Rachel Alexandra garners first win of 2010

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra notched her first victory of the year Saturday in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old filly snapped a two race streak of finishing second.

With regular rider Calvin Borel in the saddle, Rachel broke first from the gate in the 1 1/8-mile race. She was quickly joined on the lead by 5-1 second choice Jessica Is Back.

Garrett Gomez guided Jessica Is Back to the lead around the clubhouse turn with the 1-10 favorite to her outside in second. Racing in third was Distinctive Dixie followed by Made for Magic and Multipass in the five horse field.

Jessica Is Back continued on the lead up the backstretch with Rachel right next to her. The favorite edged to the lead around far turn as Distinctive Dixie ranged up from the outside.

On the final turn Rachel had taken over the lead as Distinctive Dixie and jockey Robby Albarado moved into second on the outside.

Unlike her first two starts of the year, Rachel had a lot left in the tank and Borel was not afraid to push her. She took complete control of the race at the top of the stretch and powered away from the field.

Reminiscent of 2009, Rachel ran away from her competition to post a 10 1/2- length win over Distinctive Dixie followed by Jessica Is Back, Multipass and Made for Magic.

Rachel covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:48.78 on a fast track.

Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, the victory was worth $120,000 giving the filly $245,696 for the year. Rachel has now won 12 of 17 career starts for $3,194,050.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Rachel came up short in her initial two starts this year. She was second to Zardana at the Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Ladies Classic and runner-up to Unrivaled Belle at Churchill Downs in the La Troienne.

Zardana is entered in Sunday's Vanity Handicap versus Zenyatta at Hollywood Park and Unrivaled Belle was second in Saturday's Ogden Phipps to Life At Ten at Belmont Park.

There was no show wagering in the Fleur de Lis. Rachel Alexandra paid $2.20 and $2.10, and Distinctive Dixie paid $5.60.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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