10/23/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two days, 14 races, $25.5 million. The 25th running of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Santa Anita Park has become bigger than anyone could have imagined when it began in 1984.
I will not attempt to handicap each of the 14 races that will be conducted on Friday and Saturday, and I never pick the two-year-old races, which now number four.
However, this website does have Breeders' Cup selections available from four of our most intelligent handicappers, including myself. Use these picks cautiously, but with expected multiple cashin' not trashin'
Starting with the big race, $5 million Classic at 1 1/4 miles. Defending champ Curlin is 7-5 in the program and if he goes off at that price it will be a steal.
Curlin must be included in all exotic wagers, but I will not single him in my straight bets. Breaking from the inside post will be Pacific Classic winner Go Between, 8-1 in the morning-line. He has become the master of the synthetic track.
Back in January, Go Between won the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic on the old artificial surface at Santa Anita. Go Between then had consecutive second-place finishes on synthetic tracks at Santa Anita, Keeneland and Hollywood Park. I have liked Go Between since his three-year-old season and love his chance to upset Curlin on Saturday.
Friday's feature event is the $2 million Ladies' Classic, formerly the Distaff. The 3-5 odds-on favorite is the undefeated Zenyatta. She will start from the inside post with Mike Smith riding.
Zenyatta has not lost in eight career starts, but is barely past the $1 million mark in earnings. She comes from off the pace and may find herself in trouble breaking from the rail.
Let's go with defending champ Ginger Punch. This year she has won five of seven starts with a second and a third. The third was to Zenyatta back in April. Ginger Punch is 9-2 in the program and will start from post six with Rafael Bejarano. The mare will be on or near the lead before she rallies down the stretch to win in a photo-finish.
One of my favorite trainers, Jonathan Sheppard, has a horse in the Filly and Mare Turf. Forever Together, 6-1, has drawn post three with Julien Leparoux riding. The pair have won the Diana and First Lady Stakes. Look for her to come from way back to take the 1 1/4 mile race.
The 1 1/2 mile Turf on Saturday features the only horse to beat Curlin this year, Red Rocks. The five-year-old is the 5-1 second choice behind 7-2 favorite Soldier of Fortune.
Red Rocks won this race two years ago and was third last year to English Channel. Frankie Dettori has the mount from post two. If Red Rocks is good enough to defeat Curlin he's good enough for me.
The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile appears to be the most evenly matched race on the entire card. Surf Cat, Mast Track, Well Armed and Pyro have been entered for the one-mile event over the Classic.
Goodwood winner Well Armed is the 3-1 favorite and will break from post eight with Aaron Gryder. Surf Cat has post two with David Flores and is 6-1 in the program. Also 6-1 is Hollywood Gold Cup winner Mast Track. He will start from post four with Tyler Baze. Mast Track has a quarter-crack and was held out of the Classic.
However, I like three-year-old Pyro in the Dirt Mile. At 20-1 he is an overlay in the 12 horse field. Pyro has been in the money in all but two starts. Even though he didn't like the artificial track at Keeneland, trainer Steve Asmussen must know what he is doing. Pyro will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan from post six, a perfect spot to pull the upset.
My final extended handicapping is for the Breeders' Cup Mile. Defending champ Kip Deville returns. This pick put me over the top last year when the miler went off at 8-1. The five-year-old is 5-1 in the program, behind 3-1 favorite Goldikova and 4-1 second choice Whatsthescript.
Kip Deville is coming off a disappointing fifth in the Woodbine Mile as the 1-2 favorite. But he won his first two starts this year and should primed for an excellent effort.
Good luck to everyone, especially to those directly involved with the Breeders' Cup.
<< Texas Open switching courses
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced
Thursday that the Texas Open will be shifting to a new host course.
The Texas Open was played as part of the Fall Series the last two years, but
shifts to May a
<< 2008-09 Predictions: The King and his court
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the unparalleled excitement of the
NBA preseason winding down, it's time to take a take a deep breath, gaze into
the crystal ball and see what is going to happen when they start playing for
real.
The
<< The Real McCoy
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Longhorns won the national
championship following the 2005 season behind superhuman efforts from current
Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young. His early departure to the NFL opened the
door for present s
<< Report: Brady underwent two more procedures on knee
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has
reportedly undergone three procedures to clear out an infection in his left
knee that could delay the rehabilitation process.
The Boston Herald reported Thursd
Arsenal's Eduardo close to returning >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Thursday
expects Eduardo Da Silva to be back in competitive action within three weeks.
The Croatia forward has been sidelined since suffering a compound fracture on
his
Lightning get veteran help on defense >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning signed free agent
defenseman Marek Malik to a one-year contract Thursday.
Malik, a veteran of 649 NHL games, joins Tampa's young defensive corps after
stints with Hartford/Caroli
FC Dallas midfielder Rhine announces retirement >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas veteran midfielder Bobby Rhine revealed
Thursday he will retire from professional soccer following the teams last game
of the season Sunday.
Rhine, who has played his entire 10-year career with FC Dal
Celtic's Boruc fined over gestures >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has avoided
a ban after escaping an improper conduct charge Thursday with just a fine and a
severe reprimand.
The Poland goalkeeper was called before a Scottish Footb
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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