Alpha rolls to victory in Withers
Horseracing Betting Lines
02/04/2012 -
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Alpha cruised to victory on
Saturday in the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct. The race, which was not
run last year, is a prep event for Aqueduct's $1 million Wood Memorial on
April 7.
Sent off as the 3-10 favorite in the six-horse field, Alpha was never far off
the pace that was being set by How Do I Win. With Ramon Dominguez riding, the
favorite drew even with the leader on the final turn and took command at the
top of the stretch.
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Alpha went on to post a 3 1/4-length victory
over 44-1 longshot Speightscity. Coming from last to finish third was 6-1
third pick Tiger Walk followed by How Do I Win, King Kid and Hakama. Swag
Daddy was a scratch.
The favorite covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:44.23 on a fast track.
"He was great in the gate," said McLaughlin. "We've been schooling him a lot.
It worked out today. Obviously it's nice to be outside, but at some point he's
going to have to be inside, so we'll see how our schooling is working.
"I think he improved some (from the Count Fleet) because of how wide he was
both trips, and he was better in the gate. He gets a better grade for this
race - if it was a 'B' last time, he gets an 'A' this time."
Owned by Godolphin Racing, Alpha adds $120,000 to his earnings. In five career
starts the colt has three wins for $300,000.
He was the 4-5 favorite when winning last month's Count Fleet Stakes at
Aqueduct. The colt, whose sire Bernardini won the Withers in 2006, was second
to Union Rags in the Champagne Stakes last October, but only 11th in the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
"The plans will be to talk to Simon Crisford from Godolphin to see which way
to go," said McLaughlin. "He's here in New York right now, but he could
relocate, or he could run back in the Gotham in a month. We'll just have to
talk about it. At least we got $120,000 in graded earnings going forward to
the first Saturday in May. That's important."
Alpha returned $2.70, $2.50 and $2.10. Speightscity paid $16.20 and $5.40, and
Tiger Walk paid $2.90 to show.
<< No. 4 Stanford cruises past Arizona
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joslyn Tinkle led the way with 22 points and 11
rebounds and No. 4 Stanford demolished Arizona, 91-51, on Saturday.
All five starters scored in double figures including Chiney Ogwumike, who had
18 points and 1
<< Moultrie lifts No. 22 Mississippi State over Auburn
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and pulled
down seven rebounds to lift No. 22 Mississippi State to a 91-88 win over
Auburn.
Renardo Sidney had 17 points, Dee Bost added 15 points with seven assists
<< North Carolina downs Maryland
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller scored 22 points and Harrison
Barnes had 18, as No. 5 North Carolina used a late surge to down Maryland,
83-74, at Comcast Center on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 ACC) had lost fi
<< Schenkeveld brace lifts Excelsior out of the cellar
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by a two-goal performance from
Bart Schenkeveld, Excelsior climbed out of last place thanks to a 3-1 win over
10-man Venlo on Saturday.
The Dutch defender, on loan from Feyenoord, grabbed goals
<< Wyoming upsets No. 11 UNLV
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz netted 16
points apiece as Wyoming upset No. 11 UNLV, 68-66, on Saturday.
Luke Martinez added 15 points and Adam Waddell contributed 14 for Wyoming
(18-5, 4-3 Mountain
Levin extends lead at Phoenix Open >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spencer Levin didn't have the kind of
big performance he put together during his first two days at the Phoenix Open,
but avoided big mistakes Saturday and emerged with a commanding lead.
Levin shot a
Battle Hardened gains victory at Tampa Bay >>
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lightly raced Battle Hardened came from off the
pace to capture Saturday's $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
The 1 1/16-mile race is the final local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby on March
10.
Northern Iowa knocks off No. 13 Creighton >>
Cedar Rapids, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After Antoine Young's three-pointer from
the top of the arc tied the game at 62 with five seconds remaining, Anthony
James raced up the floor and buried a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer,
lifting
Nager elected USGA president >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Golf Association announced
on Saturday that Glen D. Nager has been elected the 62nd president of the
organization.
"It is a privilege to serve the game of golf," said Nager. "I look f
I'll Have Another surprises to win Robert B. Lewis Stakes >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I'll Have Another, the longest shot in the
field, pulled an upset in Saturday's $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa
Anita Park. The 1 1/16-mile stakes is a stepping stone to the $750,000 Santa
Anita D
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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