Richard's Kid out to defend Pacific Classic title

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard's Kid, trained by Bob Baffert, will defend his crown in Saturday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar versus nine challengers. The winner of the 1 1/4-mile stakes will automatically gain entry into this year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November.

Won last year by Richard's Kid on Labor Day, the Pacific Classic will mark its 20th running this weekend. The five-year-old thoroughbred can become the third horse to win the stakes in consecutive years.

Owned by Zabeel Racing, Richard's Kid will start from post six with Mike Smith riding. Smith rode Richard's Kid in last year's Classic. Smith also won the 2002 Classic with Came Home.

In his last two starts, both with Martin Garcia aboard, the horse finished third both times.

Richard's Kid is the winner of seven of 25 career races for just under $1 million. Last month he was third in the Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar and earlier in July finished behind Awesome Gem and Rail Trip in the Hollywood Gold Cup.

His only win since last year's Classic was in February's San Antonio Handicap at Santa Anita. Also this year, Richard's Kid was seventh in the Dubai World Cup.

San Diego Handicap winner Dakota Phone will attempt to duplicate stablemate Blind Luck's victory in last week's Alabama. The five-year-old gelding will be ridden by Joel Rosario from post three. Rosario was aboard Blind Luck for the Alabama win. Jerry Hollendorfer trains both horses.

Dakota Phone's San Diego win snapped a 16-race losing streak by the Kentucky- bred. He had won on November 28, 2008 at Golden Gate Fields in the Forty Niner Stakes. In 29 career starts, the five-year-old has five wins and $583.810.

"We've had this horse a long time," noted the trainer, "and made money, but he's done it the hard way (not winning often)."

Awesome Gem, winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup, has drawn post nine with jockey David Flores. The seven-year-old gelding is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and trained by Craig Dollase.

The chestnut gelding this year posted runner-up finishes in the Charles Town Classic and Lone Star Park Handicap. He was third in the New Orleans Handicap and eighth in this year's Frank Kilroe Handicap at Santa Anita Park.

In his career the gelding has won seven of 36 starts for more than $2.2 million.

This will be Awesome Gem's fourth straight start in the Pacific Classic. He was second to Student Council in 2007 and seventh in each of the last two editions.

Here is the complete field for the Pacific Classic in post position order: Battle of Hastings, Brice Blanc, 10-1; Isle Of Giant's, Patrick Valenzuela, 30-1; Dakota Phone, Joel Rosario, 6-1; Temple City, Rafael Bejarano, 5-1; Unusual Suspect, Alonso Quinonez, 20-1; Richard's Kid, Mike Smith, 7-2; Hold Me Back, Garrett Gomez, 8-1; Crowded House, Corey Nakatani, 20-1; Awesome Gem, David Flores, 9-2 and The Usual Q.T., Victor Espinoza, 3-1.

All ten runners will carry 124 pounds.

Best Pal, a new Hall of Fame inductee, won the inaugural running in 1991. Tinner's Way won back-to-back Classics in 1994 and 1995, and Skimming duplicated that feat in 2000 and 2001. In 2006, Lava Man won the Pacific Classic along with the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.