June 12 targeted for Rachel Alexandra start

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/01/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra came out of her Memorial Day workout in fine condition and will likely make her next start on June 12.

"We were impressed with Rachel's Memorial Day work breezing six furlongs 1:11.20," noted majority owner Jess Jackson, "and galloping out a mile in 1:38. Her next work is Monday, June 7.

"Assuming she continues to progress, we are considering one of the following June 12 races for Rachel's next preparation: The Stephen Foster, The Fleur de Lis, The Ogden Phipps or The Obeah."

The Stephen Foster is a handicap race at Churchill Downs where the champion filly would take on male thoroughbreds. Also at Churchill will be the Fleur de Lis for fillies and mares.

The Ogden Phipps is a handicap at Belmont Park for fillies and mares. Zardana, who beat Rachel in the New Orleans Ladies, is scheduled to enter the Phipps. The Obeah is a prep race for the Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park for fillies and mares.

"Our ultimate goal has not changed in scheduling Rachel Alexandra's campaign this year," Jackson added. "We are getting her back to her fitness level of last year with the long term hope to race her in the Breeders' Cup this fall."

Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, the champion racehorse is still seeking her first win of the year. She suffered her first loss of 2010, after going undefeated in eight starts last year, at the Fair Grounds on March 13 to Zardana by three-quarters of a length in the New Orleans Ladies Classic. Rachel was again second in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs on April 30 to Unrivaled Belle.

In 2009 the filly defeated three-year-old colts in the Preakness and Haskell Invitational, and older males in the Woodward.

Rachel Alexandra has career earnings of just over $3 million with 11 wins in 16 lifetime races.

Meanwhile, undefeated mare Zenyatta is being prepared for her next race on June 13 in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. The six-year-old has won the last two editions of the Vanity and is perfect in 16 career starts.

Zenyatta was scheduled to work Tuesday morning in her next-to-last drill for the $250,000 Vanity. This year she won the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita Park and the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park.

Casinoonlinewagering Horseracing Betting News

<< Soderling stuns Federer in French quarters
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a rematch of last year's final, Robin Soderling stunned defending champion Roger Federer in Tuesday's quarterfinal action at the French Open. With the loss, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal f

<< Niemi standing tall for Hawks
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The consensus among hockey experts is that the Chicago Blackhawks' biggest weakness is in net, but so far in the Stanley Cup Finals, Antti Niemi has not cooperated with that assessment. Niemi almost single

<< Slovenia makes final roster cuts
Ljubljana, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek trimmed his World Cup roster to 23 players Tuesday, making Dejan Kelhar, Darjan Matic and Mirnes Sisic the final three cuts. Matjaz previously trimmed his 30-man preliminary

<< Nigeria's Anichebe cut due to injury
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nigeria striker Victor Anichebe was left off the team's World Cup roster due to an injury, it was announced Tuesday. Anichebe, who plays for Everton in the English Premier League, was a notable omissio

<< Mauer continues to lead AL All-Star balloting
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer is the top vote-getter after the second set of American League All-Star balloting results. The reigning American League Most Valuable Player has drawn 1

A wide-open Belmont Stakes >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not since 2006 have the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners both failed to show up for the Belmont Stakes. That year the race was won by Jazil, a horse with just one win in seven career starts. This y

Houston, New York aiming for consistency in mid-week clash >>
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo travel to take on Red Bull New York in a mid-week Major League Soccer fixture between two teams that have taken decidedly different paths to their current .500 records. The Dynamo have b

Pirates trade for P Eveland >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired left-hander Dana Eveland from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for minor league pitcher Ronald Uviedo. The 26-year-old Eveland compiled a 3-4 record with a

Eastern Kentucky's home opener pushed back >>
Richmond, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Kentucky's home opener against Division II Kentucky State has been pushed back one week to Oct. 2 due to a scheduling conflict. The starting time has yet to be announced for the game originally schedul

De Foy, Weber honored with media awards >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League Hall of Fame announced Marc de Foy will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for hockey journalism and Ron Weber will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for out

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.