Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn has field of nine

Horseracing Betting Lines

04/07/2010 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rebel Stakes runner-up Noble's Promise tops a field of nine Kentucky Derby hopefuls for Saturday's $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile race has a post-time of 5:45 p.m. (et).

Owned by Chasing Dreams Racing, the colt will start from post three with Robby Albarado returning to ride. Noble's Promise is trained by Ken McPeek and is 2-1 in the morning-line.

"I'm pretty sure that this horse can handle running here," said assistant trainer Walter Blum, Jr., "then back in the (Kentucky) Derby in three weeks. He's a very tough horse. He had a nick on his ankle after winning the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland. But it didn't really stop him before the Breeders' Cup, where he was third."

Noble's Promise has won three of seven career starts for $793,500. In 2008 he won the Fitz Dixon Stakes at Presque Isle Downs and Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity Stakes. Following his third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile he was second in the CashCall Futurity to Lookin At Luck who won the Rebel Stakes.

Blum, who was the regular exercise rider for 2008 Kentucky Derby champ Big Brown, favorably compares the two colts.

"He's just as good, if not better," Blum said of Noble's Promise. "He doesn't have the bad feet that Big Brown had, but that's what made him special, in that he overcame so much. He (Big Brown) was better suited for the turf, so that made his wins on the dirt special, too. Noble can run on grass, poly or dirt. He could probably run over broken glass."

Super Saver, the third-place finisher in the Tampa Bay Derby, has been made the 9-5 favorite for the 74th Arkansas Derby. The three-year-old colt will start from the inside post with Calvin Borel riding.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Super Saver is owned by WinStar Farm. The colt was making his 2010 debut in the Tampa Bay Derby where he was the 3-2 favorite. After setting the early pace he faded down the stretch to finish behind Odysseus and Schoolyard Dreams.

Last year he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs after finishing fourth at Belmont Park in the Champagne. Super Saver has earned $201,232 in five career starts with two wins.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas sends out Dublin in the Arkansas Derby. Third in the Rebel, Dublin will break from post two with Terry Thompson in the saddle. The chestnut colt is the third choice at 7-2.

Owned by Robert Baker and William Mack, Dublin began the year by finishing second to Conveyance in Oaklawn's Southwest Stakes. The colt has earned $308,623 with two wins in seven starts. His only stakes victory was the Hopeful at Saratoga last September.

Here is the complete field for the Arkansas Derby in post position order: Super Saver, Calvin Borel, 9-5; Dublin, Terry Thompson, 7-2; Noble's Promise, Robby Albarado, 2-1: Northern Giant, Victor Espinoza, 8-1; Uh Oh Bango, Shaun Bridgmohan, 15-1; New Madrid, Abel Castellano, Jr., 20-1; Berberis, Aaron Gryder, 30-1; Line of David, Jon Court, 15-1 and Pulsion, Corey Nakatani, 15-1.

The Arkansas Derby will be televised on NBC along with the Blue Grass Stakes from Keeneland.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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