Wednesday, June 18, 2014

FINALLY A (TAX) BREAK - SIGN THE PETITION TO END UNFAIR TAXATION ON HORSEPLAYERS!


Hello My Loyal Minions,

I'm not sure you know this (unless you're throwing around big paper at The Office on a regular basis like your's truly…) but the way Horse Players are taxed on their winning wagers, especially exotic wagers does not take into account the total amount wagered only that individual winning wager, so there is a disproportionate tax burden placed on the bettor. 

Let me break it down for you: I win a Pick-4 on an individual ticket that costs $12 and pays out $800.  I get taxed using the outdated concept that I just wandered into the local betting parlor, pulled a Rain Man and just bet a single .50 Pick-4 2x2x2x3 ticket out of the air, yes it is possible but most likely not what really happened.

What most likely happened is that I had a multi-ticket plan for success where I wagered somewhere in the $200-$300 range (for a 37% R.O.I) on the P4 on multiple combinations and tickets and this was just the one that hit.  

So instead of getting fairly taxed on the total investment I made of $300 the IRS hammers me for the $12 wager, not cool. It is not only unfair taxation, it also has a broad sweeping ripple effect on the entire industry, taking money directly out of the bettors pocket and leaving them less dollars to wager and pour back into the pipeline to sustain the industry. 

(Please see the post "A Polite Response to Mr. Andrew Beyer" for more details on this)

Most serious Handicappers don't even calculate profit on a wager by wager basis, it is based on total wagered for the day, (or month or year whatever your reporting period is) because that gives you a more accurate picture of your actual profit and R.O.I.

(Dorked-out math example for the layman) 
The way the Man holds you down: $12 wager-$800 winnings = "taxable profit"of $788

How the Petition will change that (a.k.a how it should be calculated:)
$300 in total wagers - $800 winnings = actual taxable profit of $500 which means getting taxed on $288 LESS than they take currently. 

That is a BIG difference in taxes, in actual dollars taken out of circulation and not wagered back into the pools, and to the serious bettor a MAJOR detriment to your yearly bankroll.

So please sign the Petition for the betterment of Horse Racing as a whole, not just your's truly, but more money in my pocket means more left to buy my homies drinks later…

Thank you for signing and please feel free to pass it on and share with everyone you know.
PLEASE SIGN HERE!
Here is what DRF's C.E.O had to say about it:

That's All I got.
raychihaspoken

Sunday, June 8, 2014

BELMONT STAKES FOLLOW UP: I'll TAKE WHEELBARROW FULL OF CASH PLEASE




Friday, June 6, 2014

2014 BELMONT STAKES & CALIFORNIA CHROME - THE PERFECT SET UP FOR VICTORY!


ONE MORE DAY TILL THE BELMONT STAKES! 

Hello Faithful Few,

History in the making or fantastic rags to riches run for the money ending in almost? Only one day to go till the most likely winner of the Belmont Stakes, California Chrome thunderously gallops into the history books of horse racing and becomes a living sports legend… or doesn't.

I WOULD LOVE to see a Triple Crown winner for the first time in 36 years and do I think California Chrome deserves to win, absolutely, (except for the fact that I won't be there and if he does indeed win the Triple Crown I will probably never forgive myself for not biting the bullet and flying out to watch with my own eyes, but I digress.) He is a great horse with fantastic tactical speed and a tremendous will to win. He has a ready made rags-to-riches back story, complete with lovable owners and old school (and actually the oldest) trainer who trains his horses with plenty of time to mature and come into form and he doesn't try to rush them prematurely and risk them getting hurt a quick buck, you know, the way all trainers should do it.

This story WOULD be the PERFECT addition to the storied legends of the Triple Crown, with a couple of unlikely but very likable guys who took a chance and won, turned down big money ($6M to be exact), for a chance at the biggest prize in horse racing and WON IT ALL! You can't even make up movies this good! (Attention Hollywood if you haven't optioned this yet, you are probably too late by now.)

Do I believe California Chrome is the best horse in the field and CAN actually win, YES.

Do I think he has been helped greatly by brilliant rides by his jockey Victor Espinoza, absolutely.

Do I think California Chrome had very, VERY easy trips in both the Kentucky Derby AND the Preakness, you bet I do.

Do I think the rest of the field, pales in comparison, that is the $1M question.

It's not that California Chrome is so great, it is that the rest of the field, (and honestly all three of the Triple Crown races fields), are so much worse. Unlike past years with SO many amazing horses vying for victory, all so closely matched in lineage and credentials it was nearly impossible to pick a winner, little alone a Trifecta! What does it say about the rest of these horses entered that they can't even come close to this "humbly bred colt" with a very modest and very well publicized pedigree?

They couldn't catch him in the Derby and they couldn't catch him in the Preakness, so how are they going to magically snap him off now?

I am not taking anything away from Chrome or his connections, I hope he blows the doors off the competition tomorrow and goes on to make truckloads of cash for the Dumb Ass Partners and gallops right onto the pages of history, I am just making a point.

This is the perfect set up for a new Triple Crown winner and I don't think it has been this perfect, for another contender ever.

SO THAT SAID, you have two choices tomorrow, go with the most likely favorite or try and beat him, there is no other scenario. So make a decision and either end up with a handful of cash and a cute story or a wheelbarrow full and write a rad blog about it, you decide.

Cute Story:

1.)California Chrome 2.) Commanding Curve 3.) Tonalist 4.) Ride One Curlin

Wheelbarrow Full of Cash:

1.) Commanding Curve 2.) Tonalist 3.) California Chrome/Wicked Strong 4.) Commissioner/Ride On Curlin


Good Luck tomorrow and here's to a Triple Crown Winner - California Chrome.

Thats All I Got,
raychihasspoken