Day: February 15, 2024
The New York Times Article on Doping in Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the oldest sports on Earth. It has evolved over centuries from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses to a huge spectacle involving large fields of runners, sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment, and immense sums of money. Its basic concept, however, has changed little. The winner is the horse that crosses the finish line first. Some people criticize the sport, arguing that it is inhumane and corrupted by doping and overbreeding. But others feel that the “Sport of Kings,” as it is sometimes called, represents the pinnacle of achievement for the competitors, and that while it may need reform, it is fundamentally sound. It’s tempting to dismiss the story in The Times as part of a campaign by animal rights groups to destroy horse racing, especially because the article hitches its wagon to PETA, an organization that many racing insiders hate. But it’s a mistake to confuse hostility to the activists with dismissal of their work. The Times piece, along with a separate video from PETA that has gone viral, allows people to see for themselves some of the alleged cruelty in horse racing. In the past, horse racing was a relatively insular industry with few rules governing how trainers and owners trained their horses. Powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories that are safe for humans bled over into race preparation, but officialdom couldn’t keep pace with the drugs and did not have the capacity to test them. Penalties for breaking the rules were weak. Trainers punished for a violation in one jurisdiction could simply move to another. As the sport grew more popular, a few key rules were imposed to help maintain its integrity. In 1897, the Jockey Club, the breed registry for thoroughbreds, enacted a ban on ‘doping.’ This was less about preserving the health of horses than it was about ensuring fairness to bettors and owners. But by the time California banned wagering on horse races in 1909, organized racing was already losing its appeal. A few decades later, with the advent of new medications—powerful painkillers, anti-psychotics, anti-epilepsy products, growth hormones—the doping problem became a lot more complicated. The drug problems have eroded the sport’s appeal. Spectators who once cheered their favorite jockeys, now root for the number on their back, or call their bets over the phone. A generation ago, Seabiscuit was the king of the grandstand. Today, a more skeptic might ask whether the sport can survive at all.
Read MoreHow to Win a Lottery
Lottery is a popular form of gambling in which people pay for a ticket that allows them to win prizes based on numbers randomly chosen during a drawing. This type of lottery is common in many countries and contributes billions to the economy each year. Some people play for fun, while others see it as a way to improve their lives. While no one can guarantee winning a lottery, there are some strategies that can help increase your chances of winning. One such strategy is buying more tickets. Another is to choose a smaller number field. The lower the number field, the better your odds. Lotteries are usually administered by a public authority, such as a state government, but private entities can also operate them. The prize money for a lottery is often donated by individuals, corporations, or charitable organizations. It may be awarded to a single winner or to several winners. The prize money can be used for a variety of purposes, including education, housing, and medical care. The first lotteries were probably held during the Roman Empire as a form of entertainment at dinner parties or other social gatherings. They were a form of gambling that allowed guests to purchase tickets for prizes such as fancy dinnerware and other household items. The Romans continued to hold lotteries throughout the centuries, but they were less frequent than in other parts of Europe. In colonial America, lotteries were a major source of financing for roads, churches, canals, colleges, and military fortifications. Some researchers believe that the purchase of lottery tickets can be explained by decision models based on expected value maximization. However, other research suggests that gamblers are likely to purchase lottery tickets primarily for the thrill of it and the fantasy of becoming rich. This behavior is not consistent with expected utility maximization, but it can be explained by examining the curvature of a gambler’s utility function. Choosing the right lottery game is essential. The best games offer a good combination of chance and skill. You should avoid combinations that have a poor success-to-failure ratio, which is the percentage of times you will match a number to the winning combination. The chances of winning will be higher if you choose combinations with a greater proportion of odd and even numbers. You can use a software tool like Lotterycodex to help you choose the right combinations to play. This tool is free to download and has been tested by mathematicians. The program can also show you what combinations are more likely to be drawn, so you can choose your numbers wisely. It’s important to remember that winning the lottery is a windfall, and you should spend some of it doing good things for other people. Otherwise, you risk wasting your fortune and possibly ruining your life and the lives of those around you. Certified financial planner Robert Pagliarini has suggested that lottery winners assemble a “financial triad” to help them plan for the future and avoid pitfalls.
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