Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
10/21/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cloudy's Knight, making his third straight start at Woodbine, held off 5-2 favorite Ask to capture Sunday's 70th running of the $2 million Canadian International. In the supporting $1 million E.P. Taylor Stakes, 7-5 favorite Mrs. Lindsay caught Sealy Hill to win the 1 1/4 mile grass race.
The Canadian International, won by Secretariat in 1973, is a major turf event for thoroughbreds not entered in Breeders' Cup races. A full field of 12 was entered with European horses getting most of the attention.
Cloudy's Knight was coming off a one-length win at Woodbine in the Sky Classic Stakes after placing second in the Nijinsky here. The betting public sent off the seven-year-old gelding as an 18-1 longshot.
The pace in the 1 1/2 mile turf race was set by Marsh Side with Sunriver running second and Cloudy's Knight racing third up the backstretch. Marsh Side continued to set the pace around the turn for home before giving way at the top of the stretch.
Cloudy's Knight, ridden by Ramsey Zimmerman, took the lead in mid-stretch and was able to hold off Ask. Trained by Frank Kirby, Cloudy's Knight was able to prevail by a nose over Ask with 3-1 morning-line favorite Quijano finishing a length back in third.
The time for the 1 1/2 miles was 2:27.71 on a firm turf course.
Completing the order of finish was Stream of Gold, Oracle West, Sunriver, Sky Conqueror, Honolulu, Windward Islands, Irish Wells, Linda's Lad and Marsh Side.
The win, worth $1.2 million, pushes Cloudy's Knight's career earnings to more than $2 million. Owned by S J Stables, the winner has won 10 of 32 career starts, with a victory earlier this year in the Fair Grounds Breeders' Cup Handicap.
Cloudy's Knight returned $38.70, $11.50 and $7.60. Ask paid $5.40 and $3.40, and Quijano paid $4.50 to show.
Mrs. Lindsay, ridden by John Murtagh, fought back to retake the lead from Sealy Hill to win the E.P. Taylor Stakes for fillies and mares. The time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:00.68 on the grass.
Sealy Hill, the Canadian Triple Tiara champion, passed the eventual winner in mid-stretch, but was unable to hang on for the victory. Mrs. Lindsay posted a half-length win as she set a new stakes record.
Barancella, who was second in last years E.P. Taylor, finished third followed by The Niagara Queen, Sans Souci Island, Essential Edge, Hostess, Four Sins, Safari Queen and Elle Runaway.
Mrs. Lindsay paid $4.80, $2.90 and $2.50. Sealy Hill returned $4.70 and $3.20, and Barancella paid $3.20 to show.
Mrs. Lindsay is a Pennsylvania-bred three-year-old owned by Mrs. Bettina Jenney and trained by Francois Rohaut. In her last start she won the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp in France.
<< Thorrington's winner lifts Fire over Galaxy, into playoffs
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Soccer schedule maker
couldn't have planned it any better.
The last game of the regular season was between two teams that were still in
the hunt for the last playoff spot, while al
<< Bironas boots record eight FGs as Titans hold off furious Texans rally
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rod Bironas' NFL record eighth field goal of
the game -- a 29-yarder as time expired -- gave the Tennessee Titans a wild
38-36 win over the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium.
Trailing 32-7 heading into th
<< Giants roll over 49ers for 5th straight
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning threw a pair of touchdown
passes and Brandon Jacobs ran for 107 yards with a score, as the New York
Giants rolled to a 33-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at the
Meadowl
<< Redskins survive wild finish to edge Cardinals
Landover, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Rackers' 55-yard field goal attempt at
the end of regulation hooked just wide left, as the Washington Redskins hung
on after a wild finish for a 21-19 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Jason Campbell
Roughriders clinch playoff spot with win over Ticats >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kerry Joseph threw for 261 yards with a
touchdown and ran for two more scores as Saskatchewan clinched a home playoff
berth in the West Division with a convincing 38-11 victory over Hamilton.
Joseph c
Miami's Brown injures knee >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown suffered
a knee injury during Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.
Brown was hurt trying to make a tackle on an interception in the third quarter
of Miami's 4
Tribe's Byrd admits purchasing HGH >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd did not
dispute a newspaper report from earlier Sunday, which detailed the veteran's
purchase of human growth hormone over a period of more than two years.
The San Fra
Cook gets first Champions Tour win in second week >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took only two weeks, but John Cook has
become a winner on the Champions Tour.
Cook, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour, fired a six-under 65 on Sunday to
come from behind and win the AT&T Champion
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting