Sportswriter headlines Meadowlands Pace

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/14/2010 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sportswriter, winner of the North America Cup, will take on nine rivals in Saturday's $1 million Meadowlands Pace at The Meadowlands. The field of 10 three-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at 10 p.m. (et).

The 2009 champion two-year-old male pacer barely got into the race after finishing fourth in his elimination race. The first three across the wire in the three elimination heats automatically gained entry into the Pace. Sportswriter, driven by Mark MacDonald, was the fastest of the three fourth- place finishers.

The three elimination race winners were Rock N Roll Heaven, Rockin Image and Ok Commander. Each heat was valued at $50,000.

Sportswriter, trained by Casie Coleman, has eight career wins in 13 starts for $1,562,460. In 2010 the colt has just one win, The North America Cup, in five starts for $746,780.

Sportswriter, owned by Steve Calhoun, West Wins Stable and Southwind Farm, will start from the far outside post.

"He's a warrior," MacDonald said about his drive. "It seems like we've always got something to overcome with this horse. He's just such a game horse. One of these days, everything is going to come together for this horse. It's been one thing after another, but he seems to show up for the big dances. That's the main thing."

A win will make Sportswriter the ninth horse to win both the North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace. Last year Well Said turned the double joining Rocknroll Hanover (2005), Gallo Blue Chip (2000), The Panderosa (1999), David's Pass (1995), Cam's Card Shark (1994), Presidential Ball (1993) and Precious Bunny (1991).

Here is the full field for the Meadowlands Pace in post position order: Kyle Major, Jody Jamieson, 15-1; Rockin Image, Yannick Gingras, 3-1; Rock N Roll Heaven, John Campbell, 5-2; Valentino, George Brennan, 15-1; I'm Gorgeous, Andy Miller, 12-1; Delmarvalous, Brian Sears, 12-1; Nova Artist, Brian Sears, 15-1; One More Laugh, Tim Tetrick, 9-2; Fred And Ginger, Dave Palone, 10-1 and Sportswriter, Mark MacDonald, 6-1.

Delmarvalous, fourth in his elimination, replaced OK Commander who was scratched due to lameness. OK Commander developed an abscess in his right front leg after winning his Meadowlands Pace elimination.

Delmarvalous is trained by George Teague, Jr. who also trains I'm Gorgeous.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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