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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)
<< 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
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
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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