Richard's Kid joins top 10 with Pacific Classic win

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard's Kid's second straight win of the Pacific Classic catapulted him into 10th place in this week's NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll. The five-year-old had not received one vote the previous week.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Richard's Kid joined Tinner's Way and Skimming as the only two-time winners of Del Mar's signature race. The five-year-old received 21 points to put him into the top 10, replacing Life At Ten who was third in Sunday's Personal Ensign Stakes.

Two-time champion mare Zenyatta remains solidly in first-place with 14 top votes and 181 points.

Quality Road (133 points) and Lookin At Lucky (130) hold steady in third and fourth, respectively.

Blind Luck (101) and Paddy O'Prado (43) each advanced one spot in the poll, taking advantage of Sunday's loss by 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra suffered a one-length defeat to Persistently in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga. Rachel's point total fell from 113 to 36 to drop her into seventh.

Two-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti (24) and five-year-old mare Proviso (22) retained their respective places in eighth and ninth.

Wwwtangierscasino Horseracing Betting News

<< Silvestre joins Bremen on two-year deal
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen announced on Monday that the club has completed the signing of French defender Mikael Silvestre on a free transfer. The 33-year-old Silvestre was left without a club after he departed Arsen

<< Missouri running back charged with sexual assault
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suspended Missouri running back Derrick Washington has been charged with deviate sexual assault. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that official charges were filed Monday. Washington had been suspen

<< Kuchar up to 10th in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kuchar's playoff victory Sunday over Martin Laird at The Barclays vaulted Kuchar up to 10th in this week's world golf rankings. Kuchar jumped up 13 places to his highest-ever ranking. Tiger Wo

<< Baggies add Scharner on free transfer
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich announced the signing of Paul Scharner on a two-year contract on Monday. The 30-year-old Scharner joined on a free transfer after leaving Wigan at the end of last season, and Baggie

<< Fabiano signs Sevilla extension
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Fabiano pledged his future to Sevilla through June 2013 on Monday when he signed a two-year contract extension, which brings to an end any speculation about a move away from the club. Fabiano's p

Clijsters wins U.S. opener >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Kim Clijsters was a straight-set opening-round winner Monday at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Clijsters got past Hungarian Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5 at the USTA Billie

Hannover inks USA international Beasley >>
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover has completed the signing of American winger DaMarcus Beasley on a two-year contract, the club announced on Monday. Beasley, 28, was available on a free transfer following the expiration of

Clemens pleads not guilty at arraignment >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Clemens has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress about alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens was indicted earlier this month and has been charged with three counts of m

Montero earns MLS Player of the Week award >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 22 of the 2010 MLS season on Monday. Montero scored both of Seattle's goals in a 2-1 comeback win ove

Bautista named AL Player of the Week >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista has been named the Player of the Week for the American League for the period ending August 29. In seven games last week, Bautista led the American League with a

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.