Pletcher to have two for the Preakness

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/11/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher will have two starters, including Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

The middle jewel of racing's Triple Crown is expected to have a field of 13 three-year-olds.

"He came out of the work (Monday) very well," Pletcher said about Super Saver. "Everything is on 'go,' so we're planning on getting on the plane in the morning."

In addition to Super Saver, with Calvin Borel in the saddle, Pletcher will send out Derby Trial runner-up Aikenite. Javier Castellano has the Preakness mount on Aikenite.

Pletcher will not start Louisiana Derby champ Mission Impazible in Saturday's 1 3/16-mile race. The colt finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby.

"We were on the fence with him and never had fully committed to going," Pletcher said. "We wanted to see how he trained and felt like at the end of the day that he needed a little more time."

The four-time champion trainer noted that Monmouth Park's Haskell Invitational in August is on Mission Impazible's 2010 schedule.

Pletcher, who won his first Kentucky Derby this year, is also after his first Preakness victory.

"We anticipated a full gate and I guess it's close to that," Pletcher said. "It's an interesting Preakness to me with what looks like eight newcomers who did not participate in the Derby. We're happy to be coming with the Derby winner and feel like he's doing very well."

Expected to join Super Saver and Aikenite in the 135th Preakness are Northern Giant, Caracortado, First Dude, Dublin, Hurricane Ike, Jackson Bend, Lookin At Lucky, Paddy O'Prado, Pleasant Prince, Schoolyard Dreams and Yawanna Twist.

Startluckcasino Horseracing Betting News

<< Maxwell to miss Barca finale
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona has confirmed that Maxwell will miss its La Liga title decider against Real Valladolid through injury. The Brazil defender limped out of Saturday's 3-2 victory over Sevilla and scans have c

<< Toole new Robert Morris hoops coach
Moon Township, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Morris University has named Andrew Toole as the school's new head basketball coach. Toole, an assistant with the Colonials for the last three seasons, takes over for Mike Rice, who left to

<< McClaren takes charge at Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former England boss Steve McClaren has decided to leave newly-crowned Dutch champions Twente to join deposed German champions Wolfsburg on a three-year contract. McClaren had been linked with a num

<< Sunderland completes Riveros signing
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has made Paraguay international Cristian Riveros his first signing of the summer. The 27-year-old, who has been included in his country's World Cup squad, moves to Wearsid

<< U.S. leaves Davies off preliminary Cup roster
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - United States coach Bob Bradley left injured striker Charlie Davies off the preliminary 30-man World Cup roster, which was announced Tuesday. Davies emerged as a likely starter for the World Cup during the

Fulham's Hodgson handed LMA honor >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham's Roy Hodgson has been named as the League Managers' Association's manager of the year. Hodgson took the honors at the LMA's annual dinner, having guided Fulham to 12th place in the Premier Le

Hornets interview Frank, Williams >>
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -The New Orleans Hornets continue to interview candidates for their vacant coaching job; former NBA head coach Lawrence Frank and current Portland assistant Monty Williams are the latest.Team spokesman Harold Kaufman confirms that F

Game 7, again: Canadiens take Pens to last game >>
PITTSBURGH (AP) -The Penguins' record in home Game 7s isn't very good. The Canadiens' Game 7 record this spring couldn't be any better.For the second successive playoff series, the Canadiens have forced a Game 7. After upsetting NHL regular season c

NBA releases early entry withdrawals list >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Purdue guard E'Twaun Moore and forward JaJuan Johnson were among the list of 29 early entry candidates who withdrew their names from the June 24 NBA Draft, according to the league. Moore averaged 16

Lazio's Radu plays down Citizens link >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio's Romanian defender Stefan Radu wants to stay put with the Serie A club, despite having been linked with a summer move to Manchester City. The 23-year-old still has another year left on his current

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.