No this sort of apparel is complete without yard jackets, polo and rugby shirts for those times in the barns. Equestrian gear should probably consist of jodhpurs and riding breeches. You may additionally want to find a set of horse riding trousers.

Then for your consideration is riding boots. You can pick from Jodhpur boots or sleek long shiny riding boots. You’ll also want equestrian yard boots to complete your equestrian clothing. No it is complete without a riding helmet for security and style. If you are planning to take part in dressage or hunt show events or riding competitions, you will want to have the right clothing for those activities.

Should you be definitely stressed out with decisions about what to acquire, what about considering a first simple outfit? A pair of light grey or beige or off-white riding breeches is proposed. It is possible to team these up with long, skinny, shiny, black riding boots. After that take into account a personalized riding jacket in a dark color that will match with riding shirts in a variety of popular and flattering colors. A black, dark grey, dark brown or slate riding jacket is not going to clash with this season’s in colors for riding shirts. Do you feel less stressed? Start with the basics and add as you demand additional equestrian clothing.

A further significant is surely the riding helmet. May I propose a black or charcoal helmet? Most riders irregardless of gender or age-choose a dark helmet. If you’re a woman rider, you will want to add a rat catcher and choker, or perhaps a simple stock tie to your wardrobe. Men will want a button-down shirt and a stock tie.

Simple dark riding gloves are also an effective equestrian clothing purchase.

There are plenty and lot of other equestrian attire choices you will need to make in the future, if you ever get associated with competitions consistently. Nevertheless, a few riding shirts, a couple of pairs of riding breeches, a pair of good, well-fitting long riding boots and a stylish, well-made, comfortable, dark riding jacket are fantastic essential equestrian clothing. If you ever include a helmet, riding gloves and a stock tie you are prepared for your first adventure into the equestrian world. Add more riding accessories as you discover they will be valuable.

The most important thing to consider is that your equestrian clothing not be constricting as well as prevent your ability to control your horse.

KW Saddlery offers quality horse accessories and equipment. Also, check-out various tools such as stirrups and saddles in order to have a comfortable ride.

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The Exclusive Features Of Gaited Saddles

May 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ever wondered what constitutes a gaited horse saddle? Definitely, they are saddles people make use of to ride or show gaited horses. But what does that actually imply? Let’s check the horses and the saddles they use to have a much better comprehension.

Gaited horses are generally thinner unlike most other horses. They’re also bred primarily for show and competition, not for every day riding. As such, it doesn’t make a good deal of sense to put a normal saddle on a gaited horse. Typical saddles will be too weighty and they will certainly not fit appropriately. Classic saddles are also made out of extended riding and functional use in mind.

Gaited saddles, as you may then anticipate, are designed mainly for use with the extraordinary show horses. They are thinner across than regular saddles and they are much lighter. The lighter saddles aren’t just good for ease and comfort. Additionally, they make it simpler for the rider to slightly connect with the animal while in exhibition. One might say that these saddles are definitely communicative in nature than other choices.

These types of saddles sit back farther than regular saddles, as well. The truth is, a rider in this saddle will actually find himself or herself well behind the withers. This suggests that the users of gaited saddles have to be well-trained, experienced riders able to find balance in the strange position. The animal must also have the proper training and temperament to make these saddles workable. When they’re placed upon the incorrect animal or applied by a novice rider, it can constitute an extremely risky circumstance. The saddles are available for experts, not amateur riders.

Many saddles for gaited horses are custom-made based mostly on the width of the horse at its middle and the size of the rider. Saddles are created depending on the rider’s height and weight and the stirrups are custom fit. Many of these saddles have eye-catching ornamentation and show remarkable design. While some gaited animals are widely-used as trail riders, they are shown in competition and the saddles represent that fact.

Now that you know a little more about gaited horse saddles, the horses and their riders, it is usually simpler to understand why they’re a common subject of conversation in the gaited horse community. They are distinctive pieces of equipment created for exceptional animals with exceptional needs. Saddle makers create them with all of these factors in mind, as well as a consideration for the individual rider.

Needlessly to say, people can be quite choosy when choosing their saddles. The saddles are vital and their nature tends to make them relatively expensive. They aren’t the type of thing you can find at any tack shop and they can constitute a major investment.

KW Saddlery offers top quality horse accessories and accessories. Find-out the suitable accesory to experience a wonderful horse riding experience.

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The Horse supplements business

May 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

These days the horse breeding business is thriving because of the demands of people having use for these majestic animals that are increasing in number day by day. They are required for things such as police training as well as army training. Many people used them in games like polo etc. and horse racing is altogether a separate stream of game which is popular because of betting. Many who can afford to own their own horse like to ride them as a hobby or to train in preparation for competitions.  

For all these purposes, horse breeders as well as sellers have to maintain the quality of the horses so that they can derive good money. This is one of many of the reasons that they use horse supplements, so they can keep their horses in good health.

The business of horse supplements is equally profitable and requires less labor then that of horse breeders of course. All you need to do is to open a place to store these supplement and to learn about various types. Finding out which are of good quality and which out of these are of poor quality is essential. You would only feed yourself the best so will do the same for your beautiful horse. If you are also keeping hay for sale then you have to see that they are sold when they are green and should be free from fertilizers. Another important thing is to keep a check on the expiry dates of the supplements so that you do not sell it to the customer after its expiry date. Just like in a supermarket with food, keeping an eye on what you sell is imperative. If you think there are more competitors in this business then you should employ marketing strategies like door to door services, and easy discounts or cash points. This way your business will thrive in no time but you have to maintain your quality at all cost.

These days some supplement vendors are becoming wise and have transformed their business into wholesale business where they sell to small vendors instead of breeders directly.

However keeping horses is fun because you get the chance to train them and also you get the opportunity to make friends with them. Like dogs they are also faithful friends and they never let you down. When a horse grows old they need to be taken care of more and stronger supplements will be beneficial at making sure they stay healthy.

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Zoe Robinson has articles online

Zoe Robinson is an enthusiastic writer in the subject matter of pets and their supplies. The websites recommended by Zoe Robinson have been thoroughly researched and come highly acclaimed from direct experience. Take a look at a range of horse supplements today.

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