Game On Dude and Ultimate Eagle likely for Big 'Cap

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This past weekend's stakes races at Santa Anita Park for older thoroughbreds gave early incite into the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic set for November at the southern California facility. However, next month's Santa Anita Handicap could prove an even better indicator.

Trainer Bob Baffert sent out five-year-old horse Game On Dude to convincingly win the San Antonio Handicap on Sunday. Despite a poor start, the veteran racehorse registered a 5 1/4-length win as the 3-10 favorite versus four rivals.

"He ran hard. He'd been training really well," noted Baffert following the Sunday event. "We knew he was up for a big race.

"I think Chantal (winning jockey Chantal Sutherland) did a great job not panicking when he didn't break. She got him running. They were going pretty rapid up front, but this horse, once you get him in a high cruising speed, he's so dangerous. If you grab a hold of him, he's not effective at all."

Co-owned by Joe Torre, Game On Dude is a speed horse who has proven he can cover a distance of ground. He was a solid second in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic behind 17-1 longshot Drosselmeyer.

Game On Dude won last year's Santa Anita Handicap and could very easily remain home for the race or go to the Dubai World Cup on March 31.

"A lot has to do with what kind of weight we get and all that stuff. Last year he got in really light (115 pounds)," Baffert said about Big 'Cap weight assignments. "We're just going to enjoy it right now. He's nominated to Dubai, but the thing about Dubai is it's getting more and more difficult for American horses to win there because of the new track layout and the synthetic, you don't know what to expect. We can think about. It's an option, so we're going to leave all options open for now."

Another strong contender for the Big 'Cap is Ultimate Eagle fresh off a win in Saturday's Strub Stakes for four-year-olds. The colt, trained by Mike Pender, went off at 7-1 and defeated Baffert's horse Jaycito by 7 1/4-lengths.

"It (my confidence in the horse) was unwavering and he just went out there and proved what I thought he could do all along. We did take the heart right out of (4-5 favorite) Tapizar, which I thought he (Ultimate Eagle) would.

"This is a special horse and people have to start realizing it. Just because he wins on the turf, it doesn't mean that he can't do it anywhere else."

Ultimate Eagle was making his first career start on a real dirt surface. He has five starts on turf with three earlier races on synthetic tracks. Last year he won both the Oak Tree and Hollywood Derbies.

Pender will not commit to the Big 'Cap, but is more than happy with anything his charge accomplishes.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Pender said about the Big 'Cap, "but we're just so pleased with the horse. It took so much to get to this point, with the near-death experience (colic in his three-year-old year). It's just an unbelievable miracle that we're here today."

Solid victories by Game On Dude and Ultimate Eagle give a nice foundation for this year's handicap division.

Foxspoets Horseracing Betting News

<< Danilo Gallinari has 'significant ankle sprain'
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has a significant left ankle sprain and is out indefinitely, the team announced Tuesday. Gallinari suffered the injury in Monday's loss to the Rockets. A CT and MR

<< Haley lands in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley has been named the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Haley was fired by the Chiefs on December 12 after a 5-8 start to his third season

<< Reports: Ricky Williams to retire
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens running back Ricky Williams is planning to retire, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday. The former NFL rushing champion assumed a reserve role with the Ravens this past season, gaining 444 yards

<< Giants celebrate another Super Bowl title
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants celebrated another Super Bowl title Tuesday with a parade up the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan and a ceremony at City Hall Plaza. Thousands of fans lined the streets as playe

<< Juninho, Leonardo return to Galaxy
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy announced Tuesday that Brazilian duo Juninho and Leonardo will return to the club from Brasileiro side Sao Paulo, as Juninho rejoins the club on a season-long loan and Leonardo signs

Portugal, Zenit midfielder Danny out 6-8 months >>
St Petersburg, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal and Zenit midfielder Danny tore ligaments in his right knee Sunday and will be out six to eight months, the Russian club announced Tuesday. Danny, 28, will miss the remainder of the Cham

Ricky Williams calls it a career >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former All-Pro running back Ricky Williams has decided to retire after 11 NFL seasons. The 34-year-old Williams was a star at the University of Texas and a heralded first-round pick of the New Orleans Sain

In the FCS Huddle: The curious case of App State >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's not as if DeAndre Presley's college career was only seven games long. But that's the experience he must build off as he tries to build an NFL career. There are 22 players from FCS programs who have be

Western Illinois tabs Ward as defensive coordinator >>
Macomb, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ward has been named Western Illinois' new defensive coordinator, head football coach Mark Hendrickson announced Tuesday. Ward was Drake University's defensive coordinator last season when the Bulldogs pos

Prosecutors: Sandusky should stay inside >>
Harrisburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prosecutors want the conditions of Jerry Sandusky's bail to be modified to prevent the former Penn State assistant coach from leaving the walls of his house unless it is to receive medical treatme

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards