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."
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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