Unusual prep race for Breeders' Cup Classic

Horseracing Betting Lines

09/23/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amid the hoopla this weekend surrounding the running of the 90th Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, featuring Curlin, trainer Bennie Stutts, Jr will be sending out his three-year-old Smooth Air in a stakes race at Calder.

Now this may not seem so unusual, but Smooth Air will be racing on the turf for the first time in preparation for the 1 1/4 mile Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in four weeks. Stutts is using the turf event, $100,000 Needles Stakes, to get the Ohio Derby winner ready for the new synthetic racing surface at Santa Anita. The same way Big Brown raced on the turf at Monmouth Park earlier this month.

"The owner wants to go to the Breeders' Cup (Classic)," noted Stutts, "and I had a couple of races to consider for his start before that. The Super Derby was one, but that would have only given Smooth Air 19 days from his last race."

Smooth Air has only one bad performance in his career, 11th in the Kentucky Derby behind Big Brown. In the Florida Derby, Smooth Air was second, five- lengths behind Big Brown. Stutts' colt is coming off a third-place result in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby as the 4-1 favorite at Philadelphia Park.

The three-year-old, owned by Mount Joy Stables, won the Hutcheson Stakes in January and then was third at Tampa Bay Downs in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. This year in six starts he has two wins, a second and two third-place finishes for $605,700.

Another unusual move on the way to the Classic is the entry of Arlington Million champ Spirit One in Saturday's $500,000 Goodwood at Santa Anita. The four-year-old colt has never raced on anything but grass in his 18 race career.

"I think it will be easier for him on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride," said Francoise, wife of trainer Jean-Pierre Dupuis, "because it is a new synthetic. But, we'll know for sure after the race. The horse is not nominated for the Breeders' Cup yet, so he would be running for $400,000 in the Goodwood (excluding $100,000 from the Breeders Cup Fund). The owners haven't decided whether to pay the $150,000 (Breeders Cup supplemental fee) before the Goodwood or not."

The Goodwood is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series, which puts the winner of the race into the Breeders' Cup Classic. The winning horse needs to be already nominated or pay the $150,000 Breeders' Cup supplemental fee.

Spanish-born jockey Ioritz Mendizabal will be aboard Spirit One as he was for the upset victory in the Arlington Million. The French-bred colt has career earnings of $1.1 million with five wins in 18 lifetime starts.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.









Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.