Solid field of 12 for Pacific Classic

Horseracing Betting Lines

09/02/2009 - Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An evenly matched field of 12 older thoroughbreds has been entered for Sunday's 19th running of the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The 1 1/4 mile race is a "Win and You're In" event for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on November 7.

Earning the 5-2 morning-line favorite's role is Colonel John, who was one of the best three-year-olds of 2008. The four-year-old colt will start from post six with last year's winning jockey Garrett Gomez riding.

While this will be Colonel John's first start in the Pacific Classic, Gomez has won the race four times. Last year with Go Between, in 2005 with Borrego and twice with Skimming in 2000 and 2001.

"They're all very special," noted Gomez. "It's been very good for me. It was one of the first major races I won, and it was the first big race I won (Borrego) after I came back (being away from racing for more than a year). It's always been a special race in my heart and I've been lucky to have the right horses at the right time. I hope I'm lucky again this year and have the right horse again."

Colonel John is trained by Eoin Harty for WinStar Farms and is coming off a win in the Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar in his first race of the year. With wins in 2008 in the Santa Anita Derby and Travers Stakes, the colt has earned more than $1.5 million lifetime with wins in half of his 12 career starts.

"I chose the Pacific Classic because I didn't have to ship and he's shown a fondness for this racetrack down here," explained Harty about his decision. "He's trained very, very well over the surface, and I just felt that, you know, the odds were stacked in my favor if I stay here rather than go to New York and tackling Rachel Alexandra."

Top money earner in the race, Einstein, is the 7-2 second choice and will break from post 10 with Julien Leparoux in the saddle. The seven-year-old has won better than $2.7 million in his career with 11 victories in 27 starts.

This year Einstein won the Santa Anita Handicap and Churchill Downs' Turf Classic. Midnight Cry Stable owns the veteran racehorse with Helen Pitts Blasi training.

Hollywood Gold Cup champ Rail Trip is 4-1 in the program for owner Jay Em Ess Stable and trainer Ron Ellis. The four-year-old gelding will be ridden by Jose Valdivia, Jr. from post three.

Rail Trip won the Santana Mile at Santa Anita this year followed by second- place finishes in the Mervyn Leroy and Californian. In his career he has won six of eight starts for $667,790.

"Rail Trip is a very good horse," noted Harty, "he's a very likely race horse and if he just keeps improving I think he's going to be a hellacious horse down the road. He had a very good workout on the track the other day. I think he's a pretty serious contender.

"And Einstein, he's an iron horse, doesn't matter where you run him or what surface you run him on he always shows up and always runs a very big race."

Here is the complete field for the Pacific Classic in post position order: Informed, Tyler Baze, 10-1; Song of Navarone, Joel Rosario, 20-1; Rail Trip, Jose Valdivia, Jr., 4-1; Richard's Kid, Mike Smith, 15-1; Mast Track, David Flores, 15-1; Colonel John, Garrett Gomez, 5-2; Misremembered, Victor Espinoza, 12-1; Global Hunter, Corey Nakatani, 20-1; Tres Borrachos, Joe Talamo, 20-1; Einstein, Julien Leparoux, 7-2; Parading, Rafael Bejarano, 10-1 and Awesome Gem, Alex Solis, 12-1.

Misremembered is a three-year-old and will carry 118 pounds, while the older horses will carry 124.

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.