Rachel Alexandra garners first win of 2010

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra notched her first victory of the year Saturday in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old filly snapped a two race streak of finishing second.

With regular rider Calvin Borel in the saddle, Rachel broke first from the gate in the 1 1/8-mile race. She was quickly joined on the lead by 5-1 second choice Jessica Is Back.

Garrett Gomez guided Jessica Is Back to the lead around the clubhouse turn with the 1-10 favorite to her outside in second. Racing in third was Distinctive Dixie followed by Made for Magic and Multipass in the five horse field.

Jessica Is Back continued on the lead up the backstretch with Rachel right next to her. The favorite edged to the lead around far turn as Distinctive Dixie ranged up from the outside.

On the final turn Rachel had taken over the lead as Distinctive Dixie and jockey Robby Albarado moved into second on the outside.

Unlike her first two starts of the year, Rachel had a lot left in the tank and Borel was not afraid to push her. She took complete control of the race at the top of the stretch and powered away from the field.

Reminiscent of 2009, Rachel ran away from her competition to post a 10 1/2- length win over Distinctive Dixie followed by Jessica Is Back, Multipass and Made for Magic.

Rachel covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:48.78 on a fast track.

Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, the victory was worth $120,000 giving the filly $245,696 for the year. Rachel has now won 12 of 17 career starts for $3,194,050.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Rachel came up short in her initial two starts this year. She was second to Zardana at the Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Ladies Classic and runner-up to Unrivaled Belle at Churchill Downs in the La Troienne.

Zardana is entered in Sunday's Vanity Handicap versus Zenyatta at Hollywood Park and Unrivaled Belle was second in Saturday's Ogden Phipps to Life At Ten at Belmont Park.

There was no show wagering in the Fleur de Lis. Rachel Alexandra paid $2.20 and $2.10, and Distinctive Dixie paid $5.60.

Wwwherald Horseracing Betting News

<< BoSox put Dice-K on DL minutes before start
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just prior to Saturday's contest against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Red Sox placed starter Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain. Scott Atchison got the start for

<< Lakers center Bynum says he'll play in Game 5
BOSTON (AP) -Andrew Bynum is altogether clear on this: He'll play in Game 5 of the NBA finals.Beyond that, the key to the Los Angeles Lakers' interior defense - and perhaps the team's championship chances - can't make any promises.``I'm 100 percent

<< Harden placed on DL
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers placed starter Rich Harden on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a left gluteal muscle strain. To fill the roster spot, Texas recalled pitcher Alexi Ogando from Triple-A Okla

<< Halladay, Kendrick to switch spots in rotation
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phillies pitchers Roy Halladay and Kyle Kendrick will switch spots in the rotation for the club's upcoming series with the New York Yankees. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Saturday that Halladay will

<< Posada's slam, Jeter's offense stoke Yanks over Astros
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Jeter homered twice and Jorge Posada hit a grand slam to back another good outing by Javier Vazquez as the Yankees took care of Houston, 9-3. Vazquez (6-5) won his third straight start, allowing three

Cubs swap out relievers with promotion of Atkins >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have recalled right-hander Mitch Atkins from Triple-A Iowa and optioned lefty James Russell to Iowa. Atkins will look to make his 2010 debut after going 4-2 with a 2.63 earned-run average i

Rays put OF Kapler on DL >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have placed outfielder Gabe Kapler on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip flexor strain. Kapler is hitting .217 with a home run and eight runs batted in this sea

Group C favorites England, USA battle to draw in Rustenburg >>
Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England and the United States battled to a 1-1 draw Saturday at Royal Bafokeng Stadium to open World Cup Group C play for both teams. England got a goal from midfielder Steven Gerrard in

Big 3 have been inconsistent for Celtics >>
BOSTON (AP) -When the Boston Celtics assembled their new Big Three in the summer of 2007, they suddenly had three different options on offense - too many for opponents to handle, it turned out, and the league's most-decorated franchise drove to its

England has more to worry about then just Green >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's safe to say that the English tabloids will come up with all kinds of clever headlines to describe the horrendous goal that Robert Green conceded in the Three Lion's 1-1 draw with the United States on Saturday to open

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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