No Travers for Mine That Bird
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/26/2009 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird will not start in Saturday's 140th Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The gelding's owners and trainer announced Wednesday morning that the three-year- old will skip the $1 million race to give him more time to recover from recent throat surgery.
"We've decided to err on the side of caution and pass this race up and aim down the road to the Breeders' Cup," trainer Chip Woolley said. "There's one little spot underneath the epiglottis pushing up just a tiny bit and after studying and looking at it, we're going to hold off and make sure the horse is okay and not take any chances with the rest of his career.
"It's probably not a problem, but we don't feel comfortable taking a chance. It probably would have no bearing on the race, but we don't want to do anything that might jeopardize his future."
Mine That Bird had throat surgery last Tuesday for an entrapped epiglottis. Dr. Patricia Hogan performed the surgery at the Ruffian Equine Medical Center located across the street from Belmont Park. The Derby champ had his first workout after the procedure yesterday.
Owned by Dr. Leonard Blach and Mark Allen, Mine That Bird is scheduled to lead the post parade for the $2 million All America Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico on Labor Day and will not run in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park that day.
"It was a hard decision," said Dr. Blach. "(The endoscopic examination Wednesday) showed a small spot on the left lateral quarter of the epiglottis. It's healed up, it's not raw, there's no ulcer on there at all it's just kind of an enlargement on the left side. Essentially it's going to be normal and it's probably going to be there for a while. Having surgery just eight days ago, we probably don't want to take a risk."
Mine That Bird was a 50-1 longshot when he won the Kentucky Derby. Two weeks later he was second in the Preakness Stakes to the filly Rachel Alexandra and was third to Summer Bird in the Belmont Stakes.
Voted the 2008 Canadian champion two-year-old, he has earned $1,892,200 with one win in six starts in 2009.
With the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic this year's ultimate goal, Mine That Bird's next start is yet to be decided. Woolley and the owners said they would consider the $500,000 Goodwood Stakes for older horses at Santa Anita on Saturday, October 10.
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Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.