Tizdejavu wires Firecracker, Mine That Bird an also-ran

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/04/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tizdejavu, ridden by Jesus Castanon, led every step of the way to win Sunday's $205,625 Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs. The race featured 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird making his 2010 debut.

The one-mile turf event had a field of 14 horses even with the scratch of Tybalt. Mine That Bird was the 5-2 favorite and last year's runner-up Inca King was 5-1. Tizdejavu and Public Speaker were both 4-1.

Tizdejavu got an excellent start and quickly took the lead. The five-year-old took the field around the clubhouse turn and into the backstretch. Running in second was Inca King ridden by Victor Lebron.

Mine That Bird with Calvin Borel riding was racing last for much of the race, his first ever start on turf.

Trained by Greg Fox, Tizdejavu extended his lead as the field entered the stretch with Public Speaker joining Inca King in second. The pacesetter hit the wire 1 1/2-lengths ahead of Public Speaker who nosed out Inca King for second-place.

Mine That Bird had a late rally coming into the stretch, but never offered any challenge to the leaders.

Completing the order of finish was Veiled Prophet, Unbridle's Dream, Skipadate, Wise River, Mine That Bird, Pop Tarrt, Attempted Humor, Driving Snow, Baryshnikov, Euroears and Orthodox.

Tizdejavu completed the mile in 1:35.98 on a firm turf course.

Owned by Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth, Tizdejavu added $116,016 to his bankroll. The veteran runner has won eight of 16 career starts for $693,153. The Firecracker is the third straight win for the five-year-old.

Last month at Churchill Downs, Tizdejavu defeated Public Speaker by half a length in the Opening Verse Stakes.

Tizdejavu paid $10.20, $5.00 and $3.60. Public Speaker returned $4.60 and $3.80, and Inca King paid $4.20 to show.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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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