Brady Lands a Big One!

Brady Endl celebrates his graduation from Marquette (MBA '12) with the catch of the day...

PS It's amazing what you can do with Photoshop!

End of the 2012 spring semester AIM Program newsletter

For a pdf of the newsletter shown below, go to: AIM Semester Wrap-up

AIM Semester Wrap-up

Krause's Preakness Picks

With graduation weekend at Marquette it has been hard to put out my Preakness picks; however, here goes.

Long Shot (30:1) # 10 Optimizer. D. Wayne Lukas is not getting any younger and this isn't his strongest horses, but the Wisconsin connection might come through one last time. Optimizer might be better at the 1 1/2 mile Belmont track, but at 30:1 I wouldn't be surprised that Lukas' gets his 6th Preakness. WPS #10.

Value Pick (6:1) #5 Went the Day Well. This was my long shot in the Derby and finished a strong 4th - another 1/8 mile and Went the Day Well would have been a big payday. I like the trainer and the jockey...and the horse has been improving steadily. This horse should finish up in the money.

Best Horse (8:5) #7 Bodemeister. Baffert says this horse is ready and won't give up the late lead like he did in the Kentucky Derby. Baffert indicates that Bodemesiter has trained well the past two weeks and is ready to go.  Like Lukas, Baffert is looking for his 6th Preakness and I think at the end of the day he'll have it.


Nice field for the Preakness and the weather looks fine. Enjoy the races ---- and graduation! Good luck.

HANK AARON IS THE 2012 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

Baseball great Hank Aaron will be Marquette University’s Commencement speaker at this year’s spring ceremony. 

As part of the ceremony, Aaron will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Aaron holds many of baseball's most distinguished records and continued to work on behalf of racial equality and civil rights after his major league career ended.

Krause's Kentucky Derby Picks 2012 (Updated)

It is Kentucky Derby weekend and here again are my picks!  I see strong similarities to handicapping horses and selecting individual common stocks – quantitative evaluation of past performance, assessment of management, and peer comparison. And like the stock market, the outcome of a horse race is often times greatly influenced by unexpected events.

So be forewarned that, like stock picking, the Derby is a tough race to handicap because of the large field and the lack of a clear favorite. Also, the weather for Saturday afternoon is somewhat uncertain with a 40% chance of thunderstorms.... nevertheless, here goes.

Value Pick: #14 Hansen (10:1). What I like most about this pick is the jockey, Ramon Dominguez. He is the 2010 and 2011 Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey and has twice led the nation in number of victories. He has two Breeders' Cup wins – including the 2011 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (aboard Hansen). While he can go the distance and likes to lead, he did fade to second in the Blue Grass. He is coming off a four week layout and should be sharp for the Derby. I also love the Secretariat bloodline via Storm Cat. The 14 post was a good draw and I see Hansen as a nice value pick at 10:1. And, yes, he'll be an easy horse to follow during the race! WPS bet on #10.

Long-shot: #13 Went the Day Well (20:1). Here's a speed horse that could surprise if the big field groups together. Went the Day Well is ridden by John Velazquez, trained by Graham Motion, and owned by Team Valor - the same combination that won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom.  He has a good post position and also has a distant Secretariat bloodline. He has not run against many strong horses and is coming off a six week layoff, but could be this year’s Giacomo or Mine That Bird. Might be a good horse to include in some of the exotics especially since he could go off at more than 20:1 at post time. 

Best Horse: #4 Union Rags (9:2). Union Rags was an unbeaten two year old who lost the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall by a nose to Hansen. This could be ‘the’ horse in 2012 – and maybe one with a good shot to win the Triple Crown. The unfortunate draw of the 4 post along with a third in the Florida Derby will likely keep the odds high enough on race day to make for a good payout. Excellent jockey, Julien Leparoux, and a winning trainer, Michael Matz, make this a very strong entry in the run for the roses. If he can survive the rodeo-like start of the Derby from an inside post position, he might be wearing the roses. Win bet on #4.    

Horse with Best Investment Name: #11 Alpha (12:1). You’d think the 11 post would be a great draw for a speed horse, but Alpha is a very nervous and volatile horse who will be loaded first. While Alpha is lightning fast, he is known for being fractious in the gate. He’s been able to get out of early race troubles before, but this time he won’t be able to make up for a poor start in a twenty horse field with a grueling and demanding pace. If you are seeking investment alpha, you won’t likely get excess return from Alpha.  

Good luck and bet responsibly.