Gio Ponti captures Arlington Million XXVII

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/08/2009 - Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gio Ponti, sent off as the 3-2 favorite, overcame a stumble at the start to win Saturday's running of the 27th Arlington Million at Arlington Park. The 1 1/4 mile race is part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" program allowing Gio Ponti to gain automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Turf this year at Santa Anita Park.

Setting the pace was speedster Presious Passion. The six-year-old gelding led by as many as 10-lengths on the turf course initially labeled as yielding. Racing in second was Gloria de Campeao followed by Einstein and Mr. Sidney in the eight-horse field.

Presious Passion, ridden by Elvis Trujillo, still had the lead going into the far turn with Mr. Sidney moving into second and Gio Ponti gaining to reach the leaders.

On the final turn Mr. Sidney was first with Gio Ponti and jockey Ramon Dominguez along side. The favorite assumed the lead coming out of the turn and began widening his lead.

Down the stretch Gio Ponti, trained by Christophe Clement, continued his drive as Stotsfold and Just as Well both rallied from off the pace. Gio Ponti posted a 1 1/4-length victory over the hard charging Just as Well with Stotsfold finishing third.

Completing the order of finish was Cima de Triomphe, Einstein, Mr. Sidney, Gloria de Campeao and Presious Passion.

Recapturetheglory, winner of the 2008 Illinois Derby, was scratched Saturday morning because trainer and co-owner Louie Roussel had indicated all week that Recapturetheglory needed to have firm ground to perform at his best.

The time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:04.19 on an Arlington turf course listed as good.

Gio Ponti is owned by Castleton Lyons and picks up $588,000 with the victory. The four-year-old colt has won four of five starts this year for more than $1.3 million. In his career, he has banked more than $2.1 million with nine wins in 14 starts.

Gio Ponti has won four straight stakes races, including the Frank E. Kilroe and Manhattan Handicaps, and Man o' War Stakes. As a three-year-old in 2008, Gio Ponti won the Hill Prince Stakes and Virginia Derby.

Gio Ponti paid $5.00, $3.40 and $2.60. Just as Well returned $11.80 and $6.80, and Stotsfold paid $9.80 to show.

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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.

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