08/09/2008 - Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - European invader Spirit One went wire-to-wire to win Saturday's 26th running of the Arlington Million at Arlington Park. The victory in the 1 1/4 mile grass race, part of the "Win and You're In" Breeders' Cup program, gives Spirit One automatic entry into the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf.
Ridden by Ioritz Mendizabal, Spirit One took the lead in the race shortly after the start to take the seven-horse field around the first turn and into the backstretch. Running in second was Mount Nelson followed by 6-5 favorite Archipenko with Stream Cat in fourth.
The first four runners kept their positions into the far turn on the firm turf course. On the turn for the home Einstein, the top American horse, began to rally after breaking poorly from the gate.
At the top of the stretch Spirit One remained the leader as Archipenko was rallying on the inside and Mount Nelson was trying gain on the outside. Archipenko and jockey Kevin Shea got past Mount Nelson, but couldn't overtake the leader. Einstein failed to advance down the stretch.
Spirit One hit the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Archipenko with Mount Nelson finishing third. Completing the order of finish was Silverfoot, Einstein, Stream Cat and Cloudy's Knight.
Sudan was withdrawn early Friday with a tendon injury.
The time for the Arlington Million was 2:02.17
Spirit One is a four-year-old colt owned by Kamel Chehboub and trained by Philippe Demercastel. Saturday's win was worth $594,000 to bring Spirit One's career earnings to a little more than $1.1 million.
"We didn't make this trip for nothing," said the trainer, speaking through translator Francois Dupuis on Thursday. "The horse looks very happy, so we're very happy."
A winner of five of 18 lifetime starts, Spirit One most recently finished second in Longchamp's La Coupe Stakes on June 14. He captured the Prix Exbury at Saint-Cloud in France on March 15.
Sent off as a 13-1 longshot, Spirit One returned $29.40, $10.20 and $6.00. Archipenko paid $3.40 and $2.60, and Mount Nelson paid $4.00 to show.
Gaining a spot into the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf was Mauralakana. She rallied down the stretch to take the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes on the grass. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Mauralakana covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.18. Sent off as the 2-1 second choice in the nine-horse field, Mauralakana paid $6.80 to win.
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<< Ambrose picks up first Nationwide win at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcos Ambrose became a first-time race
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Marseille, Rennes battle to dramatic draw in Ligue 1 opener >>
Rennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olympique Marseille and Rennes got the
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White Sox P Contreras leaves game >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras
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Angels pull away from Yankees with huge eighth inning >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero each
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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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