Hi,
What's happened recently in the world of horse racing and betting, and what's life in lockdown like for me at the moment.
We all have our own story to tell about how this is affecting us, as we have never experienced anything comparable in our lives.
Watching this unfold from our homes with the daily barrage of news broadcasts reveals the best and worst of human nature.
Before I continue, don't panic, at no point will I ever inflict a solo of me singing Imagine upon you, primarily because I'm not a self absorbed dickhead like some of these celebs taking advantage of a terrible situation to jump in to the limelight.
If you haven't seen this yet you're lucky, as celebs and random D list individuals thought it would be a good idea to sing John Lennon's Imagine, and post this online to raise public spirits. It was all over the news, and it made my gut wrench.
Imagine if you've lost someone due to Covid 19 and you're watching these attention seekers singing 'imagine there's no heaven'. I cannot see how this is helpful, and for the celebs anyone with half a brain can see right through it.
The other idiots out there who are committing vile acts, like coughing in elderly peoples faces while getting it video'd, licking products in stores, or hand rails on trains, this is a whole new level of evil, and I hope they get what they deserve sooner rather than later.
The morons who flocked to public places like it's spring break and a paid holiday, equally stupid, but obviously not as abhorrent.
These are uncertain times, and we are without question all in this together. How it will play out over the longer term is yet to be established, and at this moment we are quite literally fighting the flames of the pandemic.
The lack of clarity and preparation from our world leaders I expected, because any system built upon economic growth and not health and well being, will fall apart when stretched beyond the norm.
When we're out the other side of this, and I do believe we will be on an even keel in the coming months, the economy is going to be on its arse, which I'm sure most of you reading this will already be well aware.
Financially we are all taking some massive hit because of Covid 19, some a lot worse than others. All this government aid if you're fortunate enough to receive it, and when you're not caller 800 thousand in the queue, is going to come at a significant cost.
It's in these moments of realisation, and in the build up to getting things moving again to some resemblance of normality, that I hope our core value system shifts to a more socially conscious and less capitalist establishment.
Preparation for a world able to deal with such an event affecting the planet again and to reduce the risk of it reoccurring, while focusing on care and community not just propping up the big business, would in my humble opinion be a giant stride in the right direction.
Branson hang your head in shame for your initial actions, and I have heard some news you've had some investment money back from Flybe, which is appalling, but your most recent turnaround to help your staff has gone part way to redeem yourself.
Whereas, Mike Ashley, Sport Direct, Weatherspoons, Britannia Hotels etc, all need to be singled out after this is over, and held accountable for their actions.
It is obviously not the time right now to focus on these things as a matter of priority, but we need to note this behaviour, and not let it be forgotten when we come out the other side.
Regarding coming out the other side from a personal and business perspective. I've some challenges ahead, but I'm confident I'll get through it.
My biggest concern at this moment is for my family and loved ones, as my mother has many underlying health issues, one of which COPD is flagged as potentially life threatening if she caught Covid 19. My father is also recovering from stage 4 cancer, and has a lowered immune system.
They are both sensible people though, and abiding by the rules staying indoors. This is of course no guarantee as we do not know how long this will last, and when allowed out again if a second wave will hit.
It is a scary time for them, and for anybody with any health condition that could cost their life.
Quite literally around the corner from where I live a man died yesterday, just a year younger than myself who had no health problems, but was self isolating living on his own. His symptoms came out when the new rules came in to effect, and he died alone. Very sad, but an eye opener as to how serious this could be for anybody or any age, or condition.
For those who don't know my partner is a police officer, she works as response on the front line. She's been off for the past two weeks as we were due to go on vacation to Italy. Obviously this was cancelled and we've been home together since, but she's now due back in work on Saturday, and the Police internal news feed she follows does not look good.
They expect a lot of police officers to catch Covid 19 due to the nature of the work, and with a lack of protective equipment. She may be sent to a domestic where she is exposed, not show immediate symptoms, and although she is very careful pass it on.
This worried me the most as her health and well being is obviously a priority for me, and I know full well living with her if she does get the disease I will also catch it from sharing a home. If this happens we will both experience it differently according to the data, and I want to be the one to look after her.
The reality of this however I expect may be different, as I have an autoimmune disease, but at this point it's all speculation, so we shall see.
Up to this point I've been well protected, able to keep my distance and remain isolated. I did show some symptoms initially, but it was just my usual allergies reacting to the change in season, albeit when I had to venture out with my runny nose and sniffles I was looked upon like I had the plague in Sainsbury's.
It was just me being me at this time of year, and as stated all I want is to be able to look after her if she is exposed.
However, now the better half is due back at work and knowing what she deals with on a daily basis, I'm kind of resigned to the fact I will most likely come in to contact with Covid 19 regardless of how careful we are.
Life is a complicated thing isn't it, and these are strange days for us all to navigate safely. These are my immediate challenges from a health perspective, I hope you and your family are able to keep yourself fully isolated.
From a business perspective, well we're also on lockdown. Irish racing came to a stand still until late April earliest, so any users of Hedger Pro are now unable to place bets or trades.
As much as this was something we could offer to you during the downtime, I have to state I am actually pleased that Irish racing has now ceased as ethically it should have stopped weeks ago.
Australian racing is also hanging on a test result from a jockey, and racing is presently suspended, and this may also follow suit.
The affect of Covid 19 stretches across the racing industry and the landscape is changing day by day, even the Racing Post printed edition is no longer going to be published while racing is suspended. The website will continue as normal.
This comes as a surprise as we still have news within the industry, but I suppose when scratching the surface of the current Racing Post they are just a bookmakers mouth piece.
Racing is still continuing in some countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Chile, Sweden, and USA, albeit with some cancelled meetings and in some places behind closed doors, so how long they will continue nobody knows for sure.
Here is the latest press release for UK Racing published on the BHA website: https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/an-update-from-bha-chair-annamarie-phelps/
Exponential Bet will weather this storm providing UK horse racing returns, and I think it's obvious that it will resume.
How it will return will need to be assessed, but the strategies we set up to run fully automated, and the trading service I developed is all based on data that will ultimately remain the same once the markets settle after a restart.
At this moment the industry itself and everyone involved that is affected by Covid 19, you're in my thoughts and I hope you have some survival plan in place, as we will need to come through this gigantic economic hit and get the sport we love and depend on for our livelihood back up and running as soon as humanly possible.
As stated earlier though, if this means a shift in our core values of how we operate to provide more care and support for those who need it, I'm all aboard with this, and will do my best to contribute to whatever plan is put into place.
At this moment I await the news today for how the government is looking to support the self employed like myself. However, for someone in my industry sector I do not expect much, but we shall see.
When racing resumes I know I can get the wheels back in motion quickly for members, and I know most of you will be eager to get back to where we left off.
From a trading perspective, I'll be able to share this information regularly and make some contribution to help people make money using my simple trade techniques.
Anything useful I can put online for anyone looking to make money from horse racing will be put in place, and available.
I'm using this time to rethink how I operate online, to adapt and navigate the new landscape for what lay ahead.
All current members of Exponential Bet you know already from my recent posts or direct emails that you will be looked after, and any paid periods will be extended to ensure you get your full membership.
Moving forward I have some thinking to do ahead of the racing restart, and when it does resume how people's lives have been affected financially, as this reaches every pocket of our society.
Things won't just pick up where we left off after such a unexpected impact on the industry and economy. People will be tightening their belts, and my primary focus will be using any skills I have to share knowledge to profit online from sports.
It's not a time to diversify, I need to intensify my output, which to be fair is what I have been doing for the past month prior to racing suspending, and preparing to increase this anyway.
How I move forward through the new economy may require a different approach, but as stated we're all in this together. My heart is in the right place, so I will do what I can when I can, and as often as possible to contribute proactively helping people make money online from sports.
The current automated strategies will return to normal once the markets stabilise, the data for these is trend based anyway, so I can ensure they move with the times, and the trading service will follow soon given the way it's set up, but I want to do more, and share any information that is helpful.
Never before have I had so much time to take a step back and reassess as I have right now, and it would be a crime not to use this period wisely.
Right now I'm just taking the time to reassess, and ensure I'm in the best situation possible to ride this wave with all of you, and then regroup once we know what we've got left to work with.
If my health goes down the pan due to what I explained above I'll let you know asap, but I'm not too worried for myself, as I'm in a safe environment, and I'm also a determined little shit who will do my utmost to stay positive and fight it off.
I've just had news that my parents are now moving in with my sister and her twins, so they can all quarantine together, which has eased my stress levels.
Now we will see how it escalates where I live, and if my partner picks it up, which is my biggest worry for her.
Wherever you are I hope you're staying safe, and you have some support network in place. Drop me an email if you want some contact or to share your thoughts, I reply to all my emails personally.
I'll write again soon, but as stated in my previous post I won't clog up your inbox.
Stay well, and rest assured you will never hear me sing Imagine. :-)
Ryan