Team Valor calls audible for Animal Kingdom

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday marks the return to competition for 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom after eight months on the sidelines. The 4-year-old colt last raced in the Belmont Stakes in June.

Owner Team Valor International and trainer Graham Motion made a surprise move on Wednesday by entering the champion colt in a $60,000 allowance race on the turf at Gulfstream Park for Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile grass race has a six- horse field with none of the other five starters having close to Animal Kingdom's credentials.

Early this month, the colt's connections announced that the Eclipse Award winner would hit the track in the Tampa Bay Stakes on February 25 to begin his 2012 season.

"He (Motion) would have worked the horse seven furlongs next Monday to get him ready for the Tampa race, but for this kind of allowance race, I think the horse will be fine on Saturday," Team Valor president Barry Irwin said. "He's doing super, but we don't want him to be too primed for a big race first time back. We want him to get something out of the race, not leave his Dubai World Cup race on the course."

Animal Kingdom will have the services again of jockey John Velazquez for the colt's second start on the turf. Motion is using the grass race as a prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31.

"I believe that I'm running him with the bare minimum of works that I would want to run him with. But with this race being this weekend, it gives me six weeks to Dubai, which I think gives me ample time for him to recover from the race," Motion indicated. "In whatever race we ran him in, the objective of running him was to get him to Dubai in the best possible shape.

"The problem with waiting until next weekend at Tampa is that it would be the only option I would have before running in Dubai. If for some reason we had bad weather like we had last weekend, I wouldn't have a backup plan. That's what's so attractive running this week."

Animal Kingdom was voted the 2011 champion 3-year-old male despite not having started the second half of the year. After finishing second in an allowance race last March at Gulfstream, the colt captured the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park.

For the Run for the Roses, Animal Kingdom was a 20-1 long shot in the 19-horse field. Ridden by Velazquez, he powered down the stretch to a 2 3/4-length victory over Nehro.

The Preakness, two weeks after the Derby, saw Animal Kingdom go off as the 2-1 favorite versus 13 rivals. Following a slow start, Velazquez got the colt rolling, but missed by a half length from catching Shackleford and jockey Jesus Castanon.

The Belmont Stakes was a lost effort for Animal Kingdom. He finished sixth, nearly 10 lengths behind Ruler On Ice. It was later discovered he had suffered an injury that ended his 3-year-old season.

"I believe he is a special horse that did not get to show how good he was, and I hope he gets that chance this year," Motion said. "This is just a start, but it doesn't all have to happen this weekend. But I hope he gets a chance this year to show what a super horse he is."

In seven career starts, Animal Kingdom has three wins and an equal number of seconds for more than $1.9 million in purses.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.