07/27/2008 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derby Trial winner Macho Again pulled a major upset in Sunday's $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The 1 1/8 mile Jim Dandy is the traditional local prep race for the $1 million Travers on Saturday, August 23.
A field of seven three-year-olds went postward for the Jim Dandy, including Belmont Stakes champ Da' Tara and Louisiana Derby winner Pyro. Pyro went off as the 3-2 favorite and Da' Tara was the 7-2 second choice.
Taking the lead out of the gate was Da' Tara, who went wire-to-wire in winning this year's Belmont Stakes. Joining him on the lead up the backstretch was Dwyer Stakes winner Mint Lane.
Entering the far turn, Mint Lane took the lead as Da' Tara began to tire. Moving into contention was Tale of Ekati and Macho Again with Julien Leparoux riding.
Coming out of the final turn, Tale of Ekati had the lead with Mint Lane in second. At the top of the stretch Tiz Now Tiz Then was in first followed by Macho Again on the inside and Pyro ranging up on the outside.
In mid-stretch Macho Again took the lead from Tiz Now Tiz Then and Pyro powered into second. Macho Again hit the wire a half-length in front of Pyro with Tiz Now Tiz Then in third and Tale of Ekati holding on for fourth.
Rounding out the order of finish for the 45th Jim Dandy Stakes was Anak Nakal, Mint Lane and Da' Tara. Alaazo was scratched.
The final time was 1:51.16 on a track listed as good.
Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Macho Again earned $300,000 with the victory in his first start since a fifth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes. The gray colt has now won four of 11 career starts for $673,761.
"The colt is jumping out of his skin," trainer Dallas Stewart said before the race. "He has been very keen and feeling good. He loves this track, and he has freshened up nicely. We expect a big summer from him."
After winning the Derby Trial, Macho Again was held out of the Kentucky Derby to train for the Preakness Stakes. He finished second to Big Brown in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown as a 39-1 longshot.
For the Jim Dandy, Macho Again paid $18.40, $5.30 and $3.40. Pyro returned $3.40 and $2.90, Tiz Now Tiz Then paid $4.70 to show.
Macho Again may still face Big Brown in the 139th running of the $1 million Travers. Big Brown is currently being trained for next Sunday's Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
"At this point, we're taking it one step at a time," said Michael Sherack, vice-president of IEAH Stables. "Sunday's race will determine what happens."
Earlier on the program, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux became the 23rd rider in thoroughbred history to reach the 5,000-win plateau. He did it in the seventh race at Saratoga aboard Bella Attrice.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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