Baffert takes both Southwest Stakes divisions

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Bob Baffert sent two horses to Oaklawn Park for the Presidents' Day running of the Southwest Stakes hoping to come away with one victory. However, the race drew 21 entries splitting it into two divisions, each worth $250,000.

Baffert came away from Monday's Southwest Stakes with two victories as Castaway and Secret Circle each won a division of the mile event. Also claiming two wins was jockey Rafael Bejarano.

The first division had a field of 11 three-year-olds. Castaway broke well and joined Majestic Stride on the lead. Bejarano had his mount to the outside of the leader right on Majestic Stride's shoulder.

Castaway took over the lead coming out of the final turn and began to draw clear at the top of the stretch. The 6-1 fourth pick opened his lead down the stretch and posted a 3 3/4-length victory over the late running Jake Mo.

Finishing third was Reckless Jerry, who was second in the track's Smarty Jones Stakes last month. Completing the order of finish were Ring It Up, Majestic Stride, Longview Drive, Junebugred, No Spin, Unbridled's Note, Laurie's Rocket and Red Jack.

Castaway completed the mile in 1:38.09 on a fast track.

Owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, Castaway won for the just the second time and notched his first stakes win. The victory was worth $150,000 to bring the colt's total earnings to $209,930. The son of 2007 Kentucky Derby champ Street Sense broke his maiden four weeks ago after failing five times.

Castaway returned $15.40, $9.40 and $7.20. Jake Mo paid $19.00 and $7.40, and Reckless Jerry paid $4.20 to show.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint winner Secret Circle was sent off as the 3-5 favorite in the 10-horse second division. The colt and Bejarano were first out of the gate, but allowed Scatman and jockey Luis Quinonez to set the pace.

Scatman continued to set the pace with the favorite to his outside. Secret Circle drew along side on the final turn and had short lead entering the stretch. Scatman regained the lead at the top of the stretch and looked ready to pull off an upset.

Owned by Karl Watson, Paul Weitmann and Mike Pegram, Secret Circle was able to rally in the final yards and defeat Scatman by a half-length. Adirondack King was third followed by Pee H Dee, Cyber Secret, Z Rockstar, Chalybeate Springs, King Coral, Apprehender and Big Wednesday.

Secret Circle covered the mile in 1:37.08.

The colt also added $150,000 to his bankroll, which now stands at $518,990. Secret Circle began the year with a second to Out of Bounds in last month's Sham Stakes at Santa Anita as the 1-2 favorite.

After winning in his first career start, he won the John Goodman Stakes at Santa Anita and then captured the Juvenile Sprint at Churchill Downs as the 2-5 favorite.

Secret Circle paid $3.20, $3.20 and $2.40. Scatman returned $6.40 and $4.60, and Adirondack King paid $3.60 to show.

Next on the Oaklawn schedule for Kentucky Derby hopefuls is the $500,000 Rebel on March 17 and the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 14. Archarcharch won last year's Southwest and Arkansas Derby.

Wwwthebigbook Horseracing Betting News

<< Manny agrees to terms with Athletics
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran slugger Manny Ramirez has agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics on a minor league contract. Various reports, including MLB.com, have indicated that the deal is worth $500,000. He is expec

<< 'Melo to return against Nets
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Carmelo Anthony will return to the New York Knicks lineup Monday against New Jersey after missing seven games with a groin injury. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni announced Anthony's return Monday. Anth

<< Spurs' Ginobili, Splitter to miss two weeks
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and forward Tiago Splitter are both expected to miss the next two weeks with injuries suffered during Saturday's game against the Clippers. Ginobili left Satur

<< Rondo suspended two games
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games by the NBA, executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson announced Monday. Rondo, who turns 26 on Wednesday, received

<< Lima nets hat trick as Braga rolls over Gil Vicente
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Braga recorded its eighth straight win on Saturday as Lima scored a hat trick in the team's 3-0 win at Gil Vicente. Lima netted his first goal midway through the first half and added a second shortly

Rose returns, Bulls down Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose returned from a five-game absence and scored 23 points to go with six assists and five rebounds as the Chicago Bulls held off the Atlanta Hawks, 90-79. Carlos Boozer netted 16 points, while Joa

Alabama reinstates leading scorer Green >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama has reinstated leading scorer and rebounder JaMychal Green, who was suspended the last three games for violating team rules. The forward was cleared to return to practice, according to a press

Dodig, Young advance in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croat Ivan Dodig upset eighth-seeded Aussie Bernard Tomic in Monday's opening-round action at the $1.155 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Dodig blasted 19 aces and came from behind to stop th

Rockies, manager Tracy have handshake deal >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Tracy has a handshake agreement to remain with the Colorado Rockies. General manager Dan O'Dowd said Monday the Rockies expect their relationship with Tracy, who has managed the team for the pas

Penn State routs Ohio State, earns at least share of Big Ten title >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikki Greene finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds as No. 11 Penn State earned at least a share of the Big Ten title with an 84-66 dismantling of eighth-ranked Ohio State. Mia Nickson and Magg

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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