05/11/2008 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recapturetheglory, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, has been declared out of the Preakness Stakes after showing a fever Friday night.
"We took his temperature last night (Friday)," assistant trainer Lara Van Deren said Saturday morning from Louisville. "He just wasn't acting right. He was backing up against the gate in the stall and he never does that. This morning his temperature was over 102."
Co-owner Ronnie Lamarque made the official announcement Saturday that the Illinois Derby winner will not run in the second leg of racing's Triple Crown.
"The racehorse comes first," said Lamarque, who teamed up with co-owner and trainer Louie Roussel to win the Preakness 20 years ago with Risen Star. "He had a slight temperature plus a slight pulse in his right front toe. For betterment of racing we are electing to give this horse some time and let him regroup. We are sorry we will not be coming to Baltimore but I know it is going to be a great race. We are really going to miss the Preakness experience. We felt we had a live chance to turn the tables on Big Brown."
Van Deren said Sunday that Recapturetheglory was doing much better a day after running a 102-degree temperature.
"Yesterday was real tough," Van Deren said. "He will probably leave tomorrow for Chicago and miss three or four days of training."
The defection of Recapturetheglory means that for the first time in 60 years no other horses from the Kentucky Derby will challenge Big Brown.
Trainer Dallas Stewart has informed Pimlico that Derby Trial champ Macho Again will start in the Preakness.
"We have been looking at the field," Stewart said. "We know Big Brown is there but we feel we can compete with those other horses. Looking at the race I think we have an excellent shot of beating a lot of horses in the race. It is a good field but we feel we fit."
Macho Again will be ridden by Julien Leparoux, who was aboard for the Derby Trial victory.
"The horse has been doing well since the race," added Stewart. "You got a marquee race. Everybody wants to run in these three Triple Crown races. One horse is not going to scare everybody. If Big Brown does not perform, you have a chance to win the Preakness."
Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Macho Again walked the shedrow Sunday morning at Churchill Downs' Barn 35 after working a half-mile in :50.80 the day before.
Also on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown jogged one mile with Michelle Nevin up accompanied by a pony.
Tres Borrachos. the third-place finisher in the Arkansas Derby, galloped 1 miles under Andy Durnin and was outfitted in blinkers for the first time.
"In his races, horses would come up to him and he'd back up a little and then come again," trainer and co-owner Beau Greely said about the use of blinkers. "I want to see what Andy thinks about them, but it looks like he was relaxed galloping today. He may have them on when he works Tuesday and then we'll make a decision."
Stevil galloped 1 miles under Dylan Armstrong in Louisville for trainer Nick Zito and also walking the shedrow was Racecar Rhapsody. The Ken McPeek-trainee had worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Saturday.
With the Preakness post position draw slated for Wednesday, there are now 12 confirmed starters. Harlem Rocker is listed as possible.
<< United captures title with win over Wigan
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs scored
goals to help Manchester United retain the Premiership title with a 2-0 win
over Wigan at The JJB Stadium on Sunday.
United entered the day level on 84 point
<< Otto holds off Wilson to win Italian Open
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hennie Otto fended off a stiff charge from
Oliver Wilson on Sunday to win the Italian Open, shooting a three-under 69 in
the final round to claim his first European Tour victory.
Otto, who shot a 63 in
<< O's select contract of Cintron
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles selected the
contract of infielder Alex Cintron from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.
Baltimore signed the 29-year-old Cintron to a minor league deal on March 31.
He batted .288
<< Yankees place Betemit on DL
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees placed infielder Wilson
Betemit on the 15-day disabled list Sunday.
Betemit left Saturday's 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the fourth inning
with a strained right hamstring.
Bet
Yankees-Tigers postponed due to heavy rain >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's scheduled series finale between the
New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers was postponed due to rain.
No make-up date for the game was announced.
Diamondbacks' Johnson scratched from start >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Randy
Johnson was scratched from his scheduled start against the Chicago Cubs on
Sunday due to wet weather conditions.
Edgar Gonzalez was tabbed to start in Johnson's pl
Zambrano, Johnson scratched from Cubs/D-Backs game due to rain >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rainy conditions at Wrigley Field caused both
the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks to shelf their starting
pitchers, Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson, respectively, on Sunday.
Weather perm
Ljubicic wins war in Hamburg opener >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia was among a trio
of winners during the opening day of play at the Hamburg Masters Series open
on Sunday.
Ljubicic survived a three hour war to edge Steve Darcis of Belgium, 6-7
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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