Rain postpones Cup race again

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/20/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR's Nextel Cup race at the Michigan International Speedway was postponed due to rain for the second consecutive day. The 3M Performance 400 has been pushed back until Tuesday and the green flag is scheduled to drop, weather permitting, at 10 a.m.

The last "Cup" race to be postponed on consecutive days was the 1997 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

When the flag finally drops, series points leader Jeff Gordon will lead the 43-car field. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the last qualifier on the track on Friday and stole the pole from Greg Biffle's grasp.

Row two will consist of Kasey Kahne and Bobby Labonte.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Carl Edwards (13th), Jeff Burton (19th) and Tony Stewart (35th).

Just four races remain until the cutoff for the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Following an eventful Sunday in upstate New York, the picture is becoming clearer as to who is a contender and who is just a pretender.

The race for the final position in the "Chase" appears to be coming down to Kurt Busch, his Penske teammate Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle.

Biffle, with his second-place starting position and great history at MIS, should make some headway this week, but still has a long road. He is 15th in the standings and 212 points out of the "Chase." But at MIS Biffle owns two wins and six top-10s in nine career starts.

If tomorrow's race is also cancelled due to weather, the Michigan event might be run on Thanksgiving weekend and become the 10th race of the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." The race at Richmond would no longer be the last race before the "Chase," that honor would go to the New Hampshire International Speedway with the race at Dover becoming the first of 10 races to determine the Nextel Cup champion.

Onlinecasion Autoracing Betting News

<< Athletics place OF Buck on DL
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics place outfielder Travis Buck on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. The move is retroactive to August 18. Buck left the team's game against Kansas City last Friday

<< August turns ugly for Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sooner or later the Washington Nationals would fall from grace after their hot start this month. As Homer said to Bart during an old April Fool's episode of The Simpsons, "You couldn't fool your mother on the fooling

<< Vick set to plead guilty in dogfighting case
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Vick has decided to plead guilty to charges stemming from a dogfighting ring. Vick's attorney, Bill Martin, released a statement Monday to announce that his client has accepted a plea agreement

<< Robredo wins opener at Pilot Pen
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo was a second-round winner Monday at the $650,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final tune-up for the U.S. Open. Robredo handled Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-4 on the hardcour

<< Giants' Ortiz departs game
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Russ Ortiz left his start in Monday's Giants-Marlins contest prior to the bottom of the fifth inning with an undisclosed injury. Ortiz allowed four runs in four innings,

Beltran named NL Player of the Week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran was named NL Player of the Week for the period ending August 19. The switch-hitting Beltran hit .375 with four homers and eight runs scored in the week. The 30-

Casillas out for Spain's friendly with Greece >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas has been ruled out of Spain's squad for this week's friendly against Greece after he suffered an injury in training on Monday. The Spanish Football Federation said t

Iowa suspends pair of players >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Iowa suspended sophomore wide receivers Dominique Douglas and Anthony Bowman for an indefinite period of time Monday. Both players were arrested Sunday by University of Iowa police

Kings sign Klemm >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings signed free agent defenseman Jon Klemm to a one-year contract on Monday. Per team policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Klemm, 37, is a two-time win

Robredo, Fish win second-rounders at Pilot Pen >>
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and unseeded American Mardy Fish were second-round winners Monday at the $650,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final tune-up for the U.S. Open. Robredo handled Frenchman Marc

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.