Zenyatta claims third straight Clement L. Hirsch

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Undefeated champion Zenyatta successfully negotiated Del Mar's synthetic surface Saturday on her way to winning the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes. The six-year-old mare extended her career unbeaten streak to 18 races, including three consecutive Hirsch Stakes.

Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta was ridden again by Mike Smith, who received a pre-race kiss from Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone. Zenyatta sits atop the National Thoroughbred Poll and is now perfect in four starts this year.

The pace in the Hirsch was set by Rinterval. Racing in second was Dance to My Tune followed by Princess Taylor and Made for Magic. Zenyatta, who normally is last in the early going, was fifth in the six-horse field with Spring Style in sixth.

As the field entered the far turn, Zenyatta made her move to the front. Smith had her on the outside around the final turn and into the stretch. The champion mare easily went past Rinterval with a furlong to run.

Trained by John Shirreffs, Zenyatta held off a determined Rinterval down the stretch. The winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Classic posted a head victory over Rinterval.

"She literally was playing," Smith said about the 1-10 favorite.

Finishing third was Princess Taylor followed by Spring Style, Dance to My Tune and Made for Magic.

Zenyatta covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:45.03.

Zenyatta adds $180,000 to her career earnings, which now stands at $6.15 million. In her four wins this year the champion has earned $780,000.

Zenyatta began her 2010 campaign by winning the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita Park and followed with a win as the 1-20 favorite in Oaklawn Park's Apple Blossom Handicap. She won the Vanity Handicap for a second straight time in her previous start.

Zenyatta is a two-time Eclipse Award winner as champion older female.

Zenyatta returned $2.20 and $2.10, and Rinterval paid $3.80 for place. There was no show wagering.

Wwclassifieds2000 Horseracing Betting News

<< Twins pull away from Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.J. Hardy's run-scoring single in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Cleveland Indians, 7-2, in the second test of a three-game series at Progres

<< Napoli helps Angels crush Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Napoli finished 2-for-5 with three RBI as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim trounced Detroit, 10-1, in the middle installment of a three-game set from Comerica Park. Juan Rivera added two hits,

<< Ramirez drives in winning run in 10th as Marlins down St. Louis
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hanley Ramirez tripled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the Florida Marlins beat St. Louis, 5-4, in the second portion of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium. Chad Tracy lined a

<< Mets' Santana outduels Phils' Hamels thanks to Francoeur homer
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francoeur's leadoff home run in the seventh inning resulted in the game's only run, as Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez combined on a five-hitter in New York's 1-0 blanking of Philadelphia in the

<< Revs edge United in Eastern clash
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution edged D.C. United, 1-0, in a battle of Major League Soccer's Eastern table bottom feeders at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. The Revs (5-9-3) got a goal from midfielder

Brewers get to Myers, down Astros >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - George Kottaras belted a solo homer and Rickie Weeks hit an inside-the-parker, as the Brewers edged the Astros, 5-2, to take the second meeting of a three-game set. Prince Fielder drove in a pair

Glenn-Bruce combo carries Hamilton past Winnipeg >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Glenn threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats held on to defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 29-22, at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Arland Bruce had his second straight big ga

RSL earns draw at Kansas City >>
Kansas City, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and the Kansas City Wizards battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday night. First-half goals by Kei Kamara and Robbie Findley ensur

Rios, White Sox edge Orioles >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios came through with a base hit in the eighth to plate the deciding run as the White Sox cooled off the streaking Orioles with a 4-2 win in the continuation of a four-game series from Camden Yards.

Niners lose LB Brooks to lacerated kidney >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks will miss at least the next two weeks after being diagnosed with a lacerated kidney. It was said Brooks suffered the injury during a Friday practice

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.

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.