Baffert takes both Southwest Stakes divisions

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Bob Baffert sent two horses to Oaklawn Park for the Presidents' Day running of the Southwest Stakes hoping to come away with one victory. However, the race drew 21 entries splitting it into two divisions, each worth $250,000.

Baffert came away from Monday's Southwest Stakes with two victories as Castaway and Secret Circle each won a division of the mile event. Also claiming two wins was jockey Rafael Bejarano.

The first division had a field of 11 three-year-olds. Castaway broke well and joined Majestic Stride on the lead. Bejarano had his mount to the outside of the leader right on Majestic Stride's shoulder.

Castaway took over the lead coming out of the final turn and began to draw clear at the top of the stretch. The 6-1 fourth pick opened his lead down the stretch and posted a 3 3/4-length victory over the late running Jake Mo.

Finishing third was Reckless Jerry, who was second in the track's Smarty Jones Stakes last month. Completing the order of finish were Ring It Up, Majestic Stride, Longview Drive, Junebugred, No Spin, Unbridled's Note, Laurie's Rocket and Red Jack.

Castaway completed the mile in 1:38.09 on a fast track.

Owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, Castaway won for the just the second time and notched his first stakes win. The victory was worth $150,000 to bring the colt's total earnings to $209,930. The son of 2007 Kentucky Derby champ Street Sense broke his maiden four weeks ago after failing five times.

Castaway returned $15.40, $9.40 and $7.20. Jake Mo paid $19.00 and $7.40, and Reckless Jerry paid $4.20 to show.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint winner Secret Circle was sent off as the 3-5 favorite in the 10-horse second division. The colt and Bejarano were first out of the gate, but allowed Scatman and jockey Luis Quinonez to set the pace.

Scatman continued to set the pace with the favorite to his outside. Secret Circle drew along side on the final turn and had short lead entering the stretch. Scatman regained the lead at the top of the stretch and looked ready to pull off an upset.

Owned by Karl Watson, Paul Weitmann and Mike Pegram, Secret Circle was able to rally in the final yards and defeat Scatman by a half-length. Adirondack King was third followed by Pee H Dee, Cyber Secret, Z Rockstar, Chalybeate Springs, King Coral, Apprehender and Big Wednesday.

Secret Circle covered the mile in 1:37.08.

The colt also added $150,000 to his bankroll, which now stands at $518,990. Secret Circle began the year with a second to Out of Bounds in last month's Sham Stakes at Santa Anita as the 1-2 favorite.

After winning in his first career start, he won the John Goodman Stakes at Santa Anita and then captured the Juvenile Sprint at Churchill Downs as the 2-5 favorite.

Secret Circle paid $3.20, $3.20 and $2.40. Scatman returned $6.40 and $4.60, and Adirondack King paid $3.60 to show.

Next on the Oaklawn schedule for Kentucky Derby hopefuls is the $500,000 Rebel on March 17 and the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 14. Archarcharch won last year's Southwest and Arkansas Derby.

Wwhitbox Horseracing Betting News


<< Manny agrees to terms with Athletics
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran slugger Manny Ramirez has agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics on a minor league contract. Various reports, including MLB.com, have indicated that the deal is worth $500,000. He is expec

<< 'Melo to return against Nets
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Carmelo Anthony will return to the New York Knicks lineup Monday against New Jersey after missing seven games with a groin injury. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni announced Anthony's return Monday. Anth

<< Spurs' Ginobili, Splitter to miss two weeks
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and forward Tiago Splitter are both expected to miss the next two weeks with injuries suffered during Saturday's game against the Clippers. Ginobili left Satur

<< Rondo suspended two games
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games by the NBA, executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson announced Monday. Rondo, who turns 26 on Wednesday, received

<< Lima nets hat trick as Braga rolls over Gil Vicente
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Braga recorded its eighth straight win on Saturday as Lima scored a hat trick in the team's 3-0 win at Gil Vicente. Lima netted his first goal midway through the first half and added a second shortly

Rose returns, Bulls down Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose returned from a five-game absence and scored 23 points to go with six assists and five rebounds as the Chicago Bulls held off the Atlanta Hawks, 90-79. Carlos Boozer netted 16 points, while Joa

Alabama reinstates leading scorer Green >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama has reinstated leading scorer and rebounder JaMychal Green, who was suspended the last three games for violating team rules. The forward was cleared to return to practice, according to a press

Dodig, Young advance in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croat Ivan Dodig upset eighth-seeded Aussie Bernard Tomic in Monday's opening-round action at the $1.155 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Dodig blasted 19 aces and came from behind to stop th

Rockies, manager Tracy have handshake deal >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Tracy has a handshake agreement to remain with the Colorado Rockies. General manager Dan O'Dowd said Monday the Rockies expect their relationship with Tracy, who has managed the team for the pas

Penn State routs Ohio State, earns at least share of Big Ten title >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikki Greene finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds as No. 11 Penn State earned at least a share of the Big Ten title with an 84-66 dismantling of eighth-ranked Ohio State. Mia Nickson and Magg

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.