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).

Oddsmakwr 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

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.