08/09/2008 - Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European invader Spirit One went wire-to-wire to win Saturday's 26th running of the Arlington Million at Arlington Park. The victory in the 1 1/4 mile grass race, part of the "Win and You're In" Breeders' Cup program, gives Spirit One automatic entry into the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.
Ridden by Ioritz Mendizabal, Spirit One took the lead in the race shortly after the start to take the seven-horse field around the first turn and into the backstretch. Running in second was Mount Nelson followed by 6-5 favorite Archipenko with Stream Cat in fourth.
The first four runners kept their positions into the far turn on the firm turf course. On the turn for the home Einstein, the top American horse, began to rally after breaking poorly from the gate.
At the top of the stretch Spirit One remained the leader as Archipenko was rallying on the inside and Mount Nelson was trying gain on the outside. Archipenko and jockey Kevin Shea got past Mount Nelson, but couldn't overtake the leader. Einstein failed to advance down the stretch.
Spirit One hit the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Archipenko with Mount Nelson finishing third. Completing the order of finish was Silverfoot, Einstein, Stream Cat and Cloudy's Knight.
Sudan was withdrawn early Friday with a tendon injury.
The time for the Arlington Million was 2:02.17
Spirit One is a four-year-old colt owned by Kamel Chehboub and trained by Philippe Demercastel. Saturday's win was worth $594,000 to bring Spirit One's career earnings to a little more than $1.1 million.
"We didn't make this trip for nothing," said the trainer, speaking through translator Francois Dupuis on Thursday. "The horse looks very happy, so we're very happy."
A winner of five of 18 lifetime starts, Spirit One most recently finished second in Longchamp's La Coupe Stakes on June 14. He captured the Prix Exbury at Saint-Cloud in France on March 15.
Sent off as a 13-1 longshot, Spirit One returned $29.40, $10.20 and $6.00. Archipenko paid $3.40 and $2.60, and Mount Nelson paid $4.00 to show.
Gaining a spot into the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf was Mauralakana. She rallied down the stretch to take the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes on the grass. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Mauralakana covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.18. Sent off as the 2-1 second choice in the nine-horse field, Mauralakana paid $6.80 to win.
<< Reds place Votto on bereavement list
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds placed first baseman
Joey Votto on the bereavement list on Saturday and selected the contract of
infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Louisville.
The 24-year-old Votto is eligibl
<< Ambrose picks up first Nationwide win at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose became a first-time race
winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Saturday with a victory in the Zippo
200 at Watkins Glen International. The No.59 Ford driver crossed the finish
line 4.335 secon
<< Azinger has been a different captain
Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Azinger was always going
to be a different Ryder Cup captain than most.
In his Ryder Cup career, which only spanned four Ryder Cups, Azinger got into
legendary confrontations with the
<< Mets purchase contract of Stokes to make spot start
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets purchased the contract of
pitcher Brian Stokes from Triple-A New Orleans to make a spot start for
Saturday's game against the Florida Marlins.
Stokes, 28, has made 23 appearances
Marseille, Rennes battle to dramatic draw in Ligue 1 opener >>
Rennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olympique Marseille and Rennes got the
French Ligue 1 schedule off to an exciting start with a 4-4 thriller at Stade
Rennes on the opening day of the new campaign on Saturday.
After Marseille battle
Dolphins sign Pennington >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins officially signed
quarterback Chad Pennington to a multi-year contract on Saturday,
The move to bring Pennington into the fold came only two days after his former
team, the New Yo
White Sox P Contreras leaves game >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras
left Saturday's game in the top of the second inning due to an apparent ankle
injury.
Contreras was running toward first base to cover on a ground ball hit
Angels pull away from Yankees with huge eighth inning >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero each
homered and drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim used a
late blitz to steamroll the New York Yankees, 11-4, in the second of a three-
game we
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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