Solid dozen for Preakness

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/13/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2010 Triple Crown traveling carnival takes up residence in Baltimore this Saturday for the 135th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The 1 3/16-mile race has attracted an evenly matched field of 12 three-year-olds for the second leg of racing's three-bagger.

Five of the starters are coming in from the Kentucky Derby headed by Run for the Roses winner Super Saver. Also coming back from the two-week break are Derby third-place finisher Paddy O'Prado, defeated favorite and sixth-place finisher Lookin At Lucky, the seventh-place finisher Dublin and Jackson Bend who was 12th.

Super Saver, with Calvin Borel riding, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite after winning the Derby at 8-1. Lookin At Lucky, the 6-1 Derby favorite, is the 3-1 second choice and will start from post seven on the immediate inside of Super Saver.

"There's not a really bad post in the Preakness," Lookin At Lucky's trainer Bob Baffert said. "I've won the race. I remember that Real Quiet got the 11. He was training so great and he got the 11, and I was just sick for a couple of days. Then all of a sudden I realized that at the end of the day it's the horse. If you have the horse, it doesn't matter what post you come out of."

Paddy O'Prado has been made the 9-2 third program pick after a major move up in the Derby. He again will start from post 10 with Kent Desormeaux out to redeem himself after his much talked about ride two weeks ago.

"Really, in a 12-horse field, there's not a terrible position to have," noted Paddy's trainer Dale Romans, "I didn't want to be in the one or 12 if we could help it, and anything else we were going to be happy with. Paddy didn't have a problem with the 10-hole in the Derby and I'd like to have him on the inside of First Dude. It gives us a few more options maybe."

Romans has First Dude in the Preakness with the colt breaking from post 11 and 20-1 in the program.

My Derby pick Dublin will break from the outside post with Garrett Gomez picking up the ride after losing the mount on Lookin At Lucky. His seventh- place finish at Churchill Downs has him at 10-1 in the morning-line.

Jackson Bend finished 19-lengths behind Super Saver two weeks ago, but is back for another try. He will be ridden by Mike Smith from post six and is 12-1 in the program.

The two 30-1 longshots are Northern Giant and Yawanna Twist, posts four and five respectively. Northern Giant was ninth in the Arkansas Derby and will be ridden by Terry Thompson who was on Dublin in the Derby. Yawanna Twist was second in the Illinois Derby and again will be handled by Edgar Prado.

At 20-1, in addition to First Dude, are Aikenite and Pleasant Prince. Aikenite is trained by Pletcher and is coming off a second-place finish in the Derby Trial. His inside post position should not be a factor,

"I suppose one wouldn't have been my first choice for Aikenite," Pletcher said, "but I really don't think the post positions are hugely important in this race. Eight was very good. I'm very happy with that."

Former jockey Wesley Ward sends out Pleasant Prince who was third in the Derby Trial. Eclipse Award winner Julien Leparoux has the mount from post three.

"I'm happy. I guess if I'd have been choosing one, Id have chosen four, five or seven," said owner Ken Ramsey. "But I'm happy with three. There's not much you can do about it, just take what you get. It's a lot different from the Derby. You've got almost half the number of horses, 12 compared to 20."

Trainer Derek Ryan sends out Schoolyard Dreams for a try at a second straight in-the-money Preakness finish. Last year Musket Man was third in both the Preakness and Kentucky Derby. Schoolyard Dreams is 15-1 in the program and will start from post two with Eibar Coa riding.

"I'd rather be down there than stuck way out on the outside," Ryan noted, "so we've got no complaints. He likes to be pretty close to the pace."

The only gelding in the field is Caracortado trained by Mike Machowsky. Paul Atkinson comes in from California to ride from the nine hole. Undefeated as a two-year-old, Caracortado is 10-1 in the morning-line.

"I'm thinking I might put my horse on the lead or in the race early," said Machowsky, "and I think the only other horse that has any sort of speed inside of me is Jackson Bend. We drew well. It's a solid field. I was talking to somebody this morning thinking that it's one of the best Preakness fields in a while as far as anybody can win it. I think all 12 horses have a shot."

Machowsky is absolutely correct. Any of the 12 has a chance to win the Preakness this year. That is why I will not be singling any of the entrants.

I liked Dublin in the Derby and will use him in a four horse exacta box. Along with Dublin I'm including Super Saver, Aikenite and Paddy O'Prado.

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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%.

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