09/27/2008 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Well Armed, ridden by Aaron Gryder, held off a late-charging Tiago to capture Saturday's $500,000 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita. The victory is the second for the five-year-old gelding in the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" program.
Sent off as the 8-5 favorite in the 10 horse field, Well Armed was never far off the pace being set by Mast Track and Informed. Well Armed was in third up the backstretch with Tres Borrachos running in fourth.
Heading into the far turn, Informed took over the lead from Mast Track as the field began to bunch up heading into the stretch. At the top of stretch the 10 horses were not separated by more than three lengths.
Down the stretch Well Armed moved to the middle of the track, but did not take the lead until he was inside the furlong-pole. Tiago, the 2007 Goodwood champ, rallied from the far outside, but came up a length short.
"He saves all his energy when he needs it," said winning jockey Gryder. "Very competitive horse, he's so resilient."
Albertus Maximus finished third followed by Surf Cat, Arlington Million winner Spirit One, Tres Borrachos, Zappa, Mast Track, Mostacolli Mort and Informed. Slew's Tiznow was an early scratch.
The time for the Goodwood was 1:47.11 on Santa Anita's synthetic track.
"Aaron has done a hellacious job with him," noted trainer Eoin Harty. "Every time I work (Well Armed), it's always Aaron, and the fact that he's (Well Armed) relaxing so much is a credit to Aaron Gryder more than to my training. Well Armed has relaxed more and more in his training since we went to Del Mar, and that's what Aaron taught him, going a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter on the lead is very, very hard to do, so now we've another trick up our sleeve."
Winning the Goodwood gives Well Armed guaranteed entry into the Breeders' Cup Classic. He won an earlier "Win and You're In" event in July at Del Mar. His victory in the San Diego Handicap gave Well Armed an automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
Owned by WinStar Farm, Well Armed adds $300,000 to his bankroll which now stands at more than $1.53 million. He has six wins in 19 lifetime starts, including this year's San Antonio Handicap.
Back in March he was third to Curlin in the Dubai World Cup and began the year with a second in the San Pasqual Handicap to Zappa.
Well Armed paid $5.40, $2.80 and $2.40. Tiago returned $4.40 and $3.00, and Albertus Maximus paid $4.40 to show.
<< Meche and surging Royals down Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gil Meche was solid on the hill and
Ryan Shealy drove in a pair of runs, as the Royals slipped a potential cog
into the Twins' AL Central title hopes with a 4-2 victory.
Minnesota is now tied
<< Rebel Yell: Ole Miss knocks off No. 4 Florida
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shay Hodge's 86-yard touchdown reception
and Kentrell Lockett's blocked extra point late in the contest were the
difference as Ole Miss upended fourth-ranked Florida, 31-30, in an SEC tussle.
Jeva
<< Fleisher shoots 66 to lead SAS Championship
Cary, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bruce Fleisher shot a six-under 66 to grab the
second-round lead Saturday at the SAS Championship.
The 18-time Champions Tour winner had six birdies -- all in his last 14 holes
-- in a flawless round that mov
<< Santana cooks Fish to keep Mets in playoff picture
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the biggest game of the season Johan
Santana proved his worth as one of the best pitchers in the game, tossing a
three-hit shutout on three days' rest in a 2-0 Mets win over the Florida
Marlins
Keenum and Houston send No. 23 ECU to second straight loss >>
Greenville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Case Keenum racked up 399 yards on 36-of-44
passing with three touchdowns and one interception, as Houston upended No. 23
East Carolina, 41-24, in a Conference-USA bout.
Bryce Beall added 132 yards on 22 c
McCoy, Longhorns rout Arkansas >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colt McCoy threw for three touchdowns and ran
for two more as seventh-ranked Texas crushed Arkansas, 52-10, at Royal-Texas
Memorial Stadium.
McCoy went 17-for-19 for 185 yards and added 84 yards on the g
Bruins fall short against 25th-ranked Bulldogs >>
Pasadena, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brandstater completed 21-of-30 passes for
236 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, as the 25th-ranked
Fresno State Bulldogs outlasted the UCLA Bruins, 36-31, to earn their first-
ever wi
Crew put stranglehold on Supporters' Shield with win at N.E. >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew put a stranglehold on the
Supporters' Shield, given to the top team in the Major League Soccer's regular
season, with a 1-0 victory at New England on Saturday night.
Chad Marshall scored
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
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According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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