Breeders' Cup ultimate goal for Mine That Bird

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/21/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in his barn, the veteran horseman needs to map out a way to get the gelding to the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Owners Leonard Blach and Mark Allen decided this week to transfer the four- year-old from Chip Woolley to Lukas. Mine That Bird was vanned from New Mexico to Churchill Downs and arrived early Thursday evening.

"Chip is a close friend of mine, and he done us a heck of a job last year," Allen said. "But I have a stable of horses back there that I really need looked after, and Mr. Lukas and some other trainers threw their hat in the ring. When a legend throws his hat in the ring, it's hard to go against him."

Mine That Bird, winner of nearly $2.2 million, has not won since his 50-1 upset in last year's Run for the Roses. He was second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes.

He was third in the West Virginia Derby last year and then underwent throat surgery for an entrapped epiglottis. He returned to finish sixth in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita and closed 2009 with a ninth-place result behind Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

"He's such a gutty little competitor," said Lukas. "Looking at him here taking his bath, I think he looks better than I've ever seen him. The time off has really served him well. He looks better to me right now, and talking to the people who've been around him, I think he's doing better right now than he has. So, I've got a little bit of an edge there. I'm getting a nice horse with some good condition. I'm very pleased with what I see. For a horse that just got off a 12-hour van ride, that rascal looks pretty damned good."

Mine That Bird's route to the Breeders' Cup has not been mapped out, but it's likely he will race exclusively on real dirt tracks. This year's Breeders' Cup will held at Churchill Downs which has a natural dirt surface.

"That's our goal - right there," Allen said. "We're going to keep him here and not ship him around like we did last year. That took a lot out of him, and a lot of that was my fault. We're going let Mr. Lukas do his magic on him, but that's our goal: the Breeders' Cup."

While based at Churchill Downs, Mine That Bird will still be shipped to other tracks for major stakes races.

"I haven't talked with Mark or Dr. Blach about probably which races we'd want to target," Lukas said. "But I'm sure the Whitney's going to jump right out there, and maybe the Suburban at Belmont could be another possibility. Then they've got the Salvatore Mile over at Monmouth Park, which is another option. So there are plenty of options. The ultimate goal, of course, would be the Breeders' Cup. Whatever we do, we'll work backwards from the Breeders' Cup to make sure we look good here."

Reoma Horseracing Betting News

<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Lowered expectations for Nigeria
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No African nation has ever reached the semifinals of the World Cup, but if you were to rewind time about 15 years, Nigeria would be the odds on favorite to do it. With players like Sunday Oliseh, Vi

<< It is time to bring Strasburg to DC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of all the surprises through the first month-and-a-half of the major league season, nothing may be more shocking than the fact that the Washington Nationals are .500 heading into this weekend's slate of interleague play.

<< NYRA notifies employees of pending closures
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Friday that it has notified its employees of the pending end of racing operations and track closings on Wednesday, June 9. The NYRA operates Belmont Park, S

<< MLB - Stay away from high-priced favorites
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Favorites of -180 or more are 61-35 through the first six weeks of the baseball season. That's a solid 64% clip, a higher mark than all but one major league club. However, when a team is favored by such

<< World Cup 2010 Preview: Dutch want elusive title
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bert van Marwijk took over the Netherlands following Euro 2008, when the Oranje breezed through the group stage only to be eliminated in the first knockout round in their second straight major tournam

Nats release Taveras >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals released Willy Taveras on Friday, six days after designating the outfielder for assignment. Washington signed the 28-year-old to a minor-league deal prior to the season. Tavera

AL Central: What lies ahead for Royals? >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that the manager has been replaced and the Royals are settling back into their customary place toward the bottom of the American League Central standings, the next question is, where do they go from here? Well, let's t

Toronto ready to defend BMO against New England >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC returns to BMO Field on Saturday and actually has a road result to build on as it looks to remain perfect at home. Toronto split its first six matches this season, winning all three at home and losin

Verdasco, Gasquet to meet in Nice final >>
Nice, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spanish slugger Fernando Verdasco and heavy French favorite Richard Gasquet will clash in Saturday's title match at the inaugural clay-court Nice Open, a final French Open tune- up.

Sharapova lands in Strasbourg finale >>
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova and German Kristina Barrois will be Saturday's combatants in the final at the $220,000 Strasbourg International, a final clay-court French Open tu

NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.