Ladies Classic to be night race in 2010

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/26/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The bright lights of Louisville will be the scene for this year's running of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic on Friday, November 5. The concluding racing of the first day of the 2010 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs will go off at 7:30 p.m. (et).

The historic racetrack will host the two day event after Santa Anita Park played host in 2009 and 2010. Friday's first championship race will go off at 2 p.m. (et). Saturday's races will begin at noon (et) and wrap up at 6:45 p.m. (et).

"With the large, passionate base of racing fans in Kentucky and its magnificent facility, Churchill Downs is always one of the most popular venues for our Championships," said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Greg Avioli. "We're very excited to be running one of our premier races under the lights on Friday and to be staging two days of the finest racing in the world in our home state."

Churchill Downs had permanent lights installed prior to its recently concluded spring meeting.

"Churchill Downs, residents of Metro Louisville and the entire region are anticipating the return of the Breeders' Cup and our first opportunity to enjoy the Championships as a two-day event," said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs. "Much Breeders' Cup history has been made beneath our track's signature Twin Spires in its record six previous visits to Churchill Downs, and the running of the first Breeders' Cup races under our new permanent lights on Friday will be another first-of-its-kind experience. We look forward to welcoming the world for a seventh time to the Breeders' Cup Championships."

Wwwgameland Horseracing Betting News

<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Chile a dark horse in South Africa
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chile qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998, as former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa transformed the country into a dark horse in this summer's tournament in South Africa. Bielsa, nick

<< Magic's Rashard Lewis playing with viral infection
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis says he has been playing with a viral infection during the Eastern Conference finals.Lewis said after the Magic's shootaround Wednesday that he's been sick the ``whole series'' against the Bost

<< Super Bowl may get name for Giants-Jets stadium
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Being chosen to host the Super Bowl in 2014 may help the Giants and Jets finally get a new name for their $1.6 billion stadium.Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, the owners of the teams say the selection of the stad

<< Wallace on fast track to replace Santonio Holmes
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Mike Wallace is on the fast track to replacing Santonio Holmes as the Steelers' primary deep passing threat. Byron Leftwich needed only one practice to realize that.During a 7-on-7 passing drill recently in a voluntary practice, Wal

<< Buehrle, Guillen ejected for arguing balks
CLEVELAND (AP) -White Sox starter Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen have been ejected in Chicago's series finale against the Cleveland Indians for arguing two balk calls.Guillen was tossed in the second inning Wednesday by first-base umpire Joe

World Cup 2010 Preview: Familiar face leading Algeria >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Algeria is gearing up for its third-ever World Cup with a familiar face leading the way. Coach Rabah Saadane, who also coached the team 24 years ago in its last World Cup appearance in Mexico, is at t

Five World Cup coaches to watch >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no grander stage on which to make a name for yourself than the World Cup, whether it is as a player or a coach. A successful campaign can lead to a lucrative job offer, or it can cement a re

Senators re-sign G Mike Brodeur >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators re-signed goaltender Mike Brodeur to a one-year, two-way contract Wednesday. Brodeur appeared in three games for Ottawa last season, his first time seeing action in the NHL. In those ga

Rangers sign Norwegian forward >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with forward Mats Zuccarello Aasen, a native of Norway who played in both the 2010 Winter Olympics and World Hockey Championship. Zuccarello Aasen has also played for

Mihajlovic in line for Inter post >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Catania manager Sinisa Mihajlovic handed in his resignation at the Stadio Angelo Massimino-based club on Tuesday. The former Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan defender guided the unfashionable Sicilian outf

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.