Post positions drawn for 24th Breeders' Cup

Horseracing Betting Lines

10/23/2007 - Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Post positions and the morning-line odds have been set for the 24th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held this Friday and Saturday at Monmouth Park for the first time.

The featured race is the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles. The event has drawn an excellent field of nine thoroughbreds, including Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and Preakness champ Curlin.

The favorite for the Classic is four-year-old colt Lawyer Ron, who has established himself as the top older horse in North America. The winner of the Whitney and Woodward Handicaps is 5-2 in the program with John Velazquez riding. The pair will start from the inside post with Street Sense and jockey Calvin Borel next to him in post two.

Street Sense and Curlin are both 3-1 in the morning-line, with Curlin breaking from post four with Robby Albarado in the saddle. There are a total of five three-year-olds in the Classic field.

"I think it's one the best fields that's been put together," said Street Sense trainer Carl Nafzger. "You just can't get a better field put together. You got speed, you got closers. They've been beat, but they've been beat by each other. I think it's going to be a great Classic and I'm just glad to be part of it."

Haskell champ Any Given Saturday, 4-1 in the program, will start from post three with Garrett Gomez riding. Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun has drawn post eight with Mario Pino and is 8-1. Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago is 12-1 with Mike Smith in the saddle. Tiago, coming off a victory in the Goodwood Stakes, will start from the far outside post.

"He's gotten bigger and stronger and he's more focused now, more into his races," Tiago's trainer John Shirreffs noted. "It's a terrific field for the Classic and we're glad to be part of it. It's a real treat for me to be here and stabled with Carl (Nafzger). I have the greatest respect for him. The old bull rider and the ex-Marine, we make a fine pair."

Completing the field for the Breeders' Cup Classic is George Washington, Awesome Gem and Diamond Stripes.

With the addition of three new races, that will be conducted on Friday, there are now 11 Breeders' Cup World Championships races.

The first three Breeders' Cup races will be televised on Friday by ESPN2 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. (et). On Saturday ESPN will broadcast from 12:00-7:00 p.m. (et) with the remaining eight races. Trevor Denman will again call the races.

Friday's weather forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, winds from the east at 10 m.p.h. with a high near 65. A few showers are expected on Saturday with a high near 70 and winds from the south at 5-10 m.p.h.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.