NTRA Pre-season Polls released
Horseracing Betting Lines
02/13/2012 -
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Thoroughbred Racing Association
(NTRA) released a pair of pre-season 'Kick-Off' polls for the 2012 racing
season. Performances are through Sunday, February 12.
Game On Dude is first in the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll and Algorithms is atop the
Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude won his 2012 debut in the San Antonio at
Santa Anita Park. Second in last year's final poll, the five-year-old gelding
received 20 first-place votes and 393 points.
Defending Horse of the Year Havre de Grace is second with 17 top votes and 350
points. Owned by Fox Hill Farm, the five-year-old mare has yet to race this
year.
Fresh off a victory in the Donn Handicap is third-place horse Hymn Book. The
six-year-old gelding picked up three first-place votes and 206 points.
In fourth is 2011 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic champ Royal Delta with 186
points. The four-year-old filly is followed by Mucho Macho Man (144),
Acclamation (138), Awesome Feather (138), Animal Kingdom (112). Caleb's Posse
(90) and Mission Impazible (83).
Algorithms, winner of the Holy Bull Stakes, garnered nine first-place votes
and 390 points to slip past Union Rags in the voting. Union Rags received 23
top votes and 386 points.
Alpha, undefeated this year, is third with four first-place votes and
245.points. The colt has victories in the Count Fleet and Withers Stakes.
Creative Cause, third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is fourth with two top
votes and 215 points. Rounding out the top 10 are Out of Bounds (203), Hansen
(178), El Padrino (156), I'll Have Another (138), Gemologist (116) and Fed Biz
(76).
The Polls will resume on Monday, March 12.
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<< Not all flash: Kentucky's blue-collar defense sets it apart
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Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers re-signed
quarterback Alex Brink to a new contract on Monday. Terms of the deal were not
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<< Jeremy Lin highlights NBA Players of the Week
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Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colonial Athletic Association announced
Monday a five-year agreement with the NBC Sports Group to broadcast conference
football and men's and women's basketball games.
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Patriot League adding football scholarships in 2013 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Touchdown.
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Napoli tops Chievo to snap winless skid >>
Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Napoli snapped a five-game winless streak on
Monday by securing a 2-0 home win against Chievo which improves the club's
European hopes.
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Sociedad piles more misery on Sevilla >>
San Sebastian, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sevilla's struggles continued on
Monday at Real Sociedad as the visitors saw their winless streak reach eight
games following a 2-0 defeat.
The two sides entered the final 30 minutes of the
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds
Europe
Tie
USA |
4-5
10-1
6-5 |
Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich |
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1 |
Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson |
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
|