The History Of Horse Racing At Del Mar

By Ross Everett

Southern California's Del Mar Racetrack has been somewhat forgotten by the general public in recent years, overshadowed by East Coast venues like Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. The reality is that the 72 year old track has a history to rival their better known counterparts. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and located 20 miles North of San Diego, its perhaps most famous for its iconic slogan "Where The Surf Meets the Turf" but that only scratches the surface of its star studded history.

The Del Mar Race Track was founded in the late'30's by a group of business and show biz elite, including Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy and Jimmy Durante. During much of the pre WW II era, horse racing ran a close second to baseball in mainstream popularity, so these racing enthusiasts were clearly at the right place at the right time in terms of market forces.

The show biz legends that have been Del Mar regulars could fill a book. Bing Crosby was one of catalysts behind the building of the facility, and he personally greeted guests on opening day. During the late 30's/early 40's it hosted stars such as W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Red Skelton, Ava Gardner and Paulette Goddard.

Del Mar was the site of the'38 match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscut won the $25,000 winner take all challenge by a nose, and this race set Del Mar betting and attendance records and remains one of the most famous races in history. The racing at Del Mar continued to flourish until the start of WWII, when the track went 'dark' for racing.

After the war, Del Mar reopened with a bang. Following the surrender of Japan, President Harry S. Truman declared a national holiday for August 15,'45 and on that day Del Mar attracted over 20,000 fans through its gates who wagered what at the time was a record $958,476. The postwar prosperity was also a boon to Del Mar, which also benefitted from the Santa Fe Railroads daily Racetrack Special that brought bettors down from Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the track. During the latter part of the decade a new crop of Hollywood glitterati would flock to Del Mar, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante. Durante would become such a regular that the turf course at Del Mar would later be renamed in his honor.

Del Mar remains a viable part of the thoroughbred community to this day. Theyve updated their facility, with a state of the art grand stand and most recently a synthetic polytrack surface that was installed in 2007. The racing season at Del Mar begins in mid July, and hosts crowds of 20,000+ on a daily basis throughout.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Do Potential Employers Value Distance Learning Degrees?

By Mary Jack

With the ability to keep working, take care of a family, and receive a quality education without relocating, distance learning degrees have continued to increase in popularity. Unfortunately, the Internet also provides a venue for bogus diploma mills sprouting up to make money on the sale of fake degrees. In a report published in 2003, USA Today says 400 such businesses are currently in operation, and the numbers are increasing as these dubious businesses continue to make approximately $500 million annually.

However, despite all of the negative talk about the value of distance learning degrees, many such colleges and universities offer valid online learning degrees and diplomas. The students and instructors are held to the same standard of educational excellence as those in the traditional classroom. The method is simply an alternative for the individuals who may otherwise not have an opportunity to earn a degree. Online courses, online video lectures, test examinations, and even online library facilities ensure the students truly earn their degree in higher education. Unfortunately, many potential employers have heard about the bogus degrees and tend to assume an online degree is of lesser value.

To address the misinformation, 6 accreditation agencies have been authorized by the U.S. National Education Board to weed out the unscrupulous bogus programs. Then, the agencies give accreditation to the colleges and universities that meet the minimum standards for legitimate learning institutions. In addition, the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) also provide accreditation specifically to distance learning schools. The DETC has the backing of both the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Department of Education. Therefore the students can rest assured their education has matched, and often exceeded that of their traditional peers.

In addition, specific programs in specialized areas can obtain accreditation through the agencies associated with the subject matter. For example, the American Health Information Management Association provides accreditation for qualifying health programs; accounting programs are assessed by the International Association for Management Education. However, it only counts if the agencies are endorsed by the Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Why does accreditation matter to a student? A college accreditation agency evaluates the different aspects of colleges or universities against minimum standard criteria to determine if the particular institution meets set basic requirements that determine the quality of education it should offer. College accreditation is important to ensure that the quality of education, facilities in a college and support given by that college meets certain standards while specialized accreditation checks the excellence of specific programs regardless of the institution offering that program. Likewise it means specialized accreditation check on course content and the curriculum of the program against pre-determined standards of the distance learning college or university.

Accreditation assures employers, parents and students that a respective college awarding degrees has undergone and passed a stringent test of excellence in offering quality education in the respective areas of training. On the other hand, diploma mills and fake colleges don't meet the same standards of education imposed by the agencies since they don't possess any legitimate accreditation. Thus courses taken by prospective employees that are accredited by the respective agencies would have met standards imposed on the respective specialized areas.

The onus is on the employers to evaluate the credibility and validity of a campus offering distance learning degrees. Due to the rise in fake diplomas, it has only made employers become stricter in checking every applicant's diploma to ensure it is a valid one from an accredited institution. And since this can sometimes be complex and cumbersome for the employer, as a job applicant, you can make this process easier by providing any vital accrediting information to your prospective employer as you make your job application. This will ensure your application is not over-looked and will elevate your chance of landing a job interview.

About the Author:

The author contributes articles about online education and distance learning degrees programs including campus information on colleges and universities around the United states.

Understanding Mormonism and The LDS Church Ideas

By Alfred Ras

Understanding the Mormon church can be quite a difficult task because what seems to be on the surface is really not what it is when one starts to study it further. Many individuals will say that they are not aware of the Mormon church but if you have any knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints then yes you do know of the Mormons.

This was an organization that was actually formed in 1830. The biggest stance of this particular church is that they believe that they are the only restored Church of Christ and this was all to have taken place through a revelation of Joseph Smith there past leader. What the Mormons believe is that prior to the formation of this church that the entire world was caught up in massive religious confusion called the great apostasy. This was a time where people were living in darkness and it wasn't till the Mormon church came along where their church put things back on track again.

One of the frustrations that the Mormon Church runs into is that they believe that too often there is misinformation about them and this is leading people to many misconceptions. This is the reason that most individuals that are not of the Mormon belief don't understand what position they take in Christianity or their doctrine. In many ways the Mormon church uses the same vocabulary as what the Christian church believes as well. The biggest out of many discrepancies according to the Christian belief is that they believe that Joseph Smith was a God himself.

One of the things that the Mormon Church believe or promote is that there are many other religions that share the same doctrines as theirs and therefore are entitled to the same salvation. They will often in their approach to preaching their beliefs will encourage individuals to embrace the true Church of Jesus Christ. This not necessarily referring to the Church person with whom they are talking to but to the Latter-day Saints Church because they believe that this is the one that Jesus restored through Joseph Smith. They firmly believe that this is the concept that Jesus taught when he was here on earth and therefore has to be the true church.

It's interesting to note that after the supposed prophecy of Joseph Smith he wrote 13 articles on faith. What these articles pertain to are now what the basic Mormon beliefs center on. Basically the beliefs are broke down into several categories such as the Church of Jesus Christ, gospel and principles, family purpose ,and the life and nature of God. The Mormons believe that after the last apostle died that there was no authority left to lead the Church and that all of the doctrines that Jesus had taught were changed over the years and eventually this led into living in darkness.

Naturally everybody is entitled to their own opinions and their own beliefs. The same is applicable to the Mormons. If they so choose to follow the doctrine of Joseph Smith then they have that right. Christianity in its authority takes offense that the Church of Latter-Day Saints is standing on the basics of Christianity and yet have taken all those basics and misconstrued them into what they feel is the true gospel.

About the Author:

Search for your ancestry with the free mormon genealogy search engine. This is the #1 mormon geneology search engine.