Designing Web Success

As a person ages, skin care takes on a whole new design. Now, we’re suddenly concerned about fighting wrinkles, fine lines and crows feet, among others. Skin starts to lose the elasticity it once had. The inner layer of skin starts to thin, and fat cells underneath the skin begin to diminish. Wounds are slower to heal, because the skin’s ability to repair itself begins to slow down. Additional factors cause the skin to wrinkle and wear out, as well.

Excessive exposure to sunlight causes the breakdown of collagen in the skin, and UV radiation contributes to the release of damaging free radicals, degrading connective tissue.

So, all that sun bathing you did as a teenager will catch up to you in your later years! Cigarette smoking is also one of the worst things you can do, because it diminishes the level of estrogen in women to cause dryness and disintegration of the skin. It also reduces circulation to the skin, and compromises skins ability to fight of damaging free radicals. Doesn’t sound too exciting, does it? As well it shouldn’t. In addition to this, rapid weight loss and heredity can play an important role in the formation of wrinkles.

In order for skin to dry out and fine lines to develop, the skin need only be poorly moisturized. That is why it’s important to moisturize daily in an effort to fend off the signs of aging. The older you get, the more wrinkles will appear; however, it is possible to slow down and minimize the damage by taking very good care of your skin NOW, rather than waiting until it’s too late to make a significant improvement.

Thankfully, there are some promising treatments for skin that is aging. For example, Argireline works to reduce facial tension, with all natural ingredients. Meaning, you don’t need a prescription for it. In addition to relaxing facial muscles, Argireline works to slow down the degeneration of collagen and elastin, which diminishes naturally with age.

Dermox SRC is another wrinkle product ingredient, designed as a serum to treat wrinkles and restore the surface of the skin.

Not all products are right for everyone, however, so keep that in mind when choosing an anti-aging skin care product. You may have to try several before you find the right fit for you.

By taking important steps now to reduce the signs of aging, you can ensure a radiant, youthful complexion when you’re older. What’s more, taking preventative measures (quitting smoking, eats lots of fruits and vegetables, and always wearing sunscreen when exposed to the sunlight) will ensure maximum effectiveness of any topical anti-wrinkle products you may use.

Whether you’re 25 or 55, it is essential that you start taking good care of your skin now, for beautiful skin in the future.

Ken Black is the owner of Skin Care Reviews at http://www.Skin-Care-Reviews.com, a site that provides skin care information.

Owned by a Philadelphia based enterprise and named after a well known and respected English pipe-maker these fine tailored cigars are made in the Dominican Republic.

These cigars come in three different styles of flavor. The first is simply known as Ashton. Then there is the Ashton Cabinet Selection and the Ashton Aged Maduro. All three are wrapped in Conneticut Leaf, although the Ashton Aged Maduro is wrapped in broadleaf instead of shade, and is also filled with a Domincan blend. You really must try them all to find your own personal preference.

The Cabinet Selection is the mildest of the three, due to the extra aging of the tobacco. If you prefer a slightly richer smoke go with the standard selection. If you like a sweeter cigar go with a Maduro No. 10. I personally recommend the standard selection but the selection of cigars is truly a personal decision.

Ashton also offers the Ashton Crown series which is made with only the most precious leaves from the Chatea de la Fuente farm. These special cigars are always a great choice.

Ashton is definitely my favorite brand of cigars. The quality and consitency of associated with this brand is unsurpassed. My favorite is the Ashton VSG, or virgin sun grown cigar.

Jeffrey Henderson
President

www.cigarexperience.com

I am the owner of http://www.cigarexperience.com We provide the widest of selection of cigars, humidors, and other related accessories. We are also in the process of beginning our campaign to lift the trade embargo with Cuba to bring Cuban Cigars back to America.

I’ve been working with teenagers and their parents for over 25 years. If I had a buck for every time I’ve heard what I am getting ready to tell you about, I could retire.

How the “we parent” shows up

While the we parent can show up in any number of ways, the most common subject is around school. Usually the we parent will say something like:

“We did not do well in school last year.”

“We got a D in geometry.”

“We skipped school today.”

Are you getting the pattern?

This is when I usually say something like:

“What a minute, what’s this “we” stuff?

The reason I make a big deal out of this is because the we parent is usually over-involved in some way. With school and grades, the parent is usually encouraging and bugging the kid about school and the kid is resisting.

What to do?

The we parent comes across as controlling and over-involved. It’s important to remember that the we parent is motivated by love.

So the next step is to channel that love in a way that works. Many times what that looks like is putting the child in charge of school. So then the parent can then move on and deal with whatever area of life they have been avoiding with the we parent role.

Visit http://www.ParentingYourTeenager.com for tips and tools for thriving during the teen years. For regular weekly tips you can subscribe to our f-ree Parenting Your Teenager Newsletter. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 5 day e-program on The Top 5 Things to Never Say to Your Teenager from parenting coach and expert Jeff Herring.

A lot of big inventions were discovered ” by chance “. Let’s take the case of the penicillin. In 1928 the scholar Alexander Fleming discovers it after to have forgotten a culture of mushrooms in his laboratory. He notices that a mildew that had developed (Penicillium notatum) killed all the bacteria around the mushrooms. 17 years later he shared the Nobel price of medicine.

Another example, the discovery of Velcro. While taking a walk in the mountains, Georges De Mestrallet, engineer, is irritated by the small balls of a plant that hang themselves to its clothing and to the hairs of his dog. The tiny hooks of the seeds of bardane that it observes to the microscope give him the idea of the closing Velcro.

Velcro has become a multinational corporation.

There are hundreds of examples of this type as the history of the Archimedes principle discovered in his bath, the apple of Newton (universal gravitation) or the post-it and its adhesive that sticks and puts back itself, etc.

These examples show that persons in contact with a circumstance, capitalize on that by making their creativity work.

This astonishing faculty carries a name:

The serendipity, or the creative exploitation of the unforeseen.

1) The serendipity is the art to do a happy encounter and to exploit this position to your advantage. As the history of the Mc Donald’s hamburger restaurants. Ray kroc, salesman of milk-shake machines, fascinated by the concept, encounter the Mc Donald’s brothers, convince them to let him take care of the franchising and some years later repurchases the rights of their corporation for 2.7 million us dollars. You know the continuation…

2) This is the faculty to find by chance something else that what is looked for. As these researchers working on a medicine destined to heal chest throat infection. They discover a secondary one very special effect: the priapism. You know the name of the product: the Viagra.

3) This is also the capacity to discover or invent by the recuperation and the creative exploitation of the consequences of an accident a priori unfortunate. As the history of a researcher of 3-M that discovers which will become ” scotchgard ” - the anti-smirch product for fabrics of 3-M - while dropping a fluoride solution on one of her tennis shoes. It was impossible to withdraw the spot whatever the solvent. Phenomenal success.

Without the knowledge, I have applied myself the principle of serendipity. That happened during the heat wave of 2003 in Europe.

You know, I’m teacher in a driving school. We don’t have air conditioning in the car. The boss finds it too expensive…

During 8 long hours I had to sit in an overheated car! From 12 AM to 8 PM: the hottest hours. Terrible!

Here you can see the third example of serendipity. A crisis situation force your creativity… If you want. But you have to be aware of its course. Otherwise you pass by this business opportunity.

In order to find a solution to refresh myself, I forced my imagination. Because I suffered terribly. Gas atomizers are really good and refreshing but Too expensive and not reusable. I could empty a whole gas bottle a day…

A trigger sprayer is not easy to use, particularly when spraying your face. Moreover too bulky to carry or to place in a reachable spot, as the door of the car.

I didn’t find a little spray you can unscrew with a Jet strong enough to spray as easy as gas atomizer. And perfume sprays are no strong enough and too little.

I wanted a water spray supple and resistant, large enough to use without being afraid to miss water when you need it the most. A water spray you can choose to fill with mineral or running water, easy to carry and so as not to feel against your body when worn. And last but not least, a water spray cheap and reusable.

While looking for a packing corporation, - again a ” chance ” - I fell on a manufacturer of plastic pouches that corresponded exactly to the qualities that I looked for, for my spray idea.

Some months later, the spray Pssshiiit was born.

How to develop your serendipity?

We are surrounded by consumer goods. Take advantage of this abundance of products around you. Become a difficult consumer. Criticize the products that you employ, find their defects, and then make your creativity work so as to find a solution.

Once the solution found, there is two exploitation possibilities:

1) You exploit yourself the new idea, as I did it myself.

2) You sell the idea. If the idea is patentable, make patent request in your country. If you do it yourself the gaits of a patent deposit, the price is very reasonable and it’s not so complicated as you think. You have a year to find a contractor interested by the purchase of your patent.

Some thousands of dollars are always good to take. You don’t risk a great deal. To the worse one, you wasted your time.

You also can force the principle of the serendipity while trying to find another application for a product. The improvement of a product can be applied to other domains. For example while looking at a biro on which was set up a movable clip to set it up to a pocket, I thought that it would be interesting for a manufacturer of pencils to place one of these movable clips in the can of pencils so as to take on yourself. In fact, a pencil never can be taken in a pocket under penalty of to perforate it.

I think actually that while being opened to the serendipity, while being conscious of his existence, you can provoke it. Remain opened and attentive to its exterior demonstrations. See how you can take advantage directly of an experience that can appear unpleasant previously.

I am of those that do not believe in hazard. All what surrounds us is energy. Our thoughts also are energy. You provoke the exterior experiences that you are more useful, good or bad. Free to you to take advantage of the experience given to you or to let the occasion go hang…

It gets a bit confusing and all too often you lose vital links and bits of information. This article will show you in simple terms, how I organize my files and stuff, it may even give you some ideas that you can use with your current system.

This is just what I do, and it’s written for those of us that aren’t
super wizz internet geeks.

A Directory is something in your computer that looks like a manilla envelope. It’s often called a folder.
You use these as you would a huge manilla folder (in real life), because you can put so many pages “Files” in them, you can also put other “Folders/Directories” in them, this makes a “sub directory” or “subfolder”.
First, I’ll assume you can do the basics or else you wouldn’t be reading this.
Go in “my documents”
Click on “Make a new folder” and call it “Internet Business” this folder is now a sub folder of “my documents”.
SAVE EVERYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR INTERNET BUSINESS IN “internet business” according to the subfolders we are about to make.

Second, Open “Internet business” and click on “new folder” as you just did in “my documents”. Now you will be making subfolders of “Internet business” go ahead and make as many as you can think of!
These will get you started!
“Mailing lists”, “Loginsfo”, “web building Stuff”, Affilliate referral urls”, “Click ex referal urls”, “Affilliate Banners”, “Click banners”, “Draft articles”, “Email letters”.

In each of these folders you’re going to place “files”, I use note book for everything now. When I started I was using excel and word.
But the problem with using them is that they are too big and too slow, especially when you are trying to do 10 different things at once.
Using “notebook” will save space on your hard drive and is a lot more “light weight” so it’s faster and speed is everything!
It also gives you some experience that will come in handy later when you start writing “html code”.
That’s probably a good subject for another article.

Finally, now you should have a directory set up with lots of empty folders, and files.
Simply save everything you come across in one of the sub folders of “Internet business” and if you need to you can create more sub folders of “internet business” or subfolders of the subfolders, etc.

That’s one simple way to keep all your important information.

I sincerely wish you good luck and happiness

Bill Boyd

The above article was produced by Bill Boyd as of one of the many training and mentoring projects that are part of the activity based training programs provided for free at: http://www.internetprofitmentor.com
Go there now take action! It’s free!
Over 12 hrs of videos for those Audio/Visual learners.

Six Reasons to K.I.S.S.

“Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most.”
- Clement Mok, Chief Creative Officer, Sapient

We’ve all heard THIS acronym, K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple, Stupid! While I prefer, Keep it Splendidly Simple; the point is the same. Make it simple! All of us have heard the phrase. All of us nervously laugh and knowingly nod our heads when we hear it. All too often we don’t follow this sage advice.

We’ve all heard the joke that a consultant is someone who will tell you about how to design, build and sell a watch, when all you wanted to know was the time. We are stereotyped often as people who like to make things more complicated, if for no other reason, than to justify our fee.

While I don’t completely agree with the stereotype, as is usually true with these things, it contains a grain of truth. I believe we can serve both ourselves and our clients better if we remember to keep our proposals, project plans, reports and other services more elegant (defined in my dictionary as, “ingeniously simple and pleasing, or excellent”), or simple. Here are six reasons why we should strive to make simple one of the criteria for our work products:

1.Simple reduces errors. The more complex something becomes, the easier it is to make mistakes. Want your client to implement your 18-step model? How likely will they be able to successfully navigate each step without errors or frustration? Not very likely. Which is of the following is more likely to succeed? A nine-page booklet of steps to follow in using the new software, or a concise job aid, that gives 80% of the users all the detail they’ll ever need, in a more usable format? (Even if you do need to provide the in-depth handbook, perhaps you need to write the job aid too!) When we design simple, elegant solutions, the error rate drops.

2.Simple is motivating. Simple plans give people confidence that they can succeed. When people understand the four key points in your presentation, they are more motivated to apply them, because they feel like they have a fighting chance of success.

3.Simple is more effective. People are bright, but people have many things on their mind. When presenting findings to clients, we often have a 100 page report and a one page executive summary. The one page is probably too high an overview to lead to effective decisions, and how many people will actually read your 100 page report? (When was the last time you read a 100 page report?). What clients need from us is the ability not only to analyze, or come up with the reams of data, but also the ability to synthesize, or draw together the key elements in new and all encompassing ways. A simpler report can lead us to that. The simpler, five-pager, will force you to synthesize and provide the client with something much more valuable than the briefcase breaker.

4.Simple saves time. This one is easy. It is common sense. When we make things simpler, we save time for the client (and ourselves in the long run). Enough said.

5.Simple brings focus. Having one clear goal is easier for people to follow, than knowing the Nine Strategic Initiatives of the First Half of the Year. One is motivating, the other a hopeless clutter for the mind. I recently read, “When everything is important, nothing is.”. It hit home and helped my perspective about keeping it simple. If we want to stay focused, we have to keep it simple.

6.Simple is easier to sell. Being simple in our approach does not mean “quick and dirty”, or incomplete. Remember that simple and elegant can be synonyms. Would you rather buy an elegant, simple approach, or something very detailed and elaborate? Think about your answer before you design your next consulting engagement.

A short comment in a recent Leadership Team meeting I was facilitating nudged me to write this. They were discussing a vision for their organization, and someone was talking about keeping things simple. They stated it as, “Sealed with a KISS”. I’ve decided to use that a criteria for all of our client work, and for internal efforts as well (even my personal projects!). Hopefully this piece has given you pause to think about this concept, and accept my premise. My next article will focus on how to keep or make things simpler, but including those ideas now might clutter your mind. Until then, try “sealing things with a KISS”.

©2001, Kevin Eikenberry, All Rights Reserved. Kevin is the President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps their Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/training/training.asp to learn more about customized training and workshops on consulting services offered or contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.

Renting to tenants is no longer “where the money is” for real estate investing. I became a multi-millionaire landlord in the 1980s by buying $10 million in rental houses. Yet, I consider this real estate investing approach the biggest mistake in my real estate investing career. I call it my “$10 Million Mistake.”

Back then, real estate investing in rentals was buying a house, renting it to tenants for a rental fee that covered the mortgage, and waiting for an increase in value. Interest rates were as high as 25%. Inflation was rampant. You could buy a house, and it would almost double in value in 10 or so years.

Boy, have things changed in real estate investing! Interest rates have recently been the lowest in 46 years. Inflation is flat. The same rental house in some areas is appraising for less today than it appraised three years ago. The major profit to real estate investing in rentals is the pay-down of the mortgage by the tenant. Otherwise, profit comes from the difference between the rental fee and the mortgage payment.

One month vacancy per year, which is not uncommon, might convert into an annual investment loss, even if (1) tenants don’t leave owing rent, (2) the property is not damaged, or (3) repair cost is negligible. All of these possibilities are very unlikely.

One month vacancy per year can eliminate usage profit for the year. Spend your time on fix up repairs, even part time, and you go more in the hole. How much you lose depends on how much your time is worth.

Real estate investing is intended to be profitable. Vacancies, repairs, and time expenditure might mean you are only making a donation to the great cause of improving the nation’s housing.
The scenario changes if the mortgage is negligible and note payments are significantly less than rents. But the beginning investor does not often create this situation.

Fixing up properties for resale is a better venue for real estate investing today. Go a step beyond the norm, and learn how to help a renter get financing for your fixed up house. Go another step by converting a junker into a “Dream House,” and you will attract prospects to your property like bees to honey. Turning a “Plain Jane” into a “Doll House” demands extra work, but attracts better quality buyers. Real estate investing is extremely profitable, but your choice of real estate investing venue is critical to optimal profitability.

Phil Speer, Ph.D., started his real estate investing career 25 years ago. Without the availability of credit and using only a $10 bill, he purchased $1 million in properties in his first year, and had accumulated $10 million in properties by his fourth year. He was featured in a Wall St.Journal editorial as most successful investor in the Nothing Down Real Estate Movement, and was honored with a Caribbean cruise as top investor of the year. In his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, he has been a businessman and Human Resources Consultant for 30 years. He is an author, speaker and seminar director. To learn how to profit in real estate investing, even without cash or credit, read his report at http://www.CashinHouses.com/. Subscription is free to his Fix-up Ezine. He and other contributing authors provide free articles and resources on real estate investing at his online “Academy of Advanced Real Estate Investing Techniques” - http://www.AAREIT.com/.

A foreclosure doesn’t have to limit your dreams of buying a home. By
following these strategies, you can lower your mortgage rate to
affordable levels. And with some careful shopping online, you can find a lender
willing to help you finance the purchase of your new house.

The Better Your Credit Record, The Better Your Rates

Yes, a foreclosure will sink your credit score, but only for a short
time. And lenders also look at other factors when considering a loan
application. Before you start looking for a home loan, glance at your
credit report. Make sure your credit history is correct. You may also want
to attach a letter explaining the circumstances of your foreclosure.

Time will also improve your credit record. After two years, a
foreclosure ceases to have a significant impact on your credit score. Instead,
financing companies look at your payment history, number of accounts,
and debt ratio.

Improving Your Application For Lower Rates

Improving your application will also help you qualify for lower rates.
Increasing your down payment to over 20% will do much to lower your
rates. You will also find that a low debt to income ratio will help.

A large income or significant cash assets in some cases will also get
you conventional rates, even with a recent foreclosure.

Interest only and adjustable rate mortgages also lower rates. However,
there is considerable risk with these types of financing. Large
increases in monthly payments are possible. But you can protect yourself by
insisting on appropriate caps or rollover options.

Better Rates Tomorrow

You can quickly improve your credit score after a foreclosure. So
refinancing for lower rates in the future is another way to work toward
lower rates. If this is an option, make sure you don’t have any early
payment fees in your original mortgage.

The Best Lender With The Best Rates

The easiest way to reduce your rates is to shop for a lender just like
you would shop for a house. Request information, specifically loan
estimates, to evaluate cost and options. Even though financial companies
tie their rates to indexes, they vary widely. By investing a few hours in
research, you can save thousands on the purchase of your home.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com. View her recommended sources for a bad credit mortgage loan.

View her recommended lenders for a home mortgage loan after a foreclosure. Also, view her recommended sources for a free copy of your credit report.

Q1: When you consider that the foreign exchange market has become the world’s largest financial market, with over $1.5 trillion USD traded daily, where does it go from here?

A1:The FX market is unique, in the UK there is no central exchange, we trade via the inter bank market. With more and more private individuals taking up margin trading and new forex brokers setting up, I can only see the market grow in the near future.

Q2: Other than great liquidity, what are the principal benefits attached to the forex market?

A2: There is less to consider when trading the forex markets, there are only a number of variables that affect the pricing.

Main advantages include

Forex Market allows 24 hour trading

Greater leverage - with most brokers offering 100 - 1,

Less starting capital required,

More Liquidity - day trading has to have enough volume to make it worth our while. The currency market is more liquid than all the world stock markets put together. Currencies are always in action,

Free trading systems

Better for shorting - There are artificial controls built into the market to prevent it from going down too fast. The reason is that we live in a biased world that likes to see things go up instead of down. One of these artificial contraptions is the “uptick rule,” which comes into play when shorting stocks, making it more difficult to sell a stock short than to buy it. This is unheard of in the currency market. Selling currencies short while day trading is just as easy as buying them.

Ideal for Short Term Traders -

Q3: Limited market access, liquidity issues-after market hours, commission fees, capital requirements and short selling/stop restrictions are just some of the issues investors face when considering other markets. Given that the forex market removes many of these traditional barriers and therefore does not restrict the forex traders’ ability to make a trade at the right time, are we likely to see an increase in trading volumes this year?

A3: With all these advantages, traders are finding it hard not to trade currencies, online trading volumes across all products is increasing at a substantial rate, however FX trading, predominantly amongst retail investors is becoming very popular.

Q4: There is stiff competition amongst online forex service providers for retail forex traders with some claiming to offer the same degree of technical analysis enjoyed by the world’s largest banks and institutional traders. Is this possible?

A4: Technical Analysis has come a long way, more and more forex provides now have partnerships with firms who provide analysis. However the banks still have an advantage, the markets are still not under perfectly competitive economic model. The banks will always have access to information that is not readily available, ISX FX currently sources its information from a number of banks to fill this gap.

Q5: Do you subscribe to the theory that forex is less volatile than stocks because the market is much deeper?

A5: As a bet on the direction of a national economy, no currency has ever dropped 25 percent in a day, or imploded as rapidly and completely as an Enron or a Parmalat. In the wake of those scandals, many companies are meting out information more cautiously, making it harder to get the real “scoop” on stocks one problem of trading with too-high leverage is that one piece of surprise news can wipe out one’s capital. If you treat forex trading like a business, including proper money management, you have a better chance of success.”

Q6: U.S. interest rates-decade lows; global trade wars and terrorism fears have dominated the headlines recently. What impact has this had on retail volumes?

A6: The above factors have all led to a decline in the dollar. This coupled with tighter regulation of brokers has given investors more confidence in brokers. Also the stock market crash has driven individuals to look at the profit opportunities offered by forex.

Q7: Stateside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has brought 58 actions against firms, since its new powers were awarded in 2000. Given that certain brokers continue to abuse the system, with investor money sometimes not being traded in the markets promised. What can investors do protect themselves?

A7: The retail forex market is in essence betting, as with any bookmaker there is always a risk that you will not get your winnings, or the odds will be highly stacked against you. With tighter regulation and increased competition, this risk of default has largely disappeared. The risk of price manipulation still exists and this will never really go away. Investors need to ensure that they have an independent price source and trade with a broker who offers true one click dealing.

Most brokers work on the basis of the law of large numbers, acting like the bucket shops of 50 years ago, they do not hedge any positions and are directly competing against there clients. This will always lead to price manipulation and further actions by authorities will inevitably be taken.

Q8: What is this best way for “currency rookies” to get involved in the market?

A8: Like with any new form of trading you need to know what you are doing, especially as there is margin involved. Take all the time you need to learn this new trading skill well — practice everything you learn with a demo account before you consider going ‘live’ with your own money. Investors should read books, attend seminars and paper trade until they are comfortable with there strategy.

http://www.fsp-search.com

This Saturday, I’ll be back at the same sports bar where I watched the Kentucky Derby. If you read my Derby column, I told you to throw out a couple of favorites (Lawyer Ron and Brother Derek), and keep Barbaro, despite history being against him. Unfortunately, I also told you that I like America’s favorite bet, the exacta. The exacta always seems do-able, and offers a chance to win some real dollars. And in a field of 20, what were the chances of hitting the Trifecta? Sad to say, that darn Bluegrass Cat spoiled my day. This was a horse that, by all reports, was “the bust of 2006.” That’s why it’s called gambling.But Triple Crown races are events, and, if you are a sports fan, you’ve got to bet the Preakness.

This time, it’s all about value.Sure, Barbaro looked great in the Kentucky Derby, but is he the sure thing thatmany analysts and bettors make him out to be? Well, maybe. Which is the reason you’ll never get value betting on him this Saturday. At best, he’ll go off at even money. Keep in mind, until Smarty Jones won in 2004, it had been 25 years since an odds-on-favorite won the Preakness Stakes. You’ll hear a lot about “The Bounce Factor,” which says that horses tend to regress after particularly strong races, especially when they are coming back on short rest. And Barbaro is a horse that has never run with fewer than five weeks of rest.

Did you know that 21of the last 22 Preakness Winners ran in the Kentucky Derby? So, what about Brother Derek and Sweetnorthernsaint? Brother Derek, the morning line favorite for the Kentucky Derby, had major positioning problems in the Derby, and spent most of the race trying to break through a crowded 20-horse field. He lost a shoe and still finished fourth. He could be primed to run in the Preakness the race that many had expected him to run in the Derby. Sweetnorthernsaint, who ended up as the Derby favorite after a lot of late money was bet on him, also is one to watch. His Beyer speed figures were consistently better than those of Barbaro before the Derby.At 4-1, he may be a good bet.

Only three horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby will run in the Preakness, the smallest number in the last quarter century. So, given that, the odds would be better that a horse would break that 21 out of 22 streak which I mentioned earlier. Which new horses are possible contenders? Most analysts think Bernardini is the best of the newcomers.The term “Speed Freak” has been used for Diabolical, and that always perks up my ears.Like Now likes to gun it from the start, so, maybe, he’ll take the lead and keep it. Nothing about the other new horses excites me.

So, I’ll be splitting up my $50 with a variety of bets. Right now, an exacta of Sweetnorthernsaint and Bernardini seems like good value, and not too outlandish. Scrappy T, the best fresh horse last year, came in second. Diabolical as a long shot to win might be worth a try. As long as Brother Derek doesn’t slip to worse than 3-1, put him in some exacta bets.And, if you just can’t bear not betting on Barbaro, put him in a couple of trifectas that include a long shot.Have a drink and enjoy yourself; there’s only one more to go after this one.

Jonathan Wachs
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer