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
02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not only does Bob Baffert have the favorite in this Saturday's Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, but the silver-haired trainer also has what could be the future Kentucky Derby champion entered in the Grade II event.
Liaison comes into the 1 1/16-mile race as the morning-line choice after taking care of business in the CashCall Futurity this past December. The son of Indian Charlie has won his last three starts, including a pair of stakes races at Hollywood Park.
This will be Liaison's second career start on true dirt. His first was a 2 3/4-length maiden win over seven-furlongs at Santa Anita. Following that effort Baffert threw him into the Real Quiet Stakes around two turns and Liaison responded with a half-length score over Rousing Sermon.
The time was a mediocre 1:44 3/5 but the field of six 'walked' through the race going a half in 48 4/5 and the first six-furlongs in 1:13 3/5 seconds. Liaison was never more than two-lengths off the lead until he took command into the stretch while easily holding off Rousing Sermon at the wire.
Liaison was close to the pace in his next start (the CashCall Futurity) as well, but through much quicker fractions of 46 4/5 and 1:11. In addition, instead of having to go three-wide, as was the case in the Real Quiet, he sat on the rail saving all the ground until the field turned into the stretch.
Liaison once again held off the late charge from Rousing Sermon to win by a neck.
The final eighth-of-a-mile was a cavalry charge as 10 horses were within four lengths of each other. In fact, the seventh-placed horse wound up losing by less than three-lengths.
What was most impressive about Liaison's race in the CashCall was how he was able to withstand the rigorous early pace while racing in the fourth spot to win the Grade I event. To that end, the horses that were first, second, third, fifth, and sixth after the first half-mile finished seventh, ninth, 10th, 11th, and eighth, respectively.
Baffert's other runner, Sky Kingdom, is primed for a huge effort in the 1 1/16-mile event despite a pedigree suited for nine and 10-furlongs. After finishing a decent fourth in the CashCall, he won what might have been the most impressive three-year-old allowance race in California this year. In addition, his latest workout - five-furlongs in 58 2/5 - shows he is in top form to turn the tables on his stablemate.
Since Sky Kingdom has only banked $60,000 in graded earnings, a victory in the Robert B. Lewis is critical in gaining enough money to be eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby, especially when he might only make one more start - the Santa Anita Derby - before going on to Churchill Downs.
A longshot to keep in mind in the Robert B. Lewis is I'll Have Another. The son of Flower Alley is a little bit behind the rest of the field since his last race was back in September. Nevertheless, he's bred to run all day and Doug O'Neill has worked him extensively over six and seven-furlongs in recent weeks.
OTHER GRADED SATURDAY STAKES (FOR THREE-YEAR-OLDS)
The Grade III Withers Stakes at Aqueduct should be another easy victory for Alpha. The son of Bernardini, who won the Count Fleet earlier in the meet, will be odds-on to take his second straight stakes event over the inner dirt.
Like Sky Kingdom, Alpha needs graded earnings as he holds the same $60,000 under his belt. However, it should be easier for him to garner sufficient earnings as he continues to face lackluster horses in New York.
The Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs has been owned by Todd Pletcher in recent years as his horses have won four of the last six meetings. He is expected to enter Ecabroni off the colt's seven-furlong maiden win on Jan. 14 at Gulfstream Park, a race the son of Smoke Glacken won by two-lengths. More impressive was the gap of almost eight-lengths back to the horse in third.
Other Sam F. Davis contenders are State of Play, Reveron, Neck N Neck, and Prospective.
(Spring Hill Farm, Pletcher's other three-year-old winner the day Ecabroni broke his maiden, is scheduled to run the following weekend in the Hutcheson Stakes against Ever So Lucky and Thunder Moccasin.)
HANSEN SUFFERS HIS FIRST DEFEAT
Hansen, the two-year-old champion, was the 4-5 favorite in the Holy Bull last Saturday at Gulfstream Park, but the gray son of Tapit was not up to the challenge as Algorithms cruised to an easy five-length score.
After stumbling slightly out of the gate, Hansen built a 4 1/2-length lead after a 45 3/5 first half-mile. Unfortunately, he backed up through the stretch finishing with a 26 4/5 final quarter-mile. The Gulfstream track was sloppy so that might have had something to do with his performance. Still, it is obvious he is not a 10-furlong type of horse.
On the other hand, Algorithms looked the part of a stakes winner, claiming $240,000 of graded earnings. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt should have two more races prior to Kentucky, both of which will be around two turns.
Another one of Pletcher's three-year-olds won Saturday's seventh race, an entry level allowance/optional claimer. El Padrino took care of business by two lengths over Take Charge Indy, with a gap of 13 3/4-lengths back to Argentine Tango in third.
El Padrino came into the allowance event off a third-place finish in the Remsen Stakes last November, a race he did not look all that impressive until the final yards. Moreover, his lone two lifetime wins have come on off tracks so the jury is still out on the son of Pulpit.
Take Charge Indy ran well in defeat despite moving to the lead way too early in the race. It was his first appearance since a fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and his first on a wet surface so he could improve in his next outing. On the other hand, all he has done in his career is win a maiden race, so don't look for him to suddenly jump up and win a major Kentucky Derby prep.
The two biggest disappointments on the day were Consortium and Casual Trick. The former ran last in the Holy Bull, while the latter finished next-to-last as the favorite in the race won by El Padrino.
The weekend's top three-year-old performance came from a filly.
Broadway's Alibi, trained by Todd Pletcher, won the Forward Gal Stakes by 16 3/4-lengths while running the seven-furlongs in a brisk 1:21 4/5 seconds. To put that in perspective, Algorithms needed 1:23 to get past Hansen one race later on the card.
The filly is by Vindication out of a Seeking the Gold mare, named Broadway Gold, who is a half-sister to Dialed In. Broadway's Alibi has now won her last three races by a combined 28 3/4-lengths.
THE JEFF FRANK 'DIRTY DOZEN'
1) Sky Kingdom - Needs a good showing on Saturday to remain in the top spot; 2) Union Rags - Must maintain a straight course through the stretch this spring; 3) Algorithms - His first two-turn race will answer more questions; 4) Gemologist - Pletcher will run him just twice before the Kentucky Derby; 5) Discreet Dancer - If the Derby was a mile, he would be alone at the top of this list; 6) Alpha - Could have an unbeaten three-year-old campaign prior to the first Saturday in May; 7) Liaison - Derby distance might be a problem; 8) Out of Bounds - Same might hold true for this son of Discreet Cat; 9) Creative Cause - Will make his three-year-old debut later this month; 10) El Padrino - Pletcher's fourth horse in the top 10 moves up if it rains on Derby day; 11) Hansen - Must rebound in his next start or he is off the list; 12) Sabercat - Hasn't worked since early December.
<< St. Louis, Bolts try to stay hot vs. Jets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Martin St. Louis heating up to serve as a scoring
compliment to Steven Stamkos, the Lightning seem poised to make a run at a
playoff spot.
Tampa Bay continues that quest tonight and looks to reestablish its dominance
<< Red-hot Preds visit Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Nashville Predators should feel pretty good
about their matchup tonight with the Philadelphia Flyers, especially if the
game goes into a shootout.
The Predators aim to win six straight for the first time this
<< Devils take on Habs in Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Devils opened up their second half by picking up a big
two points over one of the top teams in the conference. The Canadiens,
meanwhile, failed to build off their win against the top team in the NHL right
before the All-S
<< Bulls resume long trek in MSG against Knicks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have been struggling with consistency
lately and look to gain a measure of balance tonight in a showdown with the
New York Knicks from Madison Square Garden.
The Bulls, who are in the midst of a nine-game
Tressel headed back to Akron in non-coaching role >>
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel
has been hired at the University of Akron in an administrative role.
Tressel, who received a graduate degree from Akron in 1977, will not work in
the athletic
Hokies battle Blue Devils in Blacksburg >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils get back
to conference business, as they travel to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia
Tech Hokies in an ACC matchup at Cassell Coliseum.
The Blue Devils took a break from
No.10 Murray State meets SEMO in OVC action >>
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Murray State Racers put their
flawless record on the line this evening, when the team takes on the Southeast
Missouri State Redhawks in a key Ohio Valley Conference matchup at the CFSB
Center.
S
Gators and Gamecocks collide in Gainesville >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Florida Gators put a five-
game win streak on the line this evening, as the welcome the South Carolina
Gamecocks to Gainesville for an SEC showdown at the O'Connell Center.
Billy Donovan's G
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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