Summer Bird joins sire with Belmont/Travers double

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/29/2009 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two days of rain did not prevent Belmont Stakes champ Summer Bird from joining his sire, Birdstone, to win the $1 million Travers Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Birdstone won the Belmont Stakes and the Mid-Summer Derby in 2004.

The quality of the Travers' field was greatly reduced this week with the defection of Rachel Alexandra to next week's Woodward Stakes and the announcement that Mine That Bird is still recuperating from recent throat surgery and will be held out of the race.

Summer Bird, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, raced for most the 1 1/4 mile Travers away from the rail on Saratoga's sloppy track. Setting the pace was Our Edge with Jim Dandy winner Kensei second on the inside.

Desormeaux had Summer Bird in third as the field entered the far turn and moved the colt into second behind Kensei on the turn for home. Summer Bird, trained by Tim Ice, took the lead coming off the final turn and extended his advantage at the top of the stretch.

Summer Bird, who had never won on a sloppy track, maintained his lead down the stretch and went on to win by 3 1/2-lengths over Hold Me Back. Quality Road, who acted-up going into the starting gate, finished third followed by Charitable Man, Warrior's Reward and 4-1 third choice Kensei. Our Edge was eased in the stretch and did not finish.

Summer Bird covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.83 over a sloppy Saratoga surface.

"This is great," said trainer Tim Ice. "It's a great thrill to win this race."

Summer Bird picks up $600,000 with the win for owners Drs. Kalarikkal K. and Vilasini D. Jayaraman. The three-year-old colt has now won three of seven career starts for $1,573,040.

"He was a very lightly raced colt coming into the Kentucky Derby and into the Belmont," Ice said during Tuesday's teleconference. "He is starting to figure it out what he is out there for. I think physically, he is catching up to where we thought he was mentally coming into the Kentucky Derby. But he is still a horse on the improved."

The chestnut colt was coming off a second-place finish to Rachel Alexandra in the Haskell Invitational on a sloppy track earlier this month at Monmouth Park. Summer Bird was third to Papa Clem in the Arkansas Derby before finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby, also on a sloppy surface.

During the teleconference Ice said that a decision on the colt's next start was still being discussed.

"We're going to wait and make that decision after Saturday," Ice said, "after the race. You know, there is a few races that we're looking at, but, we first have to see how he comes out of the race. And second is, as far as picking up the right spot and, you know, they have a race that's out in California. There is a race in Belmont. Obviously, we have Super Derby at home. So, you know, there is still options out there and we will figure it out after the race."

Sent off as the 5-2 second pick, Summer Bird returned $7.80, $4.30 and $2.70. Longshot Hold Me Back paid $12.40 and $ 5.30, and 3-2 favorite Quality Road paid $2.50 to show.

Jockeys riding in Saturday's Travers Stakes have pledged 10-percent of their purse earnings from the race to establish a fund for 23-year-old apprentice jockey Michael Straight, who was critically injured in a fall at Arlington Park on Wednesday.

"This was an easy decision," said John Velazquez, chairman of the Jockeys' Guild and rider of Quality Road. "What happened to Michael is a tragedy and we want to do whatever we can to help support him and his family during this difficult time."

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    		 7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  		 Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.