Pyro set for big Blue Grass Stakes

Horseracing Betting Lines

04/09/2008 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louisiana Derby winner Pyro headlines a field of 12 for Saturday's $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The 1 1/8 mile race is one of the last major prep races for this year's Kentucky Derby.

Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Pyro has been made the even-money favorite and will start from post seven with Shaun Bridgmohan returning to ride. Bridgmohan has been the only jockey to ever be on the colt's back.

Pyro has career earnings of $1.05 million with three wins in six starts, going two for two this year. In February he easily won the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds. Last year he was second to War Pass in both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Champagne Stakes.

Steve Asmussen, trainer of leading thoroughbred Curlin, conditions Pyro and belives the three-year-old set for a big effort.

"It looks like he's right on target," said Asmussen.

The 4-1 second choice is Fountain of Youth Stakes winner Cool Coal Man. One of Nick Zito's three-year-olds, Cool Coal Man will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux from the inside post.

Zito decided to give Cool Coal Man some extra time to run at Keeneland rather than come back in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 29.

"I really wanted a fresh horse," said Zito. "He's two-for-two this year and he certainly looks good, so I just wanted some kind of chance for this horse in the Derby and I hope we get it. I would prefer to have run on a conventional track like Churchill Downs, but the Blue Grass is a good race and I've been lucky in it a lot of times, too. And I saw what Street Sense did last year, and if he could run that kind of race I'll take it and then maybe we'll get lucky in the big one."

Owned by Robert LaPenta, Cool Coal Man has won both starts this year and has captured four of seven lifetime races for $307,531.

LaPenta and Zito will also start Stevil in the Blue Grass. Coming off a fifth place finish in the Louisiana Derby, the gray colt will start from post four and is 30-1 in the morning-line. No rider has been named.

A pair of horses have been installed as co-third choices. Tampa Bay Derby champ Big Truck and Gotham Stakes winner Visonaire are each 6-1 in the program.

Big Truck, with Eibar Coa riding, will break from post six and Visionaire will start from the far outside with Jose Lezcano in the saddle.

Trainer Barcaly Tagg, fresh off a win in the Wood Memorial with Tale of Ekati, conditions Big Truck for Eric Fein. The colt has won three of seven career starts for $336,880.

Visionaire is owned by Vision Racing and Team Valor, and has Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz in charge. The chestnut colt was third to Pyro in the Risen Star Stakes two months back.

The three-year-old has banked $228,260 with three wins in five lifetime starts.

Here is the complete field in position oder for the Blue Grass Stakes: Cool Coal Man, Kent Desormeaux, 4-1; Kentucky Bear, Jamie Theriot, 50-1; Cowboy Cal, John Velazquez, 15-1; Stevil, no rider, 30-1; Monba, Edgar Prado, 15-1; Big Truck, Eibar Coa, 6-1; Pyro, Shaun Bridgmohan, 1-1; Stone Bird, Corey Lanerie, 50-1; Medjool, Michael Baze, 30-1; Miners Claim, Patrick Husbands, 20-1; Halo Najib, Garrett Gomez, 15-1 and Visionaire, Jose Lezcano, 6-1.

Todd Pletcher trains both Cowboy Cal and Monba.

Last year Street Sense followed a second place finish to Dominican in the Blue Grass with a win in the Run for the Roses and a second to Curlin in the Preakess Stakes.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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