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05/21/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in his barn, the veteran horseman needs to map out a way to get the gelding to the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic.
Owners Leonard Blach and Mark Allen decided this week to transfer the four- year-old from Chip Woolley to Lukas. Mine That Bird was vanned from New Mexico to Churchill Downs and arrived early Thursday evening.
"Chip is a close friend of mine, and he done us a heck of a job last year," Allen said. "But I have a stable of horses back there that I really need looked after, and Mr. Lukas and some other trainers threw their hat in the ring. When a legend throws his hat in the ring, it's hard to go against him."
Mine That Bird, winner of nearly $2.2 million, has not won since his 50-1 upset in last year's Run for the Roses. He was second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes.
He was third in the West Virginia Derby last year and then underwent throat surgery for an entrapped epiglottis. He returned to finish sixth in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita and closed 2009 with a ninth-place result behind Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
"He's such a gutty little competitor," said Lukas. "Looking at him here taking his bath, I think he looks better than I've ever seen him. The time off has really served him well. He looks better to me right now, and talking to the people who've been around him, I think he's doing better right now than he has. So, I've got a little bit of an edge there. I'm getting a nice horse with some good condition. I'm very pleased with what I see. For a horse that just got off a 12-hour van ride, that rascal looks pretty damned good."
Mine That Bird's route to the Breeders' Cup has not been mapped out, but it's likely he will race exclusively on real dirt tracks. This year's Breeders' Cup will held at Churchill Downs which has a natural dirt surface.
"That's our goal - right there," Allen said. "We're going to keep him here and not ship him around like we did last year. That took a lot out of him, and a lot of that was my fault. We're going let Mr. Lukas do his magic on him, but that's our goal: the Breeders' Cup."
While based at Churchill Downs, Mine That Bird will still be shipped to other tracks for major stakes races.
"I haven't talked with Mark or Dr. Blach about probably which races we'd want to target," Lukas said. "But I'm sure the Whitney's going to jump right out there, and maybe the Suburban at Belmont could be another possibility. Then they've got the Salvatore Mile over at Monmouth Park, which is another option. So there are plenty of options. The ultimate goal, of course, would be the Breeders' Cup. Whatever we do, we'll work backwards from the Breeders' Cup to make sure we look good here."
<< It is time to bring Strasburg to DC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of all the surprises through the first month-and-a-half of
the major league season, nothing may be more shocking than the fact that the
Washington Nationals are .500 heading into this weekend's slate of interleague
play.
<< NYRA notifies employees of pending closures
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced
Friday that it has notified its employees of the pending end of racing
operations and track closings on Wednesday, June 9. The NYRA operates Belmont
Park, S
<< MLB - Stay away from high-priced favorites
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Favorites of -180 or more are 61-35
through the first six weeks of the baseball season. That's a solid 64% clip, a
higher mark than all but one major league club.
However, when a team is favored by such
<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Dutch want elusive title
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bert van Marwijk took over the Netherlands
following Euro 2008, when the Oranje breezed through the group stage only to
be eliminated in the first knockout round in their second straight major
tournam
AL Central: What lies ahead for Royals? >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that the manager has been replaced and the Royals are
settling back into their customary place toward the bottom of the American
League Central standings, the next question is, where do they go from here?
Well, let's t
Toronto ready to defend BMO against New England >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC returns to BMO Field on Saturday and
actually has a road result to build on as it looks to remain perfect at home.
Toronto split its first six matches this season, winning all three at home and
losin
Verdasco, Gasquet to meet in Nice final >>
Nice, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spanish slugger Fernando
Verdasco and heavy French favorite Richard Gasquet will clash in Saturday's
title match at the inaugural clay-court Nice Open, a final French Open tune-
up.
Sharapova lands in Strasbourg finale >>
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded former world No. 1 Maria
Sharapova and German Kristina Barrois will be Saturday's combatants in the
final at the $220,000 Strasbourg International, a final clay-court French
Open tu
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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