Super Saver versus 11 in 135th Preakness Stakes

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/12/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver will take on 11 challengers in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The 1 3/16-mile race is the second jewel in racing's Triple Crown.

Unlike the Kentucky Derby when poor weather affected the race, the Preakness should be held on a fast track. A few thunderstorms are forecast for Friday, but Saturday will be dry with partly cloudy skies and a post-time temperature near 75.

Post-time for Saturday's Preakness is 6:10 p.m.(et).

Owned by WinStar Farm, Super Saver is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 12- horse field. The three-year-old colt will start from post eight with Calvin Borel again in the saddle.

Borel goes after his second consecutive Preakness victory on Saturday, having won last year's race with the filly Rachel Alexandra. Borel has won three of the last four Triple Crown races on three different horses. He won the 2009 Kentucky Derby on Mind That Bird.

Super Saver gave his trainer Todd Pletcher his first Kentucky Derby win after failing with 24 previous horses. Pletcher is justifiably excited about his current champion.

"I think he's got a big chance to win at Pimlico," Pletcher said recently. "So we're going to tackle that assignment and then we've got three weeks 'til the next one. I think coming into the Derby it appeared to be a very wide open group and I think it's still a little bit wide open. But I wouldn't trade places with anyone, especially going to Pimlico and backing up a little bit of distance."

Pletcher, who is looking for his first Preakness win, believes Super Saver's tactical speed is the horse's biggest advantage.

"I think he's got a tactical edge because he's not relying on the trip like many of the rest of them," Pletcher noted. "If it's a slow pace he'll be there. If it's a fast pace he can settle like he did the other day. Something that was overlooked in the Derby is that everyone made it out to be that this horse didn't get a great trip and that horse didn't get a good trip. Super Saver was able to get a great trip because he was able to put himself in all the right spots and every time Calvin needed him to do something, he did it."

The colt is the winner of three of seven career starts and has lifetime earnings of more than $1.8 million.

This year Super Saver was third to Odysseus in the Tampa Bay Derby and second in the Arkansas Derby behind Line of David. In 2009 he was fourth to Homeboykris in the Champagne, but came back to win the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

Pletcher will also send out Derby Trial runner-up Aikenite in the race.

Aikenite is owned by Dogwood Stable and will be ridden by Javier Castellano from post one. The colt, 20-1 in the program, was second to Hurricane Ike in the Derby Trial on April 24 at Churchill Downs.

Aikenite has just one win in eight career starts for $300,806 in earnings. This year he was sixth in the Holy Bull Stakes, but came back to finish third in the Fountain of Youth. His eighth-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes knocked him out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby.

Here is the complete field for the Preakness in post position order: Aikenite, 20-1, Javier Castellano; Schoolyard Dreams, 15-1, Eibar Coa; Pleasant Prince, 20-1, Julien Leparoux; Northern Giant, 30-1, Terry Thompson; Yawanna Twist, 30-1, Edgar Prado; Jackson Bend, 12-1, Mike Smith; Lookin At Lucky, 3-1, Martin Garcia; Super Saver, 5-2, Calvin Borel; Caracortado, 10-1, Paul Atkinson; Paddy O'Prado, 9-2, Kent Desormeaux; First Dude, 20-1, Ramon Dominguez and Dublin, 10-1, Garrett Gomez.

All starters will carry 126 pounds.

The Triple Crown will conclude on Saturday, June 5 at Belmont Park with the running of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes.

Affirmed in 1978 was the last thoroughbred to sweep the Triple Crown races.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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