08/28/2008 - Freehold, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Art Official, Meadowlands Pace champ, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Monday's Cane Pace at Freehold Raceway. The $392,850 one-mile event is the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown.
Coming off a convincing win in a Cane elimination race, Art Official will be driven by Ron Pierce from post seven. Pierce has three Cane Pace victories on his resume.
Trained by Joe Seekman for Sawgrass Farms, Art Official has won four straight and six of his last seven starts. The colt has won nine of 15 races this year and has earned $1 million.
Another Cane elimination winner, Badlands Nitro, is the 5-2 second choice and will be coupled with Rudy Rednose. Badlands Nitro will be driven by Brian Sears from the inside post and Rudy Rednose will start from post four with David Miller. Sears won the 2007 Cane with Always A Virgin.
"He came out of the (Battle of Brandywine) good," said trainer and co-owner George Teague, Jr. about Badlands Nitro. "He had nothing else on his schedule leading up to the Little Brown Jug, so we decided to enter. He's very versatile, real handy. He can spring off the wings when he needs to and he can follow cover. He's a real perfect-gaited horse."
Along with the Battle of Brandywine, Badlands Nitro captured the Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers and the Max Hempt Memorial at Pocono Downs. He was second to Somebeachsomewhere in the North America Cup.
The three-year-old has earned $1.1 million this year with nine wins in 12 starts. Rudy Rednose has won four of 11 starts this year for $188,986.
Here is the entire field for the Cane Pace final in post position order: Badlands Nitro, Brian Sears 5-2; McCedes, Daniel Dube 6-1; Moon Beam, Yannick Gingras 3-1; Rudy Rednose, David Miller 5-2; U Smooth Talker U, John Campbell 15-1; Lis Deo, Tim Tetrick 9-2; Art Official, Ron Pierce 9-5 and Major General, Andy Miller 10-1.
The second leg of the Triple Crown, the Little Brown Jug, is set for Thursday, September 18 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio and the Messenger Pace, will be Saturday, October 25 at Yonkers Raceway. No Pan Intended was the last horse to complete the Triple Crown sweep in 2003.
<< Ferrer, Murray, Blake reach third round in Flushing
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Spaniard David
Ferrer, sixth-seeded Brit Andy Murray and ninth-seeded American favorite James
Blake were a trio of second-round winners Thursday at the 2008 U.S. Open, the
fourth and fina
<< Havret leads by two at Gleneagles
Perthshire, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gregory Havret carded a five-under-par
68 Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Johnnie
Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Havret's fellow Frenchman Christian Cevaer is
<< Around FCS: Week 1 - Top 25 Predictions
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
No. 1 Appalachian State at No. 6 (FBS) LSU (Saturday, 5:00)
Everyone knows about Appalachian's historic 34-32 upset over college football
winningest program, Michigan, to jump-start a wild 2007 season in
<< United to face Celtic, Villarreal in CL group play
Monaco, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United, which won the Champions
League last season, was drawn into Group E of the 2008-09 edition on Thursday
with Scottish champions Celtic, Spanish runners-up Villarreal and Danish club
AaB.
Wigginton powers Astros by Reds >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ty Wigginton homered twice as Houston clipped
Cincinnati, 3-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Minute Maid
Park.
Humberto Quintero also homered for the Astros, who won the final two games i
Giambi and Yanks avoid sweep by Red Sox >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer in
the seventh inning to tie the game and singled home the winning run in the
bottom of the ninth, as the New York Yankees salvaged the finale of a three-
game s
Royals extend agreement with Omaha until 2010 >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals announced Thursday
that the franchise has extended its Triple-A affiliate agreement with Omaha
through the 2010 season.
Omaha, which currently plays in the Pacific Coast League,
Atletico signs Banega on loan from Valencia >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid signed Argentinian midfielder
Ever Banega on loan from La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday.
The 20-year-old only joined Valencia in January but struggled to break into the
first-team picture
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
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