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06/02/2010 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Friday, June 4. Race: WinStar World Casino 400k. Site: Texas Motor Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 9:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 167. Miles: 400 (kilometers). 2009 winner: Todd Bodine. Television: SPEED. Radio: Motor Racing Network(MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
The Camping World Truck Series will run at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for the 25th time on Friday. Todd Bodine has won a record five truck races at Texas.
One year ago, Bodine capitalized on a late-race pit strategy to win at Texas. Bodine elected not to pit for fuel during the last round of stops. He grabbed the lead with 43 laps remaining, and then easily held off Matt Crafton at the finish. Bodine became the first driver in the series to win five races at the same track.
The 2006 series champion has not won since last year's spring race at Texas.
"This Germain Racing team has been working hard," Bodine said. "At Dover, we didn't have a truck to win the race, but we still got a fifth. That's how you win points championships is to take a truck that can't win but still finish in the top-five. Then at Charlotte, we had a good truck and finished second."
Ten of Bodine's 17 career truck wins have come at 1.5-mile ovals, making him the series' winningest driver on intermediate tracks.
Bodine currently leads in the standings by just two points over Aric Almirola. It's the closest battle in series history after the first seven races.
"This is shaping up to be a close points battle," said Almirola, who won his first career truck race in May at Dover. "Todd and I are really close in the points now, but there are so many good teams in the Truck Series garage. Ron Hornaday Jr., Timothy Peters, Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner are all going to be there at the end."
Peters led the standings for the first five races this season, but now sits 86 points out of the lead. Hornaday, the four-time and defending series champion, is 103 points behind.
While Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick concentrate on their Sprint Cup Series duties at Pocono this weekend, Johnny Benson will drive Busch's No.18 Toyota, and Ken Schrader will be behind the wheel of Harvick's No.2 Chevrolet at Texas.
Brian Ickler originally was scheduled to drive the No.18 truck at Texas, but Ickler has been offered a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series with Roush Fenway Racing, including this Saturday's race at Nashville. He will drive the No.18 for Kyle Busch Motorsports in some truck races later this year.
Schrader drove Harvick's truck to a ninth-place finish one month ago at Kansas.
Thirty-five teams are on the preliminary entry list for the WinStar World Casino 400k.
<< Nothing tricky about Pocono for Hamlin
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday, June
6. Race: Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500. Site: Pocono Raceway. Track: (2.5-mile
triangle. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 200. Miles: 500. 2009 winner: Tony
Stewart.
<< Ken Griffey Jr. retires
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ken Griffey Jr. has announced his retirement
from baseball Wednesday just two months into his 22nd major league season.
Griffey informed the Mariners before Wednesday's game against Minnesota and
retires
<< Doan, Miller and Crosby named finalists for Messier Award
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan,
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby have been
selected as 2010 finalists for the Mark Messier Leadership Award.
The award recog
<< This Week in Auto Racing June 3 - 6
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All three of NASCAR's national touring series
are scattered throughout the country this weekend. The Sprint Cup Series will
run at Pocono, while the Nationwide Series will compete at Nashville for the
second tim
Dodgers outlast Diamondbacks in 14 innings >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson's two-out single in the
14th inning scored Matt Kemp, as the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Arizona
Diamondbacks, 1-0, to complete a three-game series sweep.
Jamey Carroll had three
Rangers' Guerrero hurts eye, taken to hospital >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder/designated hitter
Vladimir Guerrero was taken to a Chicago hospital after suffering an eye
injury during batting practice.
Guerrero was taking swings in the batting cage, and a ball car
Arizona State lifts interim tag from baseball coach Esmay >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona State lifted the interim tag of baseball
coach Tim Esmay, giving him the job on a permanent basis.
Esmay took over in December to replace Pat Murphy, who resigned after more
than 15 years in the posi
Briere's PP goal gives Flyers lead after one period in Game 3 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Briere's power-play goal late in the
first period gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 1-0 edge over the Chicago
Blackhawks after 20 minutes of play in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals from
Wachovia Center.
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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