08/16/2008 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Proud Spell got the best of 2-5 favorite Music Note to capture Saturday's $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. The two fillies are considered two of this year's best three-year-old females in training.
Proud Spell, ridden by Gabriel Saez, broke well from the gate and joined Little Belle, Music Note's entry-mate, on the lead. On the clubhouse turn Little Belle assumed the lead with Proud Spell in second, Mushka in third and Music Note running in fourth.
Up the backstretch Little Belle and jockey Rajiv Maragh set the pace with Mushka up in second followed by Proud Spell and Music Note close behind. With a half-mile to run, Little Belle was still on the lead as Proud Spell moved back into second and Music Note gained ground in third.
Coming out of the final turn Proud Spell took the lead away from Little Belle as Music Note and rider Javier Castellano quickly took over second. Proud Spell had a short lead at the top of the stretch over Music Note, but the two quickly hooked up in a stretch duel.
The two fillies battled down the stretch with Proud Spell prevailing by a head over Music Note. Little Belle held on to third in the five-horse field followed by Mushka and Sweet Vendetta. Skylighter was an early scratch.
Proud Spell covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:04.08 on a fast track.
The Alabama result was a reversal from the Mother Goose Stakes earlier this year. Music Note registered a 3 1/2-length victory over 1-2 favorite Proud Spell, but Proud Spell was disqualified to third.
Owned by former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones, Proud Spell is trained by Larry Jones and collects $360,000. The filly has won seven of 11 lifetime races for $1,975,110.
"Last year, we were so fortunate in hooking a very good crop of three-year-old colts with Hard Spun," said Larry Jones. "This year, we've hooked a very good bunch of girls with this one. But I knew she was supposed to be here, so I brought her. This is where champions are made, and that's why she's here."
Proud Spell was coming off a win in the Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park to go along with her earlier victories in the Kentucky and Fair Grounds Oaks.
There had been talk that Music Note, trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin Stable, would run in next week's $1 million Travers versus three-year-old males.
With no show wagering for the race, Proud Spell returned $5.90 and $2.60, Music Note and stablemate Little Belle each paid $2.10 for place.
In the $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational, Grand Couturier rallied down the stretch to win the 1 1/2 mile turf race for the second straight year. The victory gives the five-year-old automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Turf this year at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Alan Garcia, Grand Couturier defeated Better Talk Now by two-lengths with Interpatation finishing third in the six-horse field. The pace-setter Precious Passion faded to fourth followed by Dancing Forever and Equitable.
The time for the Sword Dancer was 2:32.21 on a turf course listed as good.
Red Rocks, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, was scratched on Friday from the race with filling in a hind ankle. Champs Elysses was also withdrawn from the Sword Dancer.
Grand Couturier is owned by Marc Keller and trained by Robert Ribaudo. Two years ago the five-year-old was third in the race to Go Deputy. This was his first victory since taking the 2007 renewal.
He has won six of 16 career starts for $860,100, including the $300,000 from Saturday's win.
Grand Couturier paid $9.30, $4.80 and $3.70. Better Talk Now returned $4.30 and $3.50, and Interpatation paid $5.50 to show.
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Chivas USA's Marsch could be out 2 months with fractured jaw >>
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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