Mine That Bird works with eye toward Travers
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/25/2009 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One week after undergoing successful throat surgery, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird worked six-furlongs Tuesday morning at Saratoga Race Course. A final decision on his entry into the $1 million Travers Stakes is expected on Wednesday.
"Doc (Dr. James Hunt) is happy with the way he looked today," said trainer Chip Woolley. "He'll look at it again in the morning, and we'll make a final decision in the morning. If we irritated his throat today, and it looks bad, we won't run him. If he's not irritated in the morning, you have to feel like he's doing OK. It's just that simple. We're not going to take chances with him. If we see something in there we don't like, we're not going to run."
The three-year-old gelding had throat surgery last Tuesday for an entrapped epiglottis. Dr. Patricia Hogan performed the surgery at the Ruffian Equine Medical Center located across the street from Belmont Park.
Jockey Jamie Theriot was aboard for Tuesday's work. He was timed for a half- mile in 49.76, five-furlongs in 1:01 4/5, and finished six-furlongs in 1:14.80.
"His work was pretty nice, we couldn't ask for much more right now," said Woolley. "He looked really strong and the numbers show he's striding right on out past the wire. That part of it I have no problem with, we just don't want to do anything with him that might be detrimental down the road, long-term. He's got to come first.
"He's galloped strong, but this is the first time we put the hammer down on him and let him stress. We have to make sure he's 100-percent. He's too important to us and too important to the racing community right now."
Owned by Dr. Leonard Bloch and Mark Allen, who were both looking on Tuesday morning, Mine That Bird was a 50-1 longshot when he won the Kentucky Derby. Two weeks later he was second in the Preakness Stakes to the filly Rachel Alexandra and was third to Summer Bird in the Belmont Stakes.
Mine That Bird, 2008 Canadian champion two-year-old, has earned $1,892,200 with one win in six starts in 2009.
Rachel Alexandra will not start in the Travers, instead she will take on older handicap horses the following week at Saratoga in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes. The Woodward is 1 1/8 miles while the Travers is run at 1 1/4 miles.
Summer Bird is expected to be in the Travers along with Florida Derby winner Quality Road and Jim Dandy champ Kensei. The field for the Mid-Summer Derby will be drawn on Wednesday.
Should Mine That Bird not go in the Travers, Woolley said the gelding will not start in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park on Labor Day. Mine That Bird is scheduled to lead the post parade for the $2 million All America Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico on Labor Day.
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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
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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.
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