Zenyatta remains unbeaten with Santa Margarita win

Horseracing Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta made a successful 2010 debut Saturday in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational at Santa Anita Park. The six-year-old mare is now perfect in 15 career starts.

Zenyatta, trained by John Shirreffs, started from post eight with Mike Smith again with the mount. Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta broke cleanly and immediately settled into last in the eight horse field.

Setting the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race was Dance to My Tune with Made for Magic pressing the pace in second. Zenyatta was running about a dozen lengths off the lead and was racing off the rail.

Zenyatta began her move from the rear as the field entered the far turn. Still off the rail, Zenyatta drew within a few lengths of the leaders as the field entered the stretch.

With a furlong to run the 3-10 favorite angled to the inside and found room to take the lead. Zenyatta posted a one-length victory over Dance to My Tune with Floating Heart finishing third.

Completing the order of finish was Striking Dancer, Pretty Unusual, Made for Magic, Pretty Katherine and Gripsholm Castle. Powerofvoodoo was a scratch.

The time for the Santa Margarita was 1:48.20 on Santa Anita's synthetic track.

"Obviously, he (Mike Smith) went to the inside, and then had to come back out," Shirreffs said. "So, I just have a lot of faith in Mike. I know once he gets her in the clear, he has a good chance. She's cut in between horses and everything, but when you have a big X on your back, a lot of places don't open up that normally would."

The last two years Zenyatta has been voted champion older female and for 2009 finished second for Horse of the Year to Rachel Alexandra. She won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic and last year became the first female to capture the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are expected to start in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park on Friday, April 9. Earlier Saturday, Rachel Alexandra was upset in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds. The reigning Horse of the Year was a close second to Zardana who is also trained by Shirreffs.

"We're just excited she's back," said Jerry Moss. "She looks amazing. Everybody's happy. We watched Rachel's race in the paddock. I'm sorry she lost, but she lost to a better horse today. We'll see what happens the next race. Zardana might try to get to that same race (Apple Blossom) and that would be fine."

Zenyatta has won all 15 career starts for more than $5.6 million.

Earlier on the day, Shirreffs announced that Life is Sweet has been retired. The winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic had muscle cramps after a workout Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Zenyatta returned $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10. Dance To My Tune paid $19.00 and $9.40, and Floating Heart paid $4.20 to show.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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