Super Saver versus 11 in 135th Preakness Stakes

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05/12/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver will take on 11 challengers in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The 1 3/16-mile race is the second jewel in racing's Triple Crown.

Unlike the Kentucky Derby when poor weather affected the race, the Preakness should be held on a fast track. A few thunderstorms are forecast for Friday, but Saturday will be dry with partly cloudy skies and a post-time temperature near 75.

Post-time for Saturday's Preakness is 6:10 p.m.(et).

Owned by WinStar Farm, Super Saver is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 12- horse field. The three-year-old colt will start from post eight with Calvin Borel again in the saddle.

Borel goes after his second consecutive Preakness victory on Saturday, having won last year's race with the filly Rachel Alexandra. Borel has won three of the last four Triple Crown races on three different horses. He won the 2009 Kentucky Derby on Mind That Bird.

Super Saver gave his trainer Todd Pletcher his first Kentucky Derby win after failing with 24 previous horses. Pletcher is justifiably excited about his current champion.

"I think he's got a big chance to win at Pimlico," Pletcher said recently. "So we're going to tackle that assignment and then we've got three weeks 'til the next one. I think coming into the Derby it appeared to be a very wide open group and I think it's still a little bit wide open. But I wouldn't trade places with anyone, especially going to Pimlico and backing up a little bit of distance."

Pletcher, who is looking for his first Preakness win, believes Super Saver's tactical speed is the horse's biggest advantage.

"I think he's got a tactical edge because he's not relying on the trip like many of the rest of them," Pletcher noted. "If it's a slow pace he'll be there. If it's a fast pace he can settle like he did the other day. Something that was overlooked in the Derby is that everyone made it out to be that this horse didn't get a great trip and that horse didn't get a good trip. Super Saver was able to get a great trip because he was able to put himself in all the right spots and every time Calvin needed him to do something, he did it."

The colt is the winner of three of seven career starts and has lifetime earnings of more than $1.8 million.

This year Super Saver was third to Odysseus in the Tampa Bay Derby and second in the Arkansas Derby behind Line of David. In 2009 he was fourth to Homeboykris in the Champagne, but came back to win the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

Pletcher will also send out Derby Trial runner-up Aikenite in the race.

Aikenite is owned by Dogwood Stable and will be ridden by Javier Castellano from post one. The colt, 20-1 in the program, was second to Hurricane Ike in the Derby Trial on April 24 at Churchill Downs.

Aikenite has just one win in eight career starts for $300,806 in earnings. This year he was sixth in the Holy Bull Stakes, but came back to finish third in the Fountain of Youth. His eighth-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes knocked him out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby.

Here is the complete field for the Preakness in post position order: Aikenite, 20-1, Javier Castellano; Schoolyard Dreams, 15-1, Eibar Coa; Pleasant Prince, 20-1, Julien Leparoux; Northern Giant, 30-1, Terry Thompson; Yawanna Twist, 30-1, Edgar Prado; Jackson Bend, 12-1, Mike Smith; Lookin At Lucky, 3-1, Martin Garcia; Super Saver, 5-2, Calvin Borel; Caracortado, 10-1, Paul Atkinson; Paddy O'Prado, 9-2, Kent Desormeaux; First Dude, 20-1, Ramon Dominguez and Dublin, 10-1, Garrett Gomez.

All starters will carry 126 pounds.

The Triple Crown will conclude on Saturday, June 5 at Belmont Park with the running of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes.

Affirmed in 1978 was the last thoroughbred to sweep the Triple Crown races.

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FOOTBALL BETTING

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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