Lookin At Lucky advances in poll after Haskell win

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/02/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champion colt Lookin At Lucky made a double move in this week's NTRA National Thoroughbred Poll off his victory Sunday in the Haskell Invitational. The three-year-old colt jumped from fifth to third following the impressive victory at Monmouth Park.

Lookin At Lucky, the 2009 champion two-year-old male, ran to a four-length win over six rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell. The commanding victory enabled him to receive 128 points, third most in the voting. The colt is expected to start in the Travers at Saratoga on August 28.

Champion mare Zenyatta remains atop the poll with 14 first-place votes and 173 points, nine fewer points than last week. The undefeated six-year-old will have her next start on Saturday, August 7 at Del Mar in the Clement L. Hirsch, a race she has won the last two years.

Four-year-old colt Quality Road retains the second spot with four first-place votes and 161 points, 10 less than the previous week. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Quality Road is set to start in the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course also on August 7.

Defending Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra falls one spot to fourth with 118 points. Last week she received 125 points after winning the Lady's Secret at Monmouth. She will next race at Saratoga on August 29 in the Personal Ensign.

Four-year-old colt Blame suffered another drop in the rankings. He is now fifth with 98 points. Last week he was fourth after being third in the poll. He is also slated for the Whitney Handicap.

Moving up from seventh to sixth with 49 points is five-year-old mare Tuscan Evening.

Three-year-old filly Blind Luck received 43 points to move into seventh from eighth. She will make her next start in the Alabama at Saratoga on August 21.

Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti fell from sixth to eighth with 42 points. The 2009 champion turf and older male will defend his title in this month's Arlington Million.

Devil May Care, winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks, is ninth with 31 points. She is scheduled to face Blind Luck in the Alabama.

The 10th spot in the poll is now held by Proviso with 26 points. The five- year-old mare won Saturday's Diana Stakes at Saratoga over two-time defending winner Forever Together.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver fell out of the top 10 after finishing fourth in the Haskell.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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