Quality Road cuts into Zenyatta's lead

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/01/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quality Road, fresh off a victory in the Met Mile, has closed the gap with Zenyatta in the latest NTRA Thoroughbred Poll. Holding on in third is Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky, who also remains first in the three-year-old poll.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Quality Road won the Met Mile on Memorial Day by 1 1/2-lengths over Musket Man and was rewarded with five additional first-place votes from last week.

Zenyatta, who will start in the Vanity Handicap on June 13, has 13 first-place votes and 184 points. She leads Quality Road by 14 points, 12 fewer than the last poll.

Lookin At Lucky is third with 116 points followed by Rachel Alexandra (67), Blind Luck (63), Misremembered (61), Blame (51), Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver (50), Unrivaled Belle (37) and Tuscan Evening (35).

In the NTRA Three-Year-Old Poll, Lookin At Lucky received 16 first-place votes and 187 points. His lead over Super Saver increased by five points. Super Saver garnered two first-place votes and 157 points.

Ice Box, second in the Run for the Roses, is third with 148 points and will start in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

Kentucky Oaks champ Blind Luck is fourth with 96 points followed by First Dude with 95 points. Although retired, Eskendereya still received one first-place vote and 58 points to move up to sixth.

Coming in seventh is Jackson Bend with 55 points followed by Paddy O'Prado (50), Evening Jewel (39) and Sidney's Candy (36).

Cbaaports Horseracing Betting News

<< Kyle Busch shuts down Malsam's truck team
Mooresville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch Motorsports will cease operations of its No.56 Camping World Truck Series team, while driver Tayler Malsam will head to the Nationwide Series and accept a ride with Braun Racing'

<< De Foy, Weber honored with media awards
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League Hall of Fame announced Marc de Foy will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for hockey journalism and Ron Weber will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for out

<< Eastern Kentucky's home opener pushed back
Richmond, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eastern Kentucky's home opener against Division II Kentucky State has been pushed back one week to Oct. 2 due to a scheduling conflict. The starting time has yet to be announced for the game originally schedul

<< Pirates trade for P Eveland
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired left-hander Dana Eveland from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for minor league pitcher Ronald Uviedo. The 26-year-old Eveland compiled a 3-4 record with a

<< Houston, New York aiming for consistency in mid-week clash
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo travel to take on Red Bull New York in a mid-week Major League Soccer fixture between two teams that have taken decidedly different paths to their current .500 records. The Dynamo have b

RSL's Saborio named MLS Player of the Month for May >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for May, it was announced on Tuesday. Saborio scored four goals and three assists in five games, helping Real

Astros RP Sampson hits disabled list >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros placed pitcher Chris Sampson on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with tendinitis in his right rotator cuff. In 22 relief appearances for Houston this season, the right-handed Sampson ha

Rangers F Anisimov has surgery >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Rangers forward Artem Anisimov underwent successful surgery to remove a bone chip in his right wrist on Tuesday. Anisimov suffered the injury during the just-completed World Champions

CHL, IHL merge to form 'AA' level super league >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Central Hockey League (CHL) and the International Hockey League (IHL) have entered into a letter of intent to form a "AA" level super league beginning in the 2010-11 season, the leagues announc

Perfect game allows Halladay to claim NL weekly award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off throwing the 20th perfect game in major-league history, Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay was named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 30. Last Saturday, Ha

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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

Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.