Big step up for three-year-old filly

Horseracing Betting Lines

09/01/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an effort to solidify her position as 2009 Horse of the Year, owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen will enter three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra in Saturday's $750,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

"Hal McCormick (co-owner), my family and I, like other fans of horse racing, want to see her tested," said Jackson in announcing that 'Rachel' would run in the Woodward. "If she goes up against older male horses, we'll be better able to get a measure of her greatness."

The filly's connections are taking this rare and exciting route because 'Rachel' will not run in the Breeders' Cup World Championships in November on the synthetic track at Santa Anita Park. Jess Jackson doesn't like the all- weather surfaces, especially after Curlin failed at Santa Anita in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic.

In the current NTRA Thoroughbred Poll, 'Rachel' remains in first-place over champion mare Zenyatta by 24 points, 208-184. The filly has 19 first-place votes to the mare's two. While various parties are working to bring the two together in a race, so far nothing has materialized.

The move to have 'Rachel' compete against older male horses is not unprecedented. In 1972 Summer Guest became the only three-year-old filly to compete in the Woodward, which was run for the first time in 1954. Summer Guest, ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., finished second to entrymate Key to the Mint. However, she was disqualified and placed third. That was when the Woodward was contested at Belmont Park over 1 1/2 miles.

"It's great to have an opportunity to run her on the stage that is Saratoga, one I think she is deserving of," said Asmussen. "To run her in a race that Curlin was fortunate enough to win last year, we realize what a tall order it is for her. Most likely Saturday, it will take a career effort for her.

"I think she knows she's a star. I think she accepts the pressure that's put on her, and she thrives on it."

Unfortunately, the field the filly will face is not a star filled one. There are some good handicap horses, Whitney Handicap winner Bullsbay, Stephen Foster champ Macho Again and Asiatic Boy who has career earnings of more than $3 million.

In some ways there's nowhere else to go with Rachel Alexandra. She devastated the field by a record 20 1/4-lengths in the Kentucky Oaks, then became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness. She won by 19 1/4-lengths in the Mother Goose Stakes and posted a six-length victory in the $1.25 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

'Rachel' is working on an eight race winning streak, including all seven starts this year. Lifetime she has won 10 of 13 races for nearly $2.5 million.

More interesting, or puzzling, is the fact that this will be the second straight race for 'Rachel' that will not be televised on a major network. The Haskell was not picked up anywhere, other than the racing channels. If the filly has become such a popular figure, then where is the television coverage of her races?

Someone is definitely dropping the ball when it comes to broadcasting these historic thoroughbred races.

Wwwlasvegashotpicks Horseracing Betting News

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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