Afleet Again captures Breeders' Cup Marathon

Horseracing Betting Lines

11/05/2011 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -Afleet Again, ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, came from the back of the field to capture Saturday's $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon to begin the second day of the World Championships at Churchill Downs. The son of Afleet Alex covered the 1 3/4-miles on a fast track in 3:00.39.

Afleet Again went off as the longest shot in the 11-horse field at 41-1. Breaking from post eight 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. Trained by Butch Reid, the colt opened up down the stretch and posted a two-length victory over Birdrun.

Finishing third was Giant Oak and Pleasant Prince was fourth.

Afleet Again is owned by Robert and Susan Krangel, and picks up $270,000 with the win. The colt notched his first win of the year and his fourth in 24 career starts. He has lifetime earnings of $686,470.

Afleet Again returned $85.20, $35.80 and $13.80. Birdrun paid $7.20 and $5.80, and Giant Oak paid $6.80 to show.

Attendance for Breeders' Cup Championship Friday decreased by two percent from last year's first day at Churchill Downs. Friday's attendance was 40,677 compared to 41,614 last year. The on-track handle was $7,765,183, a four percent decrease over the $8,109,443 bet on-track in 2010.

The common-pool handle for the 10 races was $50,053,505, a 5.6 percent decrease from the $53,010,625 wagered on last year's Friday card. For the six Breeders' Cup races handle this year was $42,490,444 vs. $45,393,976 for a 6.4 percent decrease. Breeders' Cup officials noted that $2,195,465 was refunded because of two late scratches.

Sportslne Horseracing Betting News

<< Jelavic's hat trick leads Rangers over Dundee
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikica Jelavic scored a hat trick to take over the Scottish Premier League scoring lead from injured teammate Steven Naismith, as Rangers beat Dundee United, 3-1, on Saturday at Ibrox. Naismith was lo

<< MLB stars win fourth in a row in Taiwan
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Morse singled in two runs during the sixth inning to lift the Major League Baseball All-Stars to a 3-2 victory over the Chinese Taipei national team in the fourth of a five-game exhibition series.

<< Jets place D Enstrom on injured reserve
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Jets placed defenseman Tobias Enstrom on injured reserve Saturday. The move is retroactive to October 31. Enstrom suffered an apparent upper-body injury on that day in a game against the

<< Former PSU coach charged with sex crimes; AD charged with perjury
Harrisburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with numerous felony and misdemeanor offenses as the result of a grand jury investigation into sexual abuse of children, while the school'

<< Jets pay a visit to New Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils could be without some key players this evening as they battle for the first time this season at the Garden State's Prudential Center. The Devils return home after clai

Pavan wins Grand Final; Fleetwood takes rankings title >>
Puglia, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Pavan managed only an even-par 71 on Sunday, but it was good enough to hold off Tommy Fleetwood and win the Challenge Tour's season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final. Pavan finished 72 h

Djokovic beaten by Nishikori at Swiss Indoors >>
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan's Kei Nishikori upended world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Saturday's semifinals at the Swiss Indoors Basel tennis event, and will face Roger Federer in the final. Nishikori dropped the first set

Thome returns to Philadelphia >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies officially brought back on of the franchise's most popular players on Saturday, agreeing to a one-year contract with first baseman Jim Thome. "We're very happy to be able

Wrote wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European invader Wrote broke free down the stretch to capture Saturday's $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs. The two-year-old colt went 1:37.41 for the mile on a firm turf co

Browns RB Hillis out vs. Texans >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans. Hillis was limited in practice on Thursday but was expected to start before re-injuring his hamst

Horse Betting

(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.

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.