Breeders' Cup ultimate goal for Mine That Bird

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/21/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in his barn, the veteran horseman needs to map out a way to get the gelding to the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Owners Leonard Blach and Mark Allen decided this week to transfer the four- year-old from Chip Woolley to Lukas. Mine That Bird was vanned from New Mexico to Churchill Downs and arrived early Thursday evening.

"Chip is a close friend of mine, and he done us a heck of a job last year," Allen said. "But I have a stable of horses back there that I really need looked after, and Mr. Lukas and some other trainers threw their hat in the ring. When a legend throws his hat in the ring, it's hard to go against him."

Mine That Bird, winner of nearly $2.2 million, has not won since his 50-1 upset in last year's Run for the Roses. He was second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes.

He was third in the West Virginia Derby last year and then underwent throat surgery for an entrapped epiglottis. He returned to finish sixth in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita and closed 2009 with a ninth-place result behind Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

"He's such a gutty little competitor," said Lukas. "Looking at him here taking his bath, I think he looks better than I've ever seen him. The time off has really served him well. He looks better to me right now, and talking to the people who've been around him, I think he's doing better right now than he has. So, I've got a little bit of an edge there. I'm getting a nice horse with some good condition. I'm very pleased with what I see. For a horse that just got off a 12-hour van ride, that rascal looks pretty damned good."

Mine That Bird's route to the Breeders' Cup has not been mapped out, but it's likely he will race exclusively on real dirt tracks. This year's Breeders' Cup will held at Churchill Downs which has a natural dirt surface.

"That's our goal - right there," Allen said. "We're going to keep him here and not ship him around like we did last year. That took a lot out of him, and a lot of that was my fault. We're going let Mr. Lukas do his magic on him, but that's our goal: the Breeders' Cup."

While based at Churchill Downs, Mine That Bird will still be shipped to other tracks for major stakes races.

"I haven't talked with Mark or Dr. Blach about probably which races we'd want to target," Lukas said. "But I'm sure the Whitney's going to jump right out there, and maybe the Suburban at Belmont could be another possibility. Then they've got the Salvatore Mile over at Monmouth Park, which is another option. So there are plenty of options. The ultimate goal, of course, would be the Breeders' Cup. Whatever we do, we'll work backwards from the Breeders' Cup to make sure we look good here."

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“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.

New York Giants betting lines

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.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

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.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

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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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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