Thursday morning jogs for Preakness favorites

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/13/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thursday morning was a time for several of the Preakness starters, including the three favorites, to get acquainted with Pimlico Race Course. The only one of the 12 not at Pimlico is Schoolyard Dreams, who will arrive Friday.

Both of trainer Todd Pletcher's Preakness horses, Super Saver and Aikenite, visited the track Thursday morning. Both colts took a mile jog around Pimlico.

The colts shipped to Pimlico from Churchill Downs on Wednesday and Pletcher said they have settled into their new surroundings.

"We took him (Super Saver) out and gave him an easy jog once around the track," Pletcher said. "The track was sloppy and we weren't looking to do much, but I thought he handled everything really well. He had a good night; rested well and cleaned up his grain. His energy level is very good. It seems like he's shipped in as well as we could have hoped."

Pletcher said that his colts would go back to the track to gallop Friday morning: Aikenite at 6 a.m. (et) and Super Saver a half-hour later.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert sent out Lookin At Lucky for an easy 1 3/8- mile jog under exercise rider Dana Barnes Thursday morning. It was the first visit to the track at Pimlico for the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite.

"He went nice. He just sort of got a feel for it," Baffert said. "On a muddy track you can't really get a good grip of it, but he looked good. That's not the surface we're going to be running on. He got a good look at the track around there. When there [aren't] any horses training on it, it's sort of weird for him, but he took in all the sights pretty good. He went easy around there. We don't do much once we get here with him. He's doing well."

Paddy O'Prado, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, showed good energy during his jog around the Pimlico track Thursday morning.

"He bounced out of the Derby as though he never ran," said trainer Dale Romans. "That's why we're here. We normally wouldn't wheel one back in two weeks."

The updated weather forecast for the Preakness calls for sunny skies and a post-time temperature near 75.

Post-time Saturday is 6:12 p.m. (et).

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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.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson
rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.