Buescher takes pole for Texas truck race

Autoracing Betting Lines

11/03/2011 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas-native James Buescher claimed the pole for the WinStar World Casino 350k Camping World Truck Series race after topping points leader Austin Dillon in Thursday's qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway.

Buescher, who hails from nearby Plano, TX, turned a lap at 181.062 mph around the fast 1.5-mile track for his third career pole in the series. His maiden pole came at Texas in June. Buescher has yet to win a truck race.

Dillon will start alongside Buescher on the front row after posting a lap at 180.783 mph.

Blake Feese qualified third, while Sprint Cup Series regular Kyle Busch took the fourth spot. Busch has won the last two fall truck races at Texas.

Ricky Carmichael and Justin Lofton will start from row three, followed by Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ty Dillon, who is Austin's younger brother, in row four.

Ron Hornaday Jr. and his team owner, Kevin Harvick, will occupy the fifth row. Hornaday won this year's spring race here.

Dillon presently holds an 11-point advantage over Buescher. Hornaday and Johnny Sauter are both 15 points behind the leader. Sauter qualified 12th.

Tim Andrews, Norm Benning and Derek White failed to qualify.

Friday's 147-lap truck race at Texas is scheduled to start just after 8:00 p.m. (et).

Wwhitbox Autoracing Betting News

<< Rangers hand Ducks 4th straight loss
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Erik Christensen and Marian Gaborik scored on backhands in the shootout, and the New York Rangers handed the Anaheim Ducks their fourth straight loss, 2-1 on Thursday night. Jeff Woywitka scored his first

<< Jets blank Islanders
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ondrej Pavelec stopped all 34 shots he faced to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. It was Pavelec's first shutout of the year and the seventh of his

<< Toronto rolls past Columbus
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clarke MacArthur scored a pair of goals, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets from Nationwide Arena. John-Michael Liles and Joey Crabb scored the other goals,

<< Canada announces roster for WC qualifiers
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canada manager Stephen Hart announced his 18-man roster Thursday for two upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers, sticking with the majority of the team that played in the country's recent matches. Nineteen-year-old

<< Mexico leaves Marquez off roster
Mexico City, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la Torre left Rafael Marquez off the 20-man roster announced Thursday for an upcoming friendly against Serbia. Marquez, 32, is usually the captain for Mexico, but was n

Flames hand Red Wings sixth straight loss >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla had two goals and one assist Thursday night and the Calgary Flames beat Detroit, 4-1, to hand the Red Wings their first six-game losing streak in almost four years. Lee Stempniak also scored

Verlander named Player of the Year by peers >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was honored as Player of the Year in voting among his major league peers. Verlander, also named the American League's Most Outstanding Pitcher, had a career year a

Anderson leads by 3 in California >>
Desert Hot Springs, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuart Anderson fired an eight-under 64 Thursday to grab a three-stroke lead after the opening round of the Desert Dunes Classic. Anderson claimed his fourth tour title earlier this year at the Can

Kallstrom signs two-year extension with Lyon >>
Lyon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Midfielder Kim Kallstrom signed a two-year contract extension with Lyon on Thursday as the Swedish international extended his stay with the French club through the summer of 2014. Kallstrom, 29, joined Lyo

Cullen leads Wild past Canucks >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cullen scored two goals and added an assist, leading the Minnesota Wild to a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks from Xcel Energy Center. Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored and dished out two helper

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

MySportsbook.com is the Internet’s largest online sportsbook site serving customers in more than 80 countries worldwide. Founded in 1997, MySportsbook.com was the first sports book to introduce reduced margin wagering, using a -105 pricing model that gives bettors up to 50% better value on wagers than traditional bookmakers. With low minimum bet requirements and the highest maximum limits on the Web, MySportsbook.com has earned an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to the player, professional customer service and the quickest payouts online. Fully licensed and regulated in Antigua and the UK, the company offers a secure environment for sports betting, horse racing and online casino games.

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