BC Marathon champ heads Woodbine stakes

Horseracing Betting Lines

12/01/2011 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Afleet Again, the surprise winner of this year's Breeders' Cup Marathon, tops a field of six in Sunday's $150,000 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine Race Course. The 1 3/4-mile race, the same distance as the Marathon, will be run over Woodbine's synthetic main surface.

Afleet Again, owned by Kasey K Racing Stable, has drawn post three with Cornelio Velasquez returning to ride the four-year-old colt. Butch Reid trains the gray son of Afleet Alex who won the Marathon as a 41-1 longshot.

In the $500,000 Marathon, the gray four-year-old trailed for most of the race, running in ninth about a dozen lengths from the lead. At the top of the stretch a gaggle of horses were on the lead as Afleet Again began to move on the outside. The colt opened up down the stretch and posted a 2 1/4-length victory over Birdrun.

"He was very aggressive, which is rare for this horse," Reid said following the upset win. "This horse is a real Jekyll and Hyde. Sometimes he shows up and sometimes he doesn't really. He (Velasquez) said he was very aggressive. I saw the fractions they were going, 48 in the first half, and he was only six or seven lengths out. I thought we were in pretty good shape."

The Breeders' Cup victory was the colt's first of the year in nine starts and his fourth win in 24 career races. He has lifetime earnings of $686,470.

Making just his third start of the year will be last year's Valedictory runner-up Eye of the Leopard. Trained by Mark Frostad, the five-year-old will be ridden by Luis Contreras from post four.

Eye of the Leopard was off from last year's Valedictory Stakes until the Durham Cup in October when he was fourth. Three weeks ago the Sam-Son Farms' horse finished second at Woodbine in an allowance race.

In 15 career starts Eye of the Leopard has four wins and $921,487.

Here is the full field for the Valedictory in post position order: Alpha Bettor, Tyler Pizarro; Eagle Poise, Patrick Husbands; Afleet Again, Cornelio Velasquez; Eye of the Leopard, Luis Contreras; Harrods Creek, Chantal Sutherland and Getta Rhythm, Justin Stein.

Post-time is set for 5:21 p.m. (et).

Wwwimustbingo Horseracing Betting News

<< Orioles acquire C Teagarden from Rangers
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles on Thursday acquired catcher Taylor Teagarden from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league pitcher Randy Henry and a player to be named later. Teagarden, 27, appeared in 11

<< Vikings release McNabb
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly released quarterback Donovan McNabb, according to WCCO-TV. McNabb, who started just six games in his lone season with the club, was acquired from Washing

<< Dortmund signs German youth star Bittencourt
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund signed Germany youth midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt on Thursday from lower-division side Energie. The 17-year-old will join the Bundesliga club next summer. Bittencourt, who holds

<< UC Davis coach Biggs to retire after 2012 season
Davis, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UC Davis head football coach Bob Biggs will retire at the end of the 2012 season, Nona Richardson, the university's interim director of athletics, announced on Thursday. The 2012 season will be Biggs' 35th at UC

<< Yankees' Rivera to have throat surgery
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees star closer Mariano Rivera will undergo surgery on Friday to remove polyps from his vocal cords. Baseball's all-time saves leader will be unable to speak for a week following the procedure

Ducks sign Boudreau to two-year deal >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks officially locked up new head coach Bruce Boudreau, signing him to a two-year contract on Thursday. Boudreau was unemployed for less than three days -- an NHL record -- as he was fir

What a year it was for NASCAR >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2011 Sprint Cup Series season was as good as it gets. From Trevor Bayne's stunning win in the Daytona 500 to Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards' hard-fought battle in the championship Chase, this year in

Earnhardt Jr. named most popular driver for ninth time >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s popularity in NASCAR is showing no signs of letting up. For the ninth consecutive year, Earnhardt Jr. received the National Motorsports Press Association Wheaties Fuel Most P

Schalke seals knockout berth in Europa League >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul scored the match-winner in the 57th minute, as Schalke secured first place in Group J and a knockout spot in the Europa League with a 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest on Thursday. Schalke's Kiri

Red Sox introduce Valentine >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox officially introduced Bobby Valentine as the club's new manager on Thursday. The 61-year-old Connecticut native agreed to terms on a two-year contract with club options for 2014 and 2015. Fi

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.