Jim Dandy Stakes up for grabs Saturday

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday's $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course has attracted an evenly matched field of nine three- year-olds. The 1 1/8-mile contest is the local prep for the $1 million Travers on Saturday, August 28.

Heading the field is Belmont Stakes runner-up Fly Down. The chestnut colt, trained by Nick Zito, will be making his first start since the Belmont and will start from the far outside post with Jose Lezcano aboard.

"He's coming off a 1 1/2-mile race," Zito said Monday. "Obviously, we know his fitness level. We're hoping he's a little sharp for the race. He's a very good horse. He looks good."

Owned by Richard Pell, Fly Down has won two of four starts this year, including the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park on May 8. In his career the colt has won three of six starts and $382,070.

Another Zito entrant is Miner's Reserve. The lightly raced colt will be ridden by Calvin Borel from post six.

Trainer Todd Pletcher will be represented in the race by Aikenite, owned by Dogwood Stable. The colt will start from post four with David Cohen riding.

Aikenite notched his first win of the year in an allowance race at Belmont Park on June 19. In his six races of 2010 he has one win, one second and one third-place finish for $109,606. His best stakes results were a third to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth in February and a second in the Derby Trial to Hurricane Ike on April 24.

"As a younger horse, he wasn't a particularly ambitious work horse, and to me, he's gotten more aggressive," said Pletcher. "We're still trying to find his best distance. This will be a race that determines what he's going to do down the road.

"He did very well at a one-turn mile; whether that's going to translate into a top-class mile and an eighth effort, that's what we're getting ready to find out."

Former Kentucky Derby contender Winslow Homer continues his comeback from an early injury. The Fox Hill Farm colt will break from post seven with Ramon Dominguez in the saddle.

Trained by Tony Dutrow, Winslow Homer suffered a small stress fracture in his cannon bone after winning the Holy Bull Stakes in January at Gulfstream Park. He did not race until last month's Iowa Derby when he finished third to Concord Point.

The gray colt has earned $177,825 in five career starts with three wins and a pair of thirds.

Dutrow also has Louisiana Derby runner-up A Little Warm entered. The colt will be ridden by John Velazquez from post five.

Here is the full field for the Jim Dandy in post position order: Steinbeck, Garrett Gomez; Afleet Express, Javier Castellano; Stormy's Majesty, Edgar Prado; Aikenite, David Cohen; A Little Warm, John Velazquez; Miner's Reserve, Calvin Borel; Winslow Homer, Ramon Dominguez; Friend Or Foe, Rajiv Maragh and Fly Down, Jose Lezcano.

Post-time for the Jim Dandy will 5:50 p.m. (et).

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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