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02/22/2008 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A total of 12 finalists, including seven thoroughbreds, have been nominated for the 53rd class of the Racing Hall of Fame.
Three of the best jockeys in recent history -- Randy Romero, Edgar Prado and Alex Solis -- are also among the finalists.
Romero, retired since 1999, registered earnings of more than $75 million with 4,294 wins in better than 26,000 mounts. In his 26-year career, Romero won three Breeders' Cup races and was the regular rider for champions Go for Wand and Personal Ensign.
Prado gained international acclaim in 2006 with his Kentucky Derby-winning ride aboard Barbaro and his actions two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes when Barbaro suffered a career ending injury.
The 40-year-old Prado is a native of Peru and has compiled more than 6,000 victories and earnings of better than $202 million. He was the winning jockey of the 2002 and 2004 Belmont Stakes -- both times preventing Triple Crown sweeps by War Emblem and Smarty Jones, respectively.
Solis has earned more than $205 million in 4,534 victories through the end of 2007. He won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief and has captured three Breeders' Cup races.
The two trainers named finalists are two-time Kentucky Derby winner Carl Nafzger and the late Robert Wheeler.
Nafzger won the 1990 Run for the Roses with Unbridled and last year's Kentucky Derby with 2006 two-year-old male champion Street Sense. The 66-year-old Texas native is approaching 1,200 wins and has earnings of better than $50 million.
Robert Wheeler passed away at the age of 72 in 1992. He trained 1959 co- champion three-year-old filly Silver Spoon. Wheeler won the 1959 Santa Anita Derby with Silver Spoon and again in 1960 with Tompion.
The three contemporary male horses nominated as finalists are Best Pal, Manila and Tiznow.
Best Pal was owned by Mr. and Mrs. John C. Mabee and won the 1991 Pacific Classic, 1992 Santa Anita Handicap and 1993 Hollywood Gold Cup. He finished his racing career with $5.6 million in earnings.
Tiznow is the only two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic, taking the event in 2000 and 2001. He was named 2000 Horse of the Year as a three-year- old and was 2001 champion older male. Owned by Cecilia Straub Rubens, Tiznow earned better than $6.4 million with 12 wins in 18 starts.
Manila won the 1986 Breeders' Cup Turf, which helped him to that year's Eclipse Award as champion male turf runner. He won 12 of 18 lifetime starts for $2.7 million for owner Bradley Shannon and trainer Leroy Jolley.
The four female finalists are Silverbulletday, Sky Beauty, Inside Information and Open Mind.
Silverbulletday was the 1998 champion two-year-old filly and Eclipse Award winner in 1999 as top three-year-old filly. Owned by Mike Pegram, Silverbulletday earned just over $3 million with 15 wins in 23 lifetime starts.
In 1993 Sky Beauty captured the Alabama Stakes along with a sweep of the New York Triple Tiara series. Trained by Allen Jerkens, the filly was voted 1994 champion older thoroughbred female. She won 15 of 21 career starts for $1.3 million.
Inside Information was the 1995 champion older filly or mare for owner Ogden Phipps. Trained by Shug McGaughey, Inside Information won the Breeders' Cup Distaff in 1995 and finished her career with $1.6 million in earnings with 14 wins in 17 races.
Open Mind, owned by Eugene Klein, was the 1988 champion two-year-old filly after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly, and the 1989 champion three- year-old filly. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Open Mind won 12 of 19 lifetime starts for more than $1.8 million.
The finalist with the highest number of votes in each category will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday, August 4 in Saratoga Springs.
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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