Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
10/09/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I remember watching John Henry run in the 1982 Measowlands Cup Handicap in the early days of simulcasting. The evening race was only simulcast within New Jersey, so I made the drive to Atlantic City Race Course from Philadelphia.
The gelding was the even-money favorite in the Meadowlands event with Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker riding. Even though John Henry finished third, it was an exciting race and helped advance the cause of simulcasting.
John Henry was a truely gifted thoroughbred who kept horse racing alive during a difficult decade. He came along after the three Triple Crown champions of the 1970's.
"John Henry's true legacy was written in people's hearts far more indelibly than his superlative racing career could ever reflect." said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park. "John Henry was a testament to the fact that a horse's value is far greater than the sum of his pedigree, conformation, sales price and race record. Winston Churchill said that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, but I would add that horses like John Henry prove that the inside of a horse is even better for the inside of man."
He raced from 1977 to 1984 accumulating almost $6.6 million and nearly as many fans. Trained primarily by Ron McAnally, John Henry ran all over the country. His last four starts were at four different tracks, all victories with Chris McCarron guiding the champ to the winner's circle.
Tom Levinson, stepson of the late owner Sam Rubin said, "John always had fire in his eyes as he circled his opponents in the paddock while they pranced, his eyes glazed with the determination to win. Certainly he was the people's hero."
The three jockeys who climbed into the saddle over the last four years of John Henry's career, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Bill Shoemaker and McCarron, were appropriate pilots.
"What can I say about the legendary John Henry that has not already been said?," commented McCarron. "John meant the world to my family and me. Everywhere he raced, his presence doubled the size of a normal race track crowd. He did so much for racing, even after he retired, that he will be impossible to replace. He will be sorely missed but forever in our hearts."
John Henry was the working guy's racehorse. He came from humble origins and became a two-time Horse of the Year. He also was named champion older male horse in 1981 and was a four-time Eclipse Award winner as top male turf runner.
I also remember him capturing the first running of the Arlington Million, the first $1 million horse race. Three years later John Henry again won the Arlington Million.
John Henry became a legend during his racing career, a legend that grew during his retirement. Many stakes races are rightly named for John Henry, but he was certainly one of a kind.
<< MISL, FSC announced two-year deal
Westport, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fox Soccer Channel and the Major Indoor Soccer
League (MISL) announced a two-year broadcasting agreement to televise league
matches beginning this November through the 2008-09 season. The partnership
represe
<< Not a Welcome Flashback for Ravens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It felt like 2000 all over again. Trent Dilfer was in the
house. The Baltimore Ravens couldn't score. Brian Billick's team played great
defense. And they won.
Only thing was, after the Ravens' so-ugly-you-couldn't-look 9-7
<< Isles sign Berard
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders announced Tuesday
that they have signed veteran forward Brian Berard to a one-year deal after
the 30-year old earned a spot following an invite to training camp.
Berard, who ca
<< Kansas State reports possible NCAA violations
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas State is being investigated by the
NCAA for possible rules violations in its football program.
Kansas State director of athletics Tim Weiser said the university has informed
the NCAA of possible vi
Jags continue stellar run defense >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars must have been playing some old
hits from Martha and the Vandellas in the locker room at Kansas City's
Arrowhead Stadium this past Sunday.
If so, the hit song "Nowhere to Run" would have been a per
Sorenson penalized for Talladega rules violation >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reed Sorenson and the No.41 Target Chip
Ganassi Dodge team has been penalized for failing post-race inspection after
Sunday's race at the Talladega Superspeedway.
The car was found in violation of
Rookie running back leads Colts to 5-0 mark >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In case you didn't catch the name of the Indianapolis Colts
running back who wears No. 36 on Sunday, it's Kenton Keith.
Keith is a first-year player out of New Mexico State who was thrust into the
starting lineup as an inj
Bucs Supporters Shouldn't Panic >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At this very moment, they're obsessing about the running
back situation in Tampa Bay.
In the wake of a serious ankle injury suffered by Michael Pittman in Sunday's
33-14 loss to Indianapolis, fans are scanning the free age
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Tired of credit card deposit hassles? Then this is the place for you! MySportsbook boasts the best rate of acceptance for credit card deposits in the whole sports betting industry! They give you an instant 10% bonus for doing so as well, where as many other online bookies do not award a bonus for credit card transactioned deposits.
Welcome to MySportsbook.com the biggest and best sportsbook on the web! If you need a sportsbook accepting US credit cards for deposits you've come to the right place because they are the best.
Are you the type that needs lots of wager offerings? Then keep reading! MySportsbook is one of the best at offering everything gambling related that you can think of! Their sportsbook has all the current football and basketball odds as well as auto racing, horse racing, boxing and hard to find sports as well. Their casino boasts tons of different options as well such as blackjack, video poker, slots and virtual games such as hi-lo and virtual horse derby.
Reasons to Play There: A little tip for you all.. This is a sportsbook promotions that has a tremendous volume of players. They also offer an online poker room. Many of these sports bettors hop over to the poker room once the days games are over. Many of these sports bettors are just that and NOT good poker players. In summary, often times you'll be able to get into some lower limit games with some very ripe fish in the late evening hours resulting in some very easy pickin's and nice wins.
Speaking of poker, they offer satellite tournaments where you can win a free seat to the World Series of Poker! Be sure to check out their cycle, no hitter and slaughter rule refunds too! Open an account today by clicking here!
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting