Zenyatta takes Clement L. Hirsch in photo-finish
Horseracing Betting Lines
08/09/2009 - Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zenyatta, reigning champion older female, needed every inch of the 1 1/16 miles to win Sunday's $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar. The five-year-old remains undefeated in 12 career starts, including a second straight Hirsch Stakes.
Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta and jockey Mike Smith came from last in the seven horse field to capture the race by a head over Anabaa's Creation.
The champion left from the outside post as Lethal Heat set the pace followed by Champagne Eyes and Anabaa's Creation. Zenyatta was about 13-lengths off the pace up the backstretch.
Trained by John Shirreffs, the favorite began her move around the turn for home, picking off rivals four wide as she gained ground. Coming off the turn Lethal Heat had a short lead with Dawn After Dawn second, Anabaa's Creation in third and Zenyatta joining the group.
At the top of the stretch Zenyatta still had ground to make up as Lethal Heat and Anabaa's Creation continued on the front end. Anabaa's Creation passed Lethal Heat with about 50 yards to go, but was unable to hold off Mike Smith and his 1-5 favorite.
Zenyatta caught Anabaa's Creation at the wire and was credited with a head victory over the mare and jockey Tyler Baze. Finishing third was Lethal Heat followed by Life Is Sweet, Dawn After Dawn, Tidal Dance and Champagne Eyes.
"It was close, it was really close," said Shirreffs who also trains Life Is Sweet.
The time for the Clement L. Hirsch was 1:43.24 on Del Mar's all-weather surface.
Briecat, Patricia's Gem and Hot n' Dusty were all scratched from the race Sunday morning.
"My hat's off to the competition. They ran an incredible race today," Smith commented after the win.
Zenyatta picks up $180,000 with her third win of 2009 to increase her career earnings to nearly $2.6 million. The mare is second to Rachel Alexandra in the current NTRA national poll.
Zenyatta opened this year with wins in the Milady and Vanity Handicaps after concluding 2008 by capturing the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic.
Zenyatta returned $2.40, $2.20 and $2.10. Anabaa's Creation paid $7.60 and $5.80, and Lethal Heat paid $5.20 to show.
A major topic of conservation in racing is the possible meeting of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra. Jess Jackson, co-owner of Rachel Alexandra, has been emphatic that his filly will not run in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, because of the track's synthetic surface.
Elsewhere in thoroughbred racing, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito announced Sunday morning that two-time Whitney Handicap winner Commentator has been retired after finishing third in Saturday's renewal at Saratoga.
"He's officially retired. We'll let him go out on a high note," Zito said. "It would have been wonderful for him to win. Physically, there's nothing wrong with him other than his age. Considering what he has to do to run back in those Grade 1 races, we thought this was the best thing to do."
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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.
NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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