Gio Ponti captures Arlington Million XXVII
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/08/2009 -
Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gio Ponti, sent off as the 3-2
favorite, overcame a stumble at the start to win Saturday's running of the
27th Arlington Million at Arlington Park. The 1 1/4 mile race is part of the
Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" program allowing Gio Ponti to gain
automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Turf this year at Santa Anita Park.
Setting the pace was speedster Presious Passion. The six-year-old gelding led
by as many as 10-lengths on the turf course initially labeled as yielding.
Racing in second was Gloria de Campeao followed by Einstein and Mr. Sidney in
the eight-horse field.
Presious Passion, ridden by Elvis Trujillo, still had the lead going into the
far turn with Mr. Sidney moving into second and Gio Ponti gaining to reach the
leaders.
On the final turn Mr. Sidney was first with Gio Ponti and jockey Ramon
Dominguez along side. The favorite assumed the lead coming out of the turn and
began widening his lead.
Down the stretch Gio Ponti, trained by Christophe Clement, continued his drive
as Stotsfold and Just as Well both rallied from off the pace. Gio Ponti posted
a 1 1/4-length victory over the hard charging Just as Well with Stotsfold
finishing third.
Completing the order of finish was Cima de Triomphe, Einstein, Mr. Sidney,
Gloria de Campeao and Presious Passion.
Recapturetheglory, winner of the 2008 Illinois Derby, was scratched Saturday
morning because trainer and co-owner Louie Roussel had indicated all week
that Recapturetheglory needed to have firm ground to perform at his best.
The time for the 1 1/4 miles was 2:04.19 on an Arlington turf course listed as
good.
Gio Ponti is owned by Castleton Lyons and picks up $588,000 with the victory.
The four-year-old colt has won four of five starts this year for more than
$1.3 million. In his career, he has banked more than $2.1 million with nine
wins in 14 starts.
Gio Ponti has won four straight stakes races, including the Frank E. Kilroe
and Manhattan Handicaps, and Man o' War Stakes. As a three-year-old in 2008,
Gio Ponti won the Hill Prince Stakes and Virginia Derby.
Gio Ponti paid $5.00, $3.40 and $2.60. Just as Well returned $11.80 and $6.80,
and Stotsfold paid $9.80 to show.
<< Athletics place P Braden on DL
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics placed pitcher Dallas
Braden on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, retroactive to August 1, with
a rash on his left foot.
Braden is 8-9 with a 3.89 earned run average over 22 st
<< Fire's defense gets another test against Dynamo
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Fire coach Denis Hamlett has needed to
juggle his defense all season, but the team's results don't show it.
Chicago, which lost the SuperLiga final to Mexico's Tigres on Wednesday, has
posted four st
<< Muscle Hill equals record with Hambletonian win
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leading three-year-old trotter
Muscle Hill, sent off as the 3-10 favorite, easily defeated nine rivals
Saturday to win harness racing's marquee event, the $1.52 million
Hamblet
<< Suarez scores hat trick to lead Ajax over RKC
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Suarez scored three times after
the 70th minute, leading Ajax to a 4-1 victory over 10-man RKC Waalwijk in the
Dutch Eredivisie on Saturday.
Ajax and RKC were tied 1-all in the 70th minute when
<< Lind's hit in 10th inning lifts Blue Jays past O's
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Lind's RBI single in the bottom of the
10th inning lifted Toronto past Baltimore, 3-2, in the middle contest of a
three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Danys Baez (4-6) allowed an infield single to Joe
Ambrose holds off Busch to defend Watkins Glen title >>
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose made a bold move on Kyle
Busch for the lead and then held off the current points leader on two late-
race double-file restarts to win the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International
for the
Marseille opens title chase with win at Grenoble >>
Grenoble, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mamadou Niang scored in under two minutes,
Benoit Cheyrou added the clincher late and title favorite Marseille opened the
French Ligue 1 season with a 2-0 win at Grenoble on Saturday.
Didier Deschamps, wh
Liverpool acquires Aquilani from Roma >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool has wrapped up the signing of
Italy midfielder Alberto Aquilani from Roma.
The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the Reds, having moved
for an undisclosed fee which is report
Harrington leads Woods by three at Firestone >>
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Padraig Harrington carded a three-under 67
Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the WGC-Bridgestone
Invitational.
Harrington, a three-time major champion, completed 54 holes at 10-
Bullsbay surges to victory in Whitney Handicap >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bullsbay, the longest shot on the
board, charged to victory Saturday in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap at
Saratoga Race Course. Ridden by Jeremy Rose, Bullsbay covered the 1 1/8 miles
in 1:48
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
Football Betting
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
NFL Betting Lines
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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