Zenyatta remains atop poll, Rachel drops

Horseracing Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta extended her advantage in the latest NTRA Thoroughbred Poll for March 15. The six-year-old won Saturday's Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita to remain in first- place.

Zenyatta, undefeated in 15 career starts, received 16 of 20 first-place votes and 192 points. Last week she had nine top votes and 172 points. The winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Classic is one win away from tying the record of 16 consecutive lifetime wins in open competition held by Citation and Cigar. She is scheduled to start in next month's Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park.

Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra lost in Saturday's New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds and dropped in the poll from second to third. The four-year-old filly, who was second to Zardana, did not receive any first- place votes and has 150 points. She will not start in the Apple Blossom.

Moving from third to second is Donn Handicap champ Quality Road. The four- year-old colt got the four remaining first-place votes and has 173 points.

Rounding out the top 10 are Gio Ponti, Misremembered, Presious Passion, Lookin at Lucky, Eskendereya, Zardana and Bold Chieftain.

In the three-year-old poll, 2009 champion two-year-old Lookin At Lucky moved from second to first after his win Saturday in the Rebel Stakes at Oawklawn. He received 10 first-place votes and 187 points.

Fountain of Youth winner Eskendereya is second with nine top votes and 175 points. He is set to start in this week's Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

The lone remaining first-place vote went to Odysseus who won Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby. His 65 points put him into eighth-place.

Following the top two colts are Conveyance, Rule, Sidney's Candy, Noble's Promise, Awesome Act, Odysseus, Dublin and Discreetly Mine.

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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.

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