Champion colt returns in Holy Bull Stakes

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two weeks after being announced as the 2011 Eclipse Award winning two-year-old colt, Hansen makes his 2012 debut in Sunday's $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Holy Bull is part of the track's stakes series for Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

Trained by Mike Maker, Hansen has been made the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the six-horse field. The three-year-old, owned by Dr. Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing, will have the services again of jockey Ramon Dominguez and start from post four.

In winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November, Hansen defeated 11-10 favorite Union Rags by a head while setting the entire pace in the 1 1/16- mile race.

Undefeated in three career starts, Hansen has gone wire-to-wire in all three races. The colt's trainer has an interesting view on that style of running.

"It's no different than a closer. You're dependant on the pace," Maker noted. "You just hope no one makes him go quicker earlier than he has to."

Hansen began his career at Turfway Park with a 12 1/4-length win and followed with a 13 1/4-length triumph at Turfway in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile. His earnings stand a $1,153,305

Another undefeated colt is the 5-2 second choice. Starlight Stable's Algorithms makes his stakes and season debut on Sunday. Regular rider Javier Castellano has the mount and the pair will break from the outside post for trainer Todd Pletcher.

"He's trained very well," Pletcher said. "His first two races have been excellent, he's bred to stretch out and we're optimistic he's a top-level colt."

Algorithms first raced last June at Belmont Park and posted a five-length win as the 7-10 favorite. His only other start was last month at Gulfstream when he registered a length victory over Holy Bull rival Consortium.

In the December race Consortium was the 4-5 favorite and had the lead down the stretch before giving way to Algorithms. Consortium has drawn post two for Sunday's rematch and will be ridden by John Velazquez.

Consortium is owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. Three weeks ago at Aqueduct, owner and trainer sent out Alpha to win the Count Fleet Stakes.

Here is the full field for the Holy Bull in post position order: Silver Max, Julien Leparoux; Consortium, John Velazquez; My Adonis, Elvis Trujillo; Hansen, Ramon Dominguez; Fort Loudon, Rajiv Maragh and Algorithms, Javier Castellano.

Post-time for the Holy Bull is 4:45 p.m. (et).

Indexspreads Horseracing Betting News

<< Illinois State changes date of 2012 opener
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois State football team's 2012 season opener against Dayton has been changed from Thursday, Aug. 30 to Saturday, Sept. 1 due to the construction on the new renovations to Hancock Stadium, Kickoff will

<< 'Melo to sit two games
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is expected to miss the next two games in an effort to heal a variety of injuries. Anthony will sit out Friday's contest at Miami and will also miss Saturday's contest at

<< Raptors' Bargnani out with calf issue
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani will be out for an undefined period of time after aggravating a previous calf injury. The 26-year-old suffered a strained left calf back on January 11 and missed six

<< Inter aims to bounce back against Lecce
Lecce, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan will attempt to get back to winning ways on Sunday at Lecce after the club saw its eight-match winning streak halted in the Coppa Italia by Napoli in midweek. The 2-0 setback prevent

<< Phillies sign OF Pierre
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies on Friday inked outfielder Juan Pierre to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 34-year-old veteran finished 2011 with a .279 average, two home run

PSG signs Brazil defender Alex from Chelsea >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG signed Brazil defender Alex from Chelsea on Friday on a 2 1/2-year deal. Alex, 29, left Brazilian club Santos in 2004 for Chelsea, and remained at the English Premier League club - with the exception o

A legend is laid to rest >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Few college coaches embody an entire university and everything that the program, school and community as a whole stands for. Like Paul "Bear" Bryant in Tuscaloosa and Knute Rockne in South Bend, Happy Valley

Werder Bremen lands Junuzovic >>
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen announced Friday that it has signed Austrian midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic from FK Austria Vienna on a three- and-a-half-year deal. Junuzovic, 24, will undergo a medical on Monday before being

Hughes completes Dons move >>
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aberdeen completed the signing of Stephen Hughes on Friday after the midfielder departed from Scottish Premier League rivals Motherwell. Hughes put pen to paper on a contract that will keep h

Gnakpa heads to Inverness on loan >>
Inverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inverness announced Friday that it has acquired 28-year-old winger Claude Gnakpa on loan from League One side Walsall until the end of the season. Gnakpa, who can also play at left back, has also featu

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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