Southwest Stakes has two divisions

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A total of 21 three-year-olds were entered for Monday's Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The large number of entries necessitated that the stakes be divided into two divisions each with a $250,000 purse.

The mile races will be followed by the $500,000 Rebel on March 17 and the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 14. Smarty Jones in 2004 and Lawyer Ron in 2006 won the Southwest on their way to winning the Arkansas Derby.

"This is very gratifying," said Charles Cella, Oaklawn's President. "It's a wonderful thing to have so many good three-year-olds supporting our program. This was exactly our goal when we raised the Arkansas Derby to $1 million."

The first division has a field of 11 and is headed by Smarty Jones Stakes winner Junebugred. Trained by Steve Hobby, the chestnut colt will be ridden by Joe Bravo again, this time from post six.

Owned by Alex and Joann Lieblong, Junebugred has earnings of $95,400 with two wins in three starts.

"I could not be any happier with where we are at this point," Hobby noted. "He's about as ready as he can get and I think he's moved forward from his last race."

Here is the complete field for the first division which will be race 8: Red Jack, Jon Court; Unbridled's Note, Julien Leparoux; Jake Mo, Cliff Berry; Majestic Stride, Carlos Marquez Jr.; Longview Drive, Martin Garcia; Junebugred, Joe Bravo; No Spin, James Graham; Reckless Jerry, Shane Laviolette; Ring It Up, Lindey Wade; Laurie's Rocket, Calvin Borel and Castaway, Rafael Bejarano. Post-time will be 5:41 p.m. (et).

The second division, with 10 three-year-olds, will feature Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint winner Secret Circle. The colt, trained by Bob Baffert, will break from post nine with Rafael Bejarano in the saddle. Baffert will also send out Castaway in the first division. Both horses are owned by Karl Watson, Paul Weitmann and Mike Pegram.

Secret Circle was second to Out of Bounds in last month's Sham Stakes at Santa Anita as the 1-2 favorite. The colt has three wins in four career starts for $368,990.

Here is the complete field for race 9: Z Rockstar, Cliff Berry; Adirondack King, Stewart Elliott; Scatman, Luis Quinonez; Apprehender, Inosencio Diego; Chalybeate Springs, Carlos Marquez Jr.; Pee H Dee, Lindey Wade; Cyber Secret, Channing Hill; King Corral, Martin Escobar; Secret Circle, Rafael Bejarano and Big Wednesday, Ramon Vazquez. A 6:15 p.m. (et) post is scheduled.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.