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12/07/2011 - Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Revenue generated from Genting's Resorts World Casino New York City at Aqueduct has proved to be the economic engine that was hoped for. The slots have enable the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to increase purses for stakes races during the current winter/spring meet.
Of particular interest is the increased purses of the stakes for three-year- olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
"We are very excited to announce this enhanced Aqueduct winter stakes schedule," said NYRA Vice President and Director of Racing P. J. Campo.
Aqueduct's premier stakes for three-year-olds, the $1 million Wood Memorial, will be the culmination of a series of races that will all feature higher purses.
"Placing the Withers in early February on a card also featuring the Toboggan and Correction creates another marquee day of racing during the meet," Campo added. "Additionally, with the Gotham's purse increased to $400,000 to go along with the addition of the Withers, our three-year-old stakes program is on par with any track in the country. We are hopeful that our horsemen will respond positively to the new stakes schedule and believe it will generate a lot of interest for our fans."
Leading off the Kentucky Derby prep events will be the $150,000 Count Fleet Stakes on Saturday, January 7. The $200,000 Withers Stakes makes a return to the schedule on Saturday, February 4.
The 1 1/16-mile Gotham Stakes, the last major prep for the Wood, is set for Saturday, March 3. The 2011 Gotham was won by Stay Thirsty who went on to win the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga.
The Wood Memorial, to be run on Saturday, April 7, will be joined on the program by the $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes at seven-furlongs. Three-year-olds will have a final chance for increased purse money on Saturday, April 21 with the running of the $200,000 Jerome Stakes at one-mile.
<< Flames G Karlsson out 6-to-8 weeks
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames revealed on Wednesday
that backup goaltender Henrik Karlsson will miss 6-to-8 weeks with a high
grade tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
The club already p
<< Texans sign QB Garcia, 41, as backup
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following two tryouts, the Houston Texans have
signed 41-year-old Jeff Garcia as a backup quarterback.
They also signed 43-year-old punter Matt Turk to replace Brett Hartmann, who
had been placed on injured
<< Bedard headed to Pittsburgh
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates and left-hander Erik
Bedard have come to terms on a one-year contract. The deal is believed to be
worth $4.5 million and is pending a physical, which in Bedard's case isn't
exactly
<< Yanks win bidding rights to Japanese SS Nakajima
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees submitted the highest
posting bid for Seibu Lions shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, giving them an
exclusive 30-day negotiating window to work out a deal with him.
A Japanese newspa
Crosby will miss next two games >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and
team captain Sidney Crosby will miss the next two games as a precaution for
an undisclosed injury.
"Sidney took a hard hit during our game against Boston Monda
North Dakota-Portland State will be non-conference game >>
Grand Forks, ND (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of North Dakota will join
the Big Sky Conference next year, but its football game against Portland State
on Sept. 8 will be considered a non-conference game.
UND director of athletics Brian F
Chargers place DE Castillo on injured reserve >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers placed defensive end
Luis Castillo on injured reserve Wednesday.
Castillo injured his tibia in the Chargers' season-opening victory over the
Minnesota Vikings and has not played si
Marlins reel in another, nab lefty Buehrle >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Marlins may have missed out on
acquiring Albert Pujols, but it certainly hasn't slowed them down.
Just hours after finalizing a deal with shortstop Jose Reyes, the Marlins
appear to have a
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.
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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