Former two-year-old champ retired

Horseracing Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every year following the running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile the winner of the race is automatically declared the early favorite for the next year's Kentucky Derby. Street Sense is the only thoroughbred to win both races.

I bring this up because it has been announced that 2008 Juvenile winner and two-year-old champion male Midshipman has been retired from competition. Who knew he was still in training?

Midshipman never made it to the Run for the Roses in 2009. That race is best known as being won by 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird who was last to Midshipman in the 2008 Juvenile.

"Midshipman defeated the best of his generation," Oliver Tait, Darley Stable's Chief Operating Officer, said, "while proving himself on both dirt and synthetic surfaces. We couldn't be more excited to have a champion two-year- old with his kind of looks and pedigree joining our roster in 2011."

As a two-year-old Midshipman won three of four starts, with a second, for $1,380,200. Along with the Juvenile he won the Del Mar Futurity in 2008 and was second to Street Hero in the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita.

Midshipman's biggest race in 2009 was the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita. He was beaten less than a length to finish third to Furthest Land.

The colt finishes his racing career with five wins in eight starts for more than $1.5 million.

The downfall for Midshipman might have been his time in Dubai after his Juvenile victory. He didn't have a start during his time overseas and never recaptured whatever magic he may have had.

This year as a four-year-old the colt won his lone start, an allowance race in Dubai.

Horses come and go. Some capture the imagination like Secretariat or more recently Smarty Jones. Others are merely good horses who either don't develop or aren't allowed to progress.

Smarty Jones was honored on Labor Day at Parx Racing, formerly Philadelphia Park. The track has a new stakes race named for the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner and a statue of him was unveiled.

Parx Racing honored Smarty Jones because he is the only Kentucky Derby winner who was ever based at the suburban Philadelphia track. His owners and trainer brought him back home before the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Even though that race didn't end with the Pennsylvania-bred sweeping the Triple Crown, he became an instant legend around Philadelphia.

Midshipman has been retired. Best of luck in his new career. Who knew he was still in training?

Wwwquam Horseracing Betting News

<< Orioles activate P Hernandez
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated pitcher David Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. He was placed on the DL August 5 with a left ankle sprain. The right-hander is 4-3 with two saves and a 3.29 e

<< Magic name Foyle to front office position
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic on Tuesday named former NBA player Adonal Foyle as the team's director of player development. The 35-year-old Foyle retired in August following a 13-year career. He was originally selec

<< Cal Poly, UC Davis to join Big Sky Conference
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-rumored talk of the Big Sky Conference losing the University of Montana, and perhaps other schools, took on another twist Tuesday. Big Sky football is expanding. One of the top conferences in t

<< Montero helping Sounders FC across the river
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a record of 12-7-11, a playoff spot as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, a U.S. Open Cup Championship, and almost half-a- million in paid attendance, Seattle Sounders FC was coming off one of the most successf

<< Devils, Kovalchuk finally seal the deal
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was anything but a smooth process, but Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils were finally able to consummate their long summer courtship in the early morning hours this past Saturday. Two months afte

White Sox recall Viciedo and Torres >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White recalled infielder Dayan Viciedo and pitcher Carlos Torres from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday. Viciedo, 21, appeared in 27 games earlier this season with the major league club and hit

Habs ink Halpern >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed veteran forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year contract. As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. The 34-year-old Halpern split last season betwe

Scola leads Argentina past Brazil to gain FIBA quarters >>
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola continued a blistering scoring clip with 37 points on 14-of-20 shooting as Argentina edged Brazil, 93-89, to gain a quarterfinal berth in a thrilling South American showdown at the 2010 FIBA Wo

Wild F Sheppard out indefinitely >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Wild center James Sheppard will be out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left patella. The Wild announced Tuesday that the 22-year-old sustained the injury during non-hockey related activ

Cubs' Silva activated from DL to make Tuesday start >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander Carlos Silva from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, in time to make his first start in over a month. The Cubs announced on Saturday that Silva, who hadn't

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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