California Derby favorite shipping in from South

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/13/2012 - Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Mike Machowsky is sending his three- year-old Hodge up from Santa Anita for Saturday's $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields. The 1 1/16-mile race is a prep event for the track's $200,000 El Camino Real Derby on February 18.

Hodge has been made the 9-5 favorite in the seven horse field. The gray colt will be ridden by Russell Baze from post two. Baze, a member of Racing's Hall of Fame, has won the Derby five times, a record he shares with another Hall of Fame rider, Johnny Longden.

Hodge is coming off a third-place finish in the Hollywood Prevue as a 21-1 longshot, beaten less than two-lengths. With one win in three starts the colt has earned $39,350.

Local runner Russian Greek is the 5-2 second pick in the program. Winner of the track's Gold Rush Stakes, Russian Greek, trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, will start from post six with Aaron Gryder in the saddle.

Owned by Olympia Star Inc., Russian Greek opened his career with a win at San Rosa last July. In November the colt was fifth in the Golden Nugget at Golden Gate before rallying from last to win the Gold Rush by a neck over Marshal Marini. He has banked $61,700.

Also shipping in from down south is 4-1 third choice Senor Rain. Trained by Peter Miller, the chestnut gelding will start from the rail post with Kevin Krigger riding.

Senor Rain, owned by Gary and Cecil Barber, had to be pulled up during the running of the Generous Stakes at Hollywood Park on November 27. On November 12 the colt set the pace in the Real Quiet Stakes at Hollywood before finishing third on the synthetic main track. Senor Rain has banked $73,416 with two wins in seven starts.

Here is the field for the California Derby in post position order: Senor Rain, Kevin Krigger, 4-1; Hodge, Russell Baze, 9-5; Unveiled Heat, Abel Cedillo, 12-1; Cahill Chrome, Juan Hernandez, 10-1; Blacky the Bull, Kerwin John, 6-1; Russian Greek, Aaron Gryder, 5-2 and Reconstruction, Frank Alvarado, 8-1.

Post-time on Saturday is scheduled for 7:22 p.m. (et).

Myjackblack Horseracing Betting News

<< Utah G Watson has bone bruise
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz guard Earl Watson has been diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee and is a game-time decision for Saturday's contest against New Jersey. Watson left Wednesday's overtime loss to t

<< Broncos WR Decker out for Patriots game
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker has been ruled out of Saturday's divisional playoff game against the New England Patriots due to a sprained knee. Decker was injured while attempting to ca

<< Real aims to keep pressure on Barcelona
Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid will try to keep the pressure on Barcelona with a win on Saturday at Mallorca, which would stretch the advantage at the top of La Liga for Jose Mourinho's side to eight points. Madrid m

<< Blue Jackets put Carter on IR
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed center Jeff Carter on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury. Carter separated his right shoulder during last Sunday's game against Anaheim. The seventh-year vet

<< Phillies avoid arbitration with Kendrick
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $3.585 million contract with pitcher Kyle Kendrick, avoiding arbitration in the process. Kendrick, 27, went 8-6 with a 3.22 earned run average in 34 games (15

Southern Illinois running back declares for draft >>
Carbondale, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Illinois junior running back Jewel Hampton will forsake his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft this year. Hampton, who spent one season at Southern Illinois after transferring from the

Jeff Fisher chooses to coach Rams >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Fisher will be the next head coach of the St. Louis Rams. According to a report from the Post-Dispatch, Fisher decided to coach the Rams rather than the Miami Dolphins. Both teams sought the former l

Tottenham keen on continuing title charge >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is a storm brewing in North London and Tottenham is at the source as in-form Spurs have marched up the Premiership table to move into a tie for second. While Manchester City and Manches

Penguins captain Crosby resumes skating >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and captain Sidney Crosby returned to the ice for the first time in more than a month during Friday's morning skate. Crosby said he is allowed to "lightly exert," and

Atlanta takes Leroux No. 1 in WPS draft >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Beat picked U.S. national team and UCLA forward Sydney Leroux No. 1 overall in the 2012 Women's Professional Soccer draft Friday. The 21-year-old Leroux scored 30 goals in 36 games for U.S. U

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.