Thursday morning jogs for Preakness favorites

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/13/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thursday morning was a time for several of the Preakness starters, including the three favorites, to get acquainted with Pimlico Race Course. The only one of the 12 not at Pimlico is Schoolyard Dreams, who will arrive Friday.

Both of trainer Todd Pletcher's Preakness horses, Super Saver and Aikenite, visited the track Thursday morning. Both colts took a mile jog around Pimlico.

The colts shipped to Pimlico from Churchill Downs on Wednesday and Pletcher said they have settled into their new surroundings.

"We took him (Super Saver) out and gave him an easy jog once around the track," Pletcher said. "The track was sloppy and we weren't looking to do much, but I thought he handled everything really well. He had a good night; rested well and cleaned up his grain. His energy level is very good. It seems like he's shipped in as well as we could have hoped."

Pletcher said that his colts would go back to the track to gallop Friday morning: Aikenite at 6 a.m. (et) and Super Saver a half-hour later.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert sent out Lookin At Lucky for an easy 1 3/8- mile jog under exercise rider Dana Barnes Thursday morning. It was the first visit to the track at Pimlico for the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite.

"He went nice. He just sort of got a feel for it," Baffert said. "On a muddy track you can't really get a good grip of it, but he looked good. That's not the surface we're going to be running on. He got a good look at the track around there. When there [aren't] any horses training on it, it's sort of weird for him, but he took in all the sights pretty good. He went easy around there. We don't do much once we get here with him. He's doing well."

Paddy O'Prado, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, showed good energy during his jog around the Pimlico track Thursday morning.

"He bounced out of the Derby as though he never ran," said trainer Dale Romans. "That's why we're here. We normally wouldn't wheel one back in two weeks."

The updated weather forecast for the Preakness calls for sunny skies and a post-time temperature near 75.

Post-time Saturday is 6:12 p.m. (et).

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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