Rachel Alexandra receives weight assignments

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/05/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra has been given the highweight for the Fleur de Lis Handicap on Saturday, June 12 at Churchill Downs. The filly was also assigned weight for the Stephen Foster Handicap to be run the same day at Churchill Downs.

Earlier in the week co-owner Jess Jackson announced that the four-year-old will start in one of four races on June 12. Along with the Stephen Foster and Fleur de Lis, Rachel is also nominated to the Ogden Phipps Handicap at Belmont Park and the Obeah at Delaware Park.

For the Fleur de Lis, Rachel is assigned highweight of 124 pounds and is weighted at 118 pounds for the Stephen Foster. Both races are 1 1/8-miles with the Fleur de Lis for fillies and mares and the Foster an open handicap.

Rachel is also the highweight for the Ogden Phipps. The champion filly will carry 123 pounds if she starts in the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares. The two horses who have defeated Rachel this year are also nominated to the Belmont Park event.

Unrivaled Belle, who won the La Troienne at Churchill Downs on April 30, is assigned 119 pounds and Zardana, winner of the New Orleans Ladies Classic in March, gets 117 pounds.

No weight assignments are available for the Obeah.

Met Mile winner Quality Road is the Stephen Foster highweight at 127 pounds. Since he and Rail Trip (122 pounds) are not expected to start, there are three probable starters who have all been assigned 120 pounds: Arson Squad, Blame and General Quarters.

Wwwcrockfordscasinos Horseracing Betting News

<< Twins try to topple A's once again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins strive to build off a hard-fought and much-needed win on Friday when the American League Central leaders continue a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics this evening at the Coliseum. Minnesota h

<< Dodgers, Braves resume series between teams on the rise
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Atlanta Braves have vaulted themselves to the top of the National League East by virtue of an impressive recent run of success. The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping their own surge of late can propel the defending NL West

<< Willis to make D-Backs' debut against Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The best performances of Dontrelle Willis' career, one which has veered sadly off course in recent years, came during his days in the National League. The struggling left-hander now gets an opportunity to resurrect his fallen

<< Tigers try to bounce back in middle test with Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers will ask Justin Verlander to play the role of stopper when the slumping club plays the second of three consecutive meetings with the Kansas City Royals tonight at Kauffman Stadium. Eight losses in a 10-g

<< Rangers recall Hunter to make start
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers recalled pitcher Tommy Hunter to start Saturday's game against Tampa Bay. The 23-year-old Hunter made 19 starts for Texas last season but has not pitched for the big club this

Mets put struggling LHP Oliver Perez on 15-day DL >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Struggling pitcher Oliver Perez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday by the New York Mets because of a sudden - and somewhat convenient - injury to his right knee.The move was made retroactive to Tuesday, and it solved a ro

Struggling Bergesen heads to Orioles bullpen >>
BALTIMORE (AP) -Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen has been temporarily removed from the starting rotation so he can provide help to an overworked bullpen.The move was made in part because Baltimore has a day off Monday and partly because the Oriole

Nats bring up C Burke, release C Coste >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have selected the contract of catcher Jamie Burke from Triple-A Syracuse and unconditionally released veteran catcher Chris Coste. In addition, the team placed catcher Carlos

Netherlands star Robben injured in friendly >>
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjen Robben injured his hamstring after scoring two goals in the Netherlands' 6-1 win over Hungary on Saturday, leaving his availability for the World Cup in doubt. Robben entered the match at Am

Ideye replaces Mikel on Nigeria's roster >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback put uncapped Brown Ideye on his World Cup team Saturday to replace injured Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. Mikel will not take part in this summer's World Cup in

MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648

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

Sportsbook Betting Lines

Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.

“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.

“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “

What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?

There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).

Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).

How the Opening Line Is Made

The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.

Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.

Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.

Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.

The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.

A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.

Why Sports Betting Lines Change

Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:

Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game

Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)

The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.

Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.

For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.

Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."

“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”

To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.