Flat Out returns in Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs
Horseracing Betting Lines
11/22/2011 -
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defeated Breeders' Cup Classic favorite
Flat Out makes a quick turnaround for Friday's $500,000 Clark Handicap at
Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile dirt race has attracted a solid field of 13.
Flat Out, trained by Scooter Dickey, will be ridden by Alex Solis from post
six. The five-year-old is owned by Preston Stables and is the probable
morning-line favorite.
Flat Out went off as the 7-2 favorite in the $5 million Classic at Churchill
Downs on November 5. He broke from the inside post in the 12-horse field and
raced in eighth for most of the 1 1/4-miles. Under Solis, the horse finished
fifth just three-lengths behind the winner Drosselmeyer.
The five-year-old posted victories this year in the Suburban Handicap and
Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was second in the Lone Star Park, Whitney and
Woodward Handicaps and sixth in Churchill's Stephen Foster Handicap.
In 13 career starts, Flat Out has earned more than $1.2 million with five
wins.
Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice has drawn the rail post with Garrett Gomez
getting the mount again. Owned by George and Lori Hall, the three-year-old
colt is coming off a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic as a 17-1
longshot.
"I'm very happy to report that he came out of the race in good order and he's
currently in great shape," trainer Kelly Breen said. "He's eating well and
training well. He's a lean, mean fighting machine.
"We're thinking that if he wins this race then he is in the running for
champion three-year-old. That would give us two Grade I wins and he would be
beating older horses (in the Clark)."
Since winning the Belmont in June, Ruler On Ice was third in the Haskell,
fourth in the Travers and runner-up in the Pennsylvania Derby. The colt has
won three times in 11 career starts for better than $1.6 million.
Another highly regarded three-year-old entered is multiple stakes winner
Prayer for Relief. The colt will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano from post 12 for
trainer Bob Baffert and Zayat Stables.
Since returning to the races in May, Prayer for Relief has won the Iowa, West
Virginia and Super Derbies and was third in the Oklahoma Derby. This year he
has earned just under $1 million in five starts.
Here is the complete field for the Clark in post position order: Ruler On Ice,
Garrett Gomez; Alma d'Oro, Jesus Castanon; Demarcation, Corey Lanerie; Stately
Victor, Victor Lebron; Mission Impazible, Javier Castellano; Flat Out, Alex
Solis; Pleasant Prince, J A Garcia; Headache, Edgar Prado; Mister Marti Gras,
Rajiv Maragh; Will's Wildcat, Calvin Borel; Wise Dan, John Velazquez; Prayer
for Relief, Rafael Bejarano and General Quarters, Jon Court.
Post-time for the Clark Handicap is set for 5:45 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.
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