Lack of patience puts three-year-old to stud

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/23/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In another example of being too cautious and showing no interest in the racing fan, Arkansas Derby winner Line of David was retired from racing earlier this week.

The colt had only minor physical problems, but his new owner decided that it would be better to retire him than allow the horse to heal. Line of David was purchased by B. Wayne Hughes from Ike and Dawn Thrash and will begin his stud career at Hughes' Spendthrift Farm near Lexington.

Line of David, 17-1 at post-time, won this years Arkansas Derby in his first try on a regular dirt track. He defeated eventual Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and made his last career start in the Run for the Roses.

"We thought he was a nice horse on turf," noted trainer John Sadler following the Arkansas win, "and we wanted to try him on a natural surface."

Not sure why the colt was retired so quickly. The new owner should have let Line of David rest through the summer and get him ready for a fall campaign.

People are always saying that in order to build interest in horseracing the horses have to be kept in competition longer. Line of David being a speed horse probably would have become a very good sprinter if allowed to race as an older thoroughbred.

Minor injuries for a horse are a part of the game. I'm not saying Line of David should have competed with them, but at the same time minor injuries are not reason enough for retirement.

Allow horses to race and given necessary time to recuperate. Every fan wants the best horses to stick around longer than they are. We all would like to see great matchups in the best stakes races.

Extra congratulations go to the connections of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra for bringing the two champs back for 2010. This type of love of racing seems to be rare in this era.

Flslottery Horseracing Betting News

<< England advances on Defoe's goal
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A first-half goal from Jermain Defoe was enough to give England a 1-0 win over Slovenia at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday in the final match of Group C play for both teams, allowin

<< Donovan's stoppage-time goal puts USA through
Pretoria, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States completed its FIFA World Cup group stage with a 1-0 win over Algeria on Wednesday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium thanks to a 91st minute winner from U.S. attacker Landon Donovan

<< Angels hope to add to Dodgers' woes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In addition to calling the same metropolitan area home, both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Los Angeles Dodgers hold the title of defending division champions. Only one of these teams has been playing like a contender

<< Hudson, Buehrle square off in Windy City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup with one of the National League's top teams has yet to slow down the surging Chicago White Sox, who'll put a seven-game winning streak on the line when they resume a three-game series with the NL East-leading Atlant

<< 2010 FBS Positional Analysis: Quarterbacks
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They probably get too much credit when things are going good, and too much blame when things aren't. But that's the nature of the quarterback position at every level, and the FBS is certainly no exception.

Bulls name Thibodeau head coach >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have named Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau their new head coach, finalizing a move reported earlier this month. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but on June 5, the Chicago Tribu

Riders great Ron Atchison passes away >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Wednesday the passing of Ron Atchison. He was 80. Atchison joined the Roughriders in 1952 and played in 237 regular season games with the franchise until retiring in 1968

Italy still has work to do against Slovakia >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All four teams are still alive as Group F enters its final day of play on Thursday, but Italy has plenty of work to do in order to reach the knockout round, which was unthinkable at the start o

Surprising Kiwis hope to seize chance vs. Paraguay >>
Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Group F was widely considered to be the weakest group at this summer's FIFA World Cup, and while the action on the field has not always been scintillating, it has been unpredictable. Italy was wid

Lawrence Taylor indicted on rape charges >>
White Plains, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor was reportedly indicted on six charges, including rape, on Wednesday. According to The Journal News, a Rockland County, New York grand jury indicted Taylor on fel

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.