Drosselmeyer win voted 2011 Moment of the Year

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/13/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the third straight year, the running of the Breeders' Cup Classic has been voted the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Moment of the Year.

This was the 13th year that horse racing fans have been able to cast votes for the top event in thoroughbred racing.

Of the 12 nominated events from 2011, Drosselmeyer's longshot victory in the $5 million Classic garnered the most votes cast. The four-year-old's win over pacesetter Game On Dude, with Mike Smith riding, received 46 percent of the online ballots.

The winning selection will be honored at the Eclipse Award ceremony Monday, January 16 with the "NTRA Moment of the Year" award.

The previous two winning "Moments" were the thrilling Breeders' Cup Classics involving Zenyatta. She won in 2009 and barely lost to Blame the following year.

Here are the remaining nominated moments with percentages:

- Game on Dude and Chantal Sutherland survive 10 furlongs and a 12-minute stewards' inquiry in capturing the Santa Anita Handicap. (three percent)

- Rosie Napravnik guides Pants on Fire to victory in the Louisiana Derby en route to becoming the first woman to win a Fair Grounds riding title. (one percent)

- Uncle Mo suffers his first defeat, running third behind Toby's Corner in Aqueduct's Wood Memorial. (one percent)

- Animal Kingdom runs down his foes in the Kentucky Derby. (five percent)

- Shackleford overcomes pre-race nervousness to hold off Animal Kingdom in the Preakness. (two percent)

- Blind Luck prevails by a nose over Havre de Grace following a stretch-long duel in the Delaware Handicap. (14 percent)

- Caleb's Posse catches a stubborn Uncle Mo in the King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga. (two percent)

- Havre de Grace beats the boys in Saratoga's Woodward Stakes. (nine percent)

- Joseph O'Brien, 18, becomes the youngest jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race, piloting St. Nicholas Abbey to victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf for his father, Aidan O'Brien. (six percent)

- Court Vision spoils Goldikova's attempt at a fourth consecutive Breeders' Cup Mile win, upsetting the field at 64-1. (two percent)

- Rapid Redux breaks a North American record by winning his 20th consecutive race. (nine percent)

Wwwthomsoninvest Horseracing Betting News

<< Bucks seek first road win in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barring any freak occurrence on Friday the 13th, Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki will become the 23rd player in NBA history to reach 23,000 career points tonight and is just three points off the mark. The Milwaukee Buc

<< Wolves and Hornets battle in Big Easy
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of last-place teams get together tonight in the Big Easy, as the New Orleans Hornets take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Hornets have lost seven of eight games since opening the season with consecutive wins and

<< Kings continue trek in Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off of their first road win of the season, the Sacramento Kings look to make it two in a row when they resume a five-game swing tonight against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. The Kings had dropped their f

<< Banged-up Bulls invade Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls managed to stay in the win column their last time out even though they had the second-lowest point total of the season and reigning MVP Derrick Rose did not play because of a toe injury. The Bulls have wo

<< Reeling Bobcats host struggling Pistons
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats try to put the brakes on a five-game losing streak this evening, as they welcome the Detroit Pistons to Time Warner Cable Arena. Charlotte started off a back-to-back-to-back stretch in disappointing f

Brown, Lakers face Cavs at Staples Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Brown could never get it done with LeBron James in Cleveland but Kobe Bryant seems intent on giving the new Lakers mentor a shot at the brass ring in Hollywood. Riding back-to-back 40-point performances Bryant wi

Caps try to continue surge against struggling Bolts >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five wins in seven games has the Washington Capitals back in the playoff picture. A season high-tying losing streak, and according to head coach Guy Boucher Tampa Bay's worst loss of the year, has the Lightning fading in t

Coyotes shoot for two points against lowly Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have been playing solid hockey as of late for 65 minutes. It's the few minutes after that where the club has been struggling. The Coyotes, losers of two straight shootouts, try to get back on track ton

Leafs seek to extend surge with home-and-home sweep of Sabres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to sweep a home-and-home series with the Sabres and also extend their longest win streak of the season when they visit Buffalo's First Niagara Center for tonight's Northeast Division clash.

Ducks try to return to win column vs. Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to get back in the win column tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for tonight's clash at Rexall Place. The Ducks had won three straight before dropping a 1-0 overtime decision Thursday i

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.