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Big news at the Preakness?

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preakness stakes

The buzz leading up to the 2020 Preakness is focused largely on Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic, and Belmont Stakes champion, Tiz the Law.

But among the highly decorated field, there is another three-year-old colt that some believe could make quite a bit noise and fatten more than a few wallets.

The third-place finisher at the Kentucky Derby, Mr. Big News, is that horse and he made the big boys quake in their boots as he was picking them up and putting them down entering the home stretch.

It was as much gas as MBN had in the tank which was enough to get him across the finish line for show money but not enough to overtake the frontrunners, the eventual winner Authentic, as well as the second-place finisher and betting favorite, Tiz the Law.

Mark Toothaker, of Spendthrift Farm, one of Authentic’s owners, stated, “You hear the announcer give the call for Mr. Big News. And he’s just rolling around horses there on the outside.”

Mr. Big News was a 50-1 shot at the Run for the Roses but now he’s on everyone’s radar as evidenced by the 12-1 odds at the time of this writing. Incidentally, Intertops has odds for the Preakness, and Authentic is the favourite at 3/2 followed closely by, who else, but Tiz the Law at 3-1.

There was no reluctance by owner Chester Thomas and trainer William Bret Calhoun to enter the Derby nor is there any hesitation to send him in among the best at the Preakness.

“If our horse is doing good, we’re going to the Preakness to win the Preakness,” Thomas said. “We’re not running because we’ve got a free spot, we’re not running for a piece of it. If we don’t win, I hope we can get a piece of it, it’s a tough game. There’s going to be a bunch of good horses in there, but we’re going to win that thing.”

Mr. Big News has two wins over eight starts. In his fourth start, he broke his maiden in a special weight race at the Fair Grounds earlier this year and then followed that with a blue ribbon at the Oaklawn States on April 11th. A disappointing sixth place would be his next finish at the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland before his impressive Kentucky Derby performance.

“He’s just kind of a grinder,” Thomas said. “He hasn’t been a real flashy horse. We haven’t won a big race, and we’ve been in some tough races.”

And what are Mr. Big News’ chances at the Preakness you might ask?

“It’s going to take a top effort,” Thomas said. “He’s really going to have to step up his game, so we’ll see. But he’s showed us he’s got it in him, and we’ll see how he does.”

Authentic Breezing in Workouts

If the early returns are to be taken into consideration, Authentic is poised to add a Preakness Stakes trophy to his owners’ mantle. The Derby winner worked out a clean and effortless 59.20 seconds over five furlongs at Churchill Downs.

“He couldn’t have looked better,” said his trainer Bob Baffert. “He looked really well coming off a race like that. Everything is all systems go for the Preakness.”

Baffert said Authentic and his other Preakness entry, Thousand Words, will stay at Churchill Downs under the care of D. Wayne Lukas’ before saddling up for Pimlico on October 3rd. “I was going to take them back to California, but it would be too much shipping for them,” Baffert said.

Tiz the Law Biding Time

Kentucky Derby winner, Tiz the Law, was the odds-on favorite to win the Belmont but those plans were derailed when he fell short to the 8-1 shot, Authentic. It was only his second loss over eight starts with both occurring at Churchill Downs.

It appears all signs are pointing to TTL competing in the Preakness but ultimately the horse will tell the tale according to his owner, Sackatoga Stable’s operating manager, Jack Knowlton. “I talked to (trainer Barclay Tagg) today, and he indicated that (assistant trainer and exercise rider) Robin (Smullen) has him back on the track galloping and if all goes well, we’re looking at work early or in the middle of next week. We’re not under any pressure to do anything. The horse is going to tell us what we’re doing, which is what horses typically do. He seems to be doing fine now, and it’s a matter of making sure everything is 100%.”

Cheer up with a week of torrential rain and gales

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rainy weather

Britain is being told things are not that bad because we have some interesting weather to cheer us up.

The last of the glorious summer sunshine, which soothed our aching hearts throughout lockdown and beyond, is a distant memory.

Now we have driving rain and gales for an interesting contrast.

And if things couldn’t get any more exciting, temperatures are plummeting and we might even expect some frosts and snow.

Government information officer Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “You may think things are bad, what with COVID, the economy, a divided nation and everything in between, but now we can marvel at the interesting weather patterns.

“We have some delightful rain, high winds from all directions, and temperatures are coming down, which will make a nice change.

“Who needs to have enjoyed a cracking summer holiday when we have this weather right here on our doorstep.

“Furthermore, the nights are drawing in fast – that’s super fun, too.”

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How to manage your family finances in 2020

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Having a family is a complicated and expensive business. Before your first baby is even born, the costs of being a parent will start to accumulate. As time goes on, these costs will add up.

If you don’t have a plan in place for managing your finances better, you could find yourself dealing with the severe stress that comes from having no money.

Many new parents struggle to manage their finances effectively, especially those that aren’t great at managing money to begin with. They need guidance to rein in their spending to affordable levels. Below are some simple tips that any parent can use to manage their family finances better.

Budgeting

Learning to budget properly is one of the most important things you can do for your family finances. There are numerous apps and websites out there designed to help families manage their budgets. But one of the best things about learning to budget is that you don’t need any existing knowledge or tools.

If you have never budgeted before, it can be hard to know where to begin. Before you can put together a realistic budget, you need to know how much money you have coming in and going out every month. Once you have this information in hand, you will know exactly how much money you have to work with.

Divide your expenditures into your needs and wants. Needs are the things that are absolutely essential to the well-being of you and your family. These essentials include things like your fuel and transport costs, housing or accommodation costs, food and grocery costs, and utility bills. Once you know exactly what you are spending your money on, you can begin prioritising it more appropriately.

Budgeting for a family is more complicated than budgeting individually. For example, if you have two children, every activity essentially costs you twice as much. This difference can make even the simplest of spontaneous activities relatively expensive.

Research every purchase

Having a baby is expensive enough as it is. If you are paying over the odds for essential purchases, you are only going to be making things harder for yourself. Before making any purchase, large or small, make sure you research to find the best price possible. If you don’t go looking for deals, you won’t know they’re out there. Once you have set yourself a firm budget, you then need to make an effort to stay within these limits. Doing your research before making a purchase will make this much easier.

There are plenty of websites dedicated to helping you find the best deals. There are numerous voucher and coupon websites that provide discount codes and coupons that can be used online and offline. Before you make an online purchase, it is always worth checking to see if there are any discount codes available. A simple Google search will reveal these. You can also install a browser extension that will find them automatically for you.

Buy in bulk

From nappies to baby food, you can save yourself money by buying most products in bulk. Anything that has a long shelf life and you will need to buy regularly is worth bulk buying. Of course, you will need room to store your purchases if you decide to purchase in bulk. But if you can make the space, the money savings are more than worth it.

Both baby products and household essentials are ideal targets for bulk buying. For the best wholesale and bulk buying deals, you will need to look online.

Consider your financing options

If you find yourself in financial difficulties, there are always options available to you. Many people have networks of family and friends they can’t rely on, but not everyone is this lucky. If you need to turn to financial institutions or other lenders; it is worth knowing your options beforehand.

There are numerous types of loans and financing available today. New Horizons has a guide to finance credit options for parents. Whether you need to use these finance credit options or not, it is worth knowing what is out there. New Horizons is a fully accredited broker who can help you find the right loan for your needs. There is no credit footprint application, and 90% of applicants are ultimately accepted. If you need a financial boost, New Horizons can help you find the right loan deal.

Make sure you are getting the best deals on household utilities

For many households, utility costs account for a significant portion of their essential spending. Anything that you can do to reduce these costs is worth pursuing. Fortunately, there is a simple way of finding out whether you are paying too much for your utilities.

There is now a plethora of price comparison websites dedicated to utilities. From your broadband connection to your electricity provider, price comparison websites will immediately tell you who serves your area and how much they will charge.

Get your insurance and will in order

If you don’t currently have any insurance, you are leaving yourself exposed financially. You never know when the unexpected is going to cause potentially serious ramifications in your life. The only way the keeping your finances safe is to prepare ahead of time by purchasing insurance.

There are numerous types of insurance out there for you to choose from. Depending on your available budget, you might need to prioritise which types of insurance you need and which you leave. It is always useful to have some form of income protection or insurance as a parent. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown just how quickly the economy can deteriorate, with people finding themselves facing a situation they never thought they would be in.

You should also consider taking out a life insurance policy for you and your partner. This policy will ensure that your dependents receive some form of financial protection should something happen to you both. Similarly, it is a good idea to write a will once you have children, so you can be sure that your assets will be distributed appropriately.

Be flexible

Many parents today work as well as raise a family. However, you should not feel any pressure to find a job; it is entirely up to you what you do. But the more flexible and willing to adapt you are, the easier it’s going to be staying on top of your family’s finances.

For most families, the most expensive part of raising a child is the period before their education starts. Once they are in full-time education, the school provides food and daycare during the week. Until this point, parents have to shoulder these costs themselves.

Good financial management doesn’t come naturally to everyone. For some people, staying on top of money and managing it appropriately is a real struggle. Fortunately, with just a little guidance, anyone can learn to manage their money more effectively. Budgeting for a family is more complicated than budgeting for an individual, but it is still a useful tool. With your budget in place, you can then work on reducing your spending until it is within your target range.

Suffolk Gazette now on YouTube, subscribe now

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Your favourite accurate local newspaper now has its own channel on YouTube, where some of our famous stories are portrayed in video form.

Visit the Suffolk Gazette YouTube Channel and see what’s going on. And remember to hit subscribe and the little bell so you are notified whenever we upload something new.

Obviously, we continue to publish here as usual. The videos are just something new to refresh some old classics and introduce them to a new, appreciative audience.

Subscribe to our youtube Channel now to stay tuned: > SUBSCRIBE NOW

Here are a couple of the first to be added to video. Firstly, Realistic County of Suffolk Map…

Then, the blind footballers and the morris men…

And we also have the police Apache helicopter blowing up the vicarage…

Lorraine Fisher, 34, has not yet appeared on video. Perhaps she will one day? Please like, comment and share the videos to help us get the channel growing.

How to deposit in an online casino wisely

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baccarat casino game

In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of online gambling sites. Most of the sites that you’ll find employ attractive features to inspire gamblers to stay with them in the long run. Before selecting an online gambling site, you need to do extensive research.

Believing everything you see will end up wasting your time and hard-earned money in the long run. When choosing a casino, some of the things that you should focus on include the licenses, game variety, bonus offers, promotions, customer service, and deposit methods. In this article, we are going to focus on online casino deposit and how you can do it safely and wisely. Let’s get started!

Deposit methods

For most gamblers who want to shift from land-based casinos to the digital world, depositing money into their casino accounts is one of the most daunting prospects. Beginners often wonder what deposit options are available and whether it is okay to share their personal and financial information. Plus, they don’t know what to expect in case issues arise while they are depositing money.

The best thing about depositing money online is it isn’t different from shopping online or making any online transaction that you are conversant with. While every casino real money site is different, you’ll always find a way to get money into your account safely without having to struggle.

Debit cards and credit cards

When making online purchases, debit and credit cards are the most famous payment options in our modern world today. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise you that they are the most widely used deposit methods.

When it comes to brand, MasterCard and Visa have taken over the world including the gambling industry. You’ll find that some sites accept cards like American Express. However, they are not common. The main issue that most debit and credit card owners face is whether their cards will be accepted or transaction processed.

Since MasterCard and Visa cards are usually issued by thousands of financial institutions around the world, you’ll have an easy time making real money casino deposit and buying things online. The policies of financial institutions vary. Therefore, some sites might accept your card or reject it. This is an issue that every card owner experiences particularly in the United States.

Acceptance rates are always fluctuating. However, banks are trying to put in place an effective system to categorize casino zodiac online transactions. This doesn’t mean that you should avoid using debit cards and credit cards. But, you should do extensive research before applying for a particular card.

E-wallets

Another great way that most Zodiac casino gamblers use to perform transactions on the internet is by using e-wallets. According to Zodiac casino review, e-wallet sites are places that allow Canada casinos to receive money and players to spend easily or transfer money to your bank.

One zodiac casino advantage is that it helps users save transaction costs because they won’t have to make withdrawals from their bank accounts. And this has made electronic wallets popular in the online gambling sector.

The most popular e-wallet in the world at the moment is PayPal. You can use it to process payments on countless websites at a low cost. However, when it comes to the gambling industry, you’ll be amazed at the fact that PayPal is not the leader in processing gambling transactions. This is because PayPal only allows sites that have been licensed and regulated to use its services.

Apart from PayPal, there are other e-wallets that players can use to make online transactions. They include Skrill, Neteller, and Paysafecard to name a few. Neteller was once the most popular e-wallet in the gambling sector. On the other hand, Skrill is popular on both the inside and outside of the gambling world.

Banking account varieties

You can also use your bank account to make $2 deposit in low deposit casino. There are different ways that you can use to achieve this goal. However, in most cases, New Zealand players execute a wire transfer from their bank account or use an electronic cheque to make a deposit into their casino account, as described on iCasinoReviews.info.

Using the online banking system to deposit money into your casino account is easy. These simple and convenient methods use services that can facilitate direct transfers from the online casino site to another merchant and vice versa. These services operate on a regional basis. For instance, New Zealanders and Australians can use POLI Payments to transfer money from their bank accounts to casino accounts.

Prepaid choice

For those who don’t want to share their personal information, expose their credit cards, or link their bank accounts to the casino, prepaid vouchers and cards are the ideal options. These products give you the opportunity to purchase a voucher or card with a specific value from the vendor and use its value to make a minimum deposit casino at a casino.

You can also purchase things in cash. This eliminates the need of having a credit card or a bank account. A good example in this category is Ukash. It a voucher system in the UK that allows people to buy vouchers from local retailers, ATMs, and kiosks. These vouchers come with a code that can be used to make online purchases at casinos, stores, and other online sites.

There are many other prepaid options available around the world. Their offerings vary depending on the country and online sites. No matter what deposit option you choose, there will always be several trustworthy services and sites that will help you make your deposits easily and quickly.

Conclusion

Depositing money in an online casino is easy today thanks to technological advancements. Before picking a deposit option, you need to look at the online casino you want to play with. Most hackers and cybercriminals are using online sites to target players and steal their information. To avoid this, ensure that your casino is licensed and regulated by famous authorities.

Next, look at the variety of games, bonus offers, and deposit options. If everything checks out, don’t forget to look at casino reviews. By avoiding online sites with lots of negative reviews, you’ll save precious time and your hard-earned cash.

Christmas saved! Kill the turkey at home and invite 30 round for the funeral

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Christmas saved by Suffolk Gazette

The Suffolk Gazette today rescues Christmas for a grateful nation.

Rather than sitting at home in a depressed, small family group abiding by lockdown regulations, follow our clever advice.

Do not pick up your prepared turkey from the butcher, but kill it in your garden and then invite 30 people around for a funeral on December 25.

The government has made clear 30 people can attend funerals, so this is absolutely fine.

Our plan is better than the alternative, where someone must marry the turkey because only 15 people are now allowed to attend weddings.

Marrying the turkey might still be preferable in Norfolk households, however.

So there you have it. Thanks to this newspaper, you can now enjoy a big celebratory Christmas Day with 30 people coming round to your house.

Suffolk Gazette marketing director Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “Readers had better be grateful the Suffolk Gazette has come up with this plan.

“Show your appreciation by buying one of our mugs as a Christmas present. See below!”

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To show your gratitude to the Suffolk Gazette for saving your Christmas, please consider buying some early Christmas gifts from our potty pottery partner, DirtyOldGoat.com – visit the website or click on a suitable mug below to buy directly…

Soldiers looking forward to eliminating COVID rule breakers

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British soldiers taking on COVIDIOTS
A soldier in Ipswich town centre (Photo: Defence Images under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By Doug Trench, Defence Editor

Soldiers can’t wait to take up positions in Britain’s town centres and “take down” targets who are not wearing a mask or standing around in groups of more than six.

Squaddies say they are itching for action and are already taking bets on who can eliminate the most COVIDIOTS each day.

Private Steve Walshe said: “We have not had a good war for a while, so we’re looking forward to picking off a few numpties who won’t abide by the lockdown rules.

“The police don’t have the manpower, so the Army is on standby. Let me tell you we are ready to serve Queen and country.”

But human rights activists are fearful about having the Army on the streets, which Boris Johnson announced could happen yesterday.

Local do-gooder and general busybody, Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “This is a clear imposition on our civil liberties.

“One moment you are walking along the High Street, minding your own business. But because you passed someone on the pavement less than two metres away, you take a burst of machine-gun fire to the head and torso.

“It’s a bit over the top.”

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Three dramatic horse racing falls we will all remember

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Horse racing is a very popular sport across the world and it’s very easy to see why.

Even if you don’t have a bet on the race, there is an excitement that comes with watching it. From the thrill as they set out to the tension that builds and builds as the finishing line comes closer.

Of course, it’s great if you win money from it but there are no guarantees, it’s all part of the experience. 

However, some losses are easier to take than others. For example, if you’ve checked out the latest odds on horse racing and decided to put a small stake on the long shot and he doesn’t win, that’s fine. But, what is not as easy to take is if your horse looks set to breeze through the race but they fall at the last. Unfortunately, that has happened – quite a lot.

With that in mind, we decided to look at some of the most dramatic collapses from over the years – don’t worry, the horses were fine, but these falls may bring back some bad memories for those that had bet on them.

Devon Loch

We’ll start with the obvious one, which we have to go a long way back to recall.

Obviously, the Grand National is the pinnacle of racing for many, so to land a win in that race is a huge deal for the jockey and the trainer. So, falling at the final stretch when a win was seemingly inevitable is less than ideal. In fact, it’s a total disaster. But, that’s exactly what Devon Loch did in 1956.

The horse, which was owned by Queen Elizabeth, inexplicably jumped in the air and fell with around 40 yards to the winning post.

Despite the fact this happened 64 years ago, it’s not something anyone connected to the horse could ever forget after the term ‘doing a Devon Loch’ was coined for anyone in sport that botches a likely victory.

Annie Power

In truth, horses fall up and down the country at different meetings when winning – it happens. Therefore to make this list you have to do it on the biggest stages of them all.

Enter, Annie Power.

The hot favourite for the race at Cheltenham had a victory in sight before falling at the last back in 2015, which no doubt prompted millions of angry people swearing at the television and going mental at Ruby Walsh. 

It’s a happy ending, however, Annie won 15 of 17 races and retired in 2017.

Goshen

Sticking with Cheltenham, there was a remarkable fall in 2020, with Jamie Moore’s Goshen falling when around ten lengths clear.

A 5-2 favourite, the horse was again one that had been backed significantly by the punters and they would have been cheering and thinking about what they’d spend their winnings on as he sped home for an easy win. Then, it happened. Goshen fell and the crying of thousands of punters could be heard all across Gloucestershire.

There you have it, three of the worst falls in horse racing history and hopefully any you back won’t knock these off the list in the future.