Derby and Preakness winners to skip Belmont

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/16/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness Stakes champ Lookin At Lucky will both skip the Belmont Stakes.

Both respective trainers, Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert, said Sunday morning that both would be kept out of thoroughbred racing's third jewel of the Triple Crown, set for June 5 at Belmont Park.

Lookin At Lucky captured the Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course after finishing sixth in the Derby. Super Saver tired in the stretch Saturday and wound up eighth on the heels of his victory at Churchill Downs.

The Belmont Stakes, a grueling 1 1/2 miles, will be run without the two previous classic winners for the second time in five years. In 2006, Barbaro won the Derby and suffered devastating injuries two weeks later in the Preakness, which was won by Bernardini, who then skipped the Belmont.

Mysportstracker Horseracing Betting News

<< A's try to get on track in finale with Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suffering with the longest losing streak in the American League at the moment, the Oakland Athletics try to close out their three-game set in southern California on a positive note as they take on the Los Angeles Angels of An

<< Phillies try to extend Brewers' home troubles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the back end of Philadelphia's bullpen a little banged up, the Phillies might need to rely on their starting pitchers some more over the next few weeks. Cole Hamels, arguably the club's least consistent starter this y

<< Giants send Zito to the hill aiming for another sweep of Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco's Barry Zito will try to rebound from a wild first loss of the season as the Giants try for their second sweep this year of the Houston Astros in today's finale of a three-game series at AT&T Park. Zito,

<< Dodgers hope for sweep of division rival Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surprising Padres came into this series sitting in first place in the National League West. However, a pair of losses to the Dodgers has quickly reminded them just who the defending division champs are. San Diego will

<< Francis set for season debut as Rockies close out set with Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francis is expected to make his first start in well over a year this afternoon for the Colorado Rockies, who are coming off a sweep of yesterday's doubleheader and will look to secure a series win over the Washington Nat

Rangers activate INF Arias >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers on Sunday activated infielder Joaquin Arias from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Pedro Strop to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Arias had been sidelined with a lower back stra

Another Serie A crown for Inter >>
Siena, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan claimed its fifth successive Serie A title on Sunday as Diego Milito's goal in the 57th minute was enough to give Inter a 1-0 win at Siena. The Nerazzurri entered the final day of the season wit

Hanson overcomes penalties, wins Mallorca playoff >>
Son Servera, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Hanson parred the first playoff hole Sunday to beat Alejandro Canizares and win at the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor. Hanson overcame a penalty for a double-hit on a chip and an unplayable

Suns, Magic plan to play spoiler >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When you talk rivalries, the Lakers- Celtics is right up there with Yankees-Red Sox and Ohio State-Michigan as the best in all of sports. The NBA's two marquee teams have met in the Finals 11 different tim

Rezai stuns Venus in Madrid final >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aravane Rezai of France earned her third career WTA Tour title with a straight-set victory over Venus Williams in Sunday's final at the Madrid Open. Rezai notched a 6-2, 7-5 triumph for her third

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.