07/03/2008 - Oceanport, NJ (Horseracing Betting) - A pair of "Win and You're In" Breeders' Cup preview races that guarantee the winners automatic entry into the World Championships are on tap Saturday at Monmouth Park.
The $750,000 United Nations Handicap on the turf and $300,000 Salvator Mile will allow each winner to advance to the Breeders Cup Turf and the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, respectively, at Santa Anita on Saturday, October 25.
Champs Elysees, bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, is the likely favorite in the nine horse United Nations field. Trained by Bobby Frankel, the five-year- old will start from the inside post position for the 1 3/8 mile turf race. Ramon Dominguez returns to ride the horse for the third time.
Champs Elysses will be making his sixth straight start in the United States after a solid career in Europe. He is coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish as the favorite in the Charles Whittingham Handicap at Hollywood Park in June. His lone win in four starts this year was the San Marcos in January at Santa Anita.
In his career Champs Elysees has won three of 16 starts for $570,647.
Here is the complete field for the 55th running of the United Nation in post position order: Champs Elysees, Ramon Dominguez; Equitable, Kent Desormeaux; Presious Passion, Eddie Castro; Buddy's Humor, Carlos Marquez, Jr.; Independent George, Joe Bravo; Sudan, Ramon Dominguez; Ra Der Dean, A.R. Napravnik; Strike a Deal, Jose Lezcano and Crown Point, Stewart Elliott.
Defending Salvator Mile winner Gottcha Gold is back to defend versus five rivals. The five-year-old has drawn post five with Eddie Castro getting the mount because regular rider Chuck Lopez is sidelined with a fractured heel.
Trained by Eddie Plesa, Jr. for Centaur Farms, Gottcha Gold was second in the Pimlico Special after setting the pace. He picked up a win in March in the Skip Away Handicap at Gulfstream Park after beginning the year with a ninth- pace result in the Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita in January.
"If somebody wants the lead bad enough, they can have it," Plesa said. "He can sit off the pace and make his run like he did in Florida (a win in the Skip Away Handicap at Gulfstream). There was a rabbit in there, and he just stalked the fast pace and made the lead in the stretch."
Gottcha Gold has earned $827,420 in 26 career starts with eight wins. He was second in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile to Corinthian at Monmouth Park.
Here is the complete field for the Salvator Mile in post position order: Notional, Joe Bravo; Rathor, Kent Desormeaux; Better Than Bonds, Ramon Dominguez; Indy Wind, Stewart Elliott; Gottcha Gold, Eddie Castro and Honest Man, Gabriel Saez.
The United Nations and the Salvator Mile will be shown live Saturday on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. (et).
<< Cubs activate Johnson
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated outfielder
Reed Johnson from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday.
The 31-year-old went on the shelf on June 24, retroactive to June 18, due to
lower back spasms.
In 5
<< Avs add Tjarnqvist to defensive mix
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche signed free-agent
defenseman Daniel Tjarnqvist to a one-year contract, the club announced
Thursday.
Tjarnqvist, 31, returns to the NHL after playing last season in the Ru
<< Injured Oswalt to miss next start
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt will miss his
next scheduled start while recovering from a right hip abductor strain.
Oswalt, who left Monday's 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the
injury, wa
<< Penguins sign G Fleury to seven-year extension
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins signed
goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a seven-year contract extension on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported
Thurs
Rays place Bartlett on DL, make three other moves >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays placed shortstop
Jason Bartlett on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a right knee sprain
suffered in Wednesday's 7-6 victory over Boston.
The 28-year-old Bartlett is battin
Kearns back with Nationals >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals activated
right fielder Austin Kearns from the 15-day disabled list Thursday.
The 28-year-old was placed on the DL with a right elbow pain on May 22. In the
meantime, he u
Panthers sign Fitzpatrick, three others >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers signed four players on
Thursday, including defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick, 33, who signed a two-year contract, appeared in 19 games with the
Philadelphia Flyers last season an
Blueshirts bring in Naslund, Kalinin >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have agreed to terms
with unrestricted free agent forward Markus Naslund, the team announced on
Thursday.
TSN of Canada is reporting the Swedish winger has signed a two-year con
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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