Making the Grade, which will run through the 2021 Triple Crown races, focuses on the winners or top performers of the key races, usually from the previous weekend, who could make an impact the Triple Crown. We’ll be taking a close look at impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win classic races based upon ability, running style, connections (owner, trainer, jockey), and pedigree.
Month: December 2020
Ask Ray: Where Did The Comments Sections Go?
As publisher Ray Paulick said in the introduction to this latest installment of “Ask Ray,” it's been a while. But the Paulick Report is in the process of deciding whether or not to permanently remove the comments section from the website, and Ray wanted to explain the reasons for the possible change after receiving a number of inquiries. Comments have been disabled … for now at least.
And since he got out of his pajamas, shaved and made himself somewhat presentable, he decided to dip into the “Ask Ray” mailbag and answer a few other questions from readers.
Ray tries to respond to all the emails and “Ask Ray” inquiries he receives. so if you don't hear from him immediately, you can probably assume he's forgotten, or your query is pushed too far down into his inbox. Don't be afraid to remind him again. And again if necessary.
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Casino Games. How Professional Black Jack Started.
There are a lot of myths about gamblers who as if were playing professionally before publication of the basic strategy for one-pack game by Americans Cantey, McDermott, Maisel and Baldwin in1958. But all that was before them still remains a legend. The four statisticians performed their calculations just with the help of hand calculator. However it was their publication in the American Journal of the American Statistical Association causing much excitement among both gamblers and statisticians, and blackjack was considered a game a common player might probably win. Encouraged by popularity of the article in the magazine, copied and learnt by heart by many players, the originators published a book “Winning Blackjack”. Nowadays this book is a scarce edition and it enriches the home library of many professional gamblers.
In 1962 Edward Thorp this time using computer technologies calculate and published in his book Beat The Dealer not only the basic strategy of playing but also card counting. Thorp states that blackjack differs from roulette, craps and other games of luck, the result of every hand in blackjack depends on the previous dealing – it really matters which cards drew back form the game and which remained in the pack. Most of the stuff calculated by Thorp is still precise, but all the serious modern gamblers should read this book only for historical interest.
Thorp’s system called “10 count system” was meant for one pack game which enjoyed great success in all casinos of Nevada. It was extremely difficult for learning, so most of the gamblers gave it up. However, Nevada’s casinos restricted some rules, for example, doubling down only on 11 points. The media told the whole world about it, and Thorp with his book became known all over the world and the casinos that showed themselves to disadvantage had to return former rules. Realizing that under such circumstances crowds card counters would be trying to beat the house, operators of gambling houses introduced two procedures – shuffling after withdrawal of the trim card and multi-packed games.
Thorp’s systems was very difficult to use in practice. But for the computer conference in Las Vegas in 1963, the game would remain on the same level. On a whim, the conference organizers decided to include a Panel Session on “Using Computers in Games of Chance and Skill.” It was just a whim of the organizers to include a section “Using computers in games of chance and skill”. Thorp was designated as Chairman of the Panel and experts on the various casino games, including blackjack, roulette and baccarat. The room filled up and overflowed with computer gamblers. Hundreds of conference attendees were pushing and shoving to get into the room.
The crowd, of course, had been drawn by Thorp. They were expecting revelations on the game and anticipated using his imparted wisdom immediately following the session to make a killing at the blackjack tables.
After one or two more presentations that mainly corrected and modified Thorp’s system, Harvey Dubner was introduced. He described the approach. Dubner kept a count of remaining high cards (10,J,Q,K,A) and low cards (2,3,4,5,6) as the cards were played and divided its difference by total cards left to play. He called the result the High-Low Ratio. His presentation was enthusiastically received by the standing room only crowd and he was given a round of applause at its conclusion. Here at last, many were saying, is a system that is practical, that can actually be used in the real world of casino play. Thorp incorporated “high-low” system into the second edition of Beat the Dealer published in 1966 and since then over 100 professional books on blackjack, team games, hidden computers, shuffle tracking and sleepless nights for casino securities all over the world.
Update: Amount Of Lignin In Alfalfa Impacts Horse Microbiome
Horses are hindgut fermenters with a small stomach and larger cecum and colon harboring millions of microorganisms. These microorganisms help make up the microbiome and are the sole contributors to the degradation and fermentation of forage cell wall components, including lignin. Alfalfa is commonly fed to horses, but can contain significant amounts of lignin which can reduce feeding value, microbial degradation, and digestion. Cultivars of reduced lignin alfalfa are now commercially available, but have not been evaluated in the horse diet. Therefore, the objective of this study, conducted at the University of Minnesota, was to evaluate equine fecal microbiome composition when feeding reduced lignin or conventional alfalfa hay to adult horses.
Reduced lignin and conventional alfalfa were fed to six adult horses, and included a 5 day total fecal collection period, during which horses were housed in individual box stalls and manure was removed on a continuous 24-hour basis. At 12-hour intervals, manure was mixed, frozen, and processed for sequencing to evaluate the microbiome.
Reduced lignin alfalfa did not shift microbiome composition equally across all horses; however, each horse's microbiome responded to hay lignin content in an individualized manner. Horse-specific associations between individual gut microbiome traits and characteristics of the digested alfalfa were also observed, mainly in regards to dry matter digestibility and average fecal particle size. These findings emphasize the importance of considering individual and historical factors when designing or evaluating feeding programs for horses. Future research should focus on uncovering what these individualized microbiome patterns mean from a functional perspective and physiological response of horses to feed. More information on this research can be found by reading the abstract.
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