Zardana edges Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans Ladies

Horseracing Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, making her first start in six months, was defeated by Zardana in Saturday's $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds.

The 1 1/16-mile race had a field of five older females and was added to the Fair Grounds' stakes schedule earlier this year.

Owned by Jess Jackson and Hal McCormick, Rachel Alexandra broke from post two with Zardana in post three. Rachel was the 1-5 morning-line favorite and Zardana was the 5-1 second pick.

Setting the pace in the New Orleans Ladies was Fighter Wing with Rachel along side. The rest of the field was two or three lengths behind the two leaders.

Ridden by Calvin Borel, Rachel took the lead around the far turn as Zardana and jockey David Flores moved forward on the outside. Zardana and Rachel were together at the top of the stretch and the favorite appeared to have a short lead with a furlong to run.

Zardana took the lead with about 100 yards left, as Borel did not push Rachel to go past. Zardana registered a three-quarters length win over Rachel with Unforgotten finishing third followed by Fighter Wing and Clear Sailing.

The time for the New Orleans Ladies was 1:43.55 on a fast track.

Rachel Alexandra, trained by Steve Asmussen, is scheduled to face Zenyatta next month in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park.

Zardana is trained by John Shirreffs who also trains Zenyatta. Owned by Arnold Zetcher, Zardana has won eight of 19 lifetime starts for $428,421.

She was coming off a fourth-place finish to St Trinians in the Santa Maria Handicap. Zardana concluded 2009 with a win in the Bayakoa Handicap in December at Hollywood Park.

Zardana paid $21.00, $3.20 and $2.60. Rachel Alexandra, who was undefeated in 2009, returned $2.10 and $2.10, and Unforgotten paid $3.20 to show.

Wwwvoyagessncf Horseracing Betting News

<< Allen's OT goal leads Florida over San Jose
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Allen scored at the 2:46 mark of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion. In the extra season, a left circle faceoff was won by Shawn Matthias a

<< Quinn exit may be near as Delhomme lands with Browns
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed quarterback Jake Delhomme, lending credibility to the rumors that Brady Quinn will soon be dealt. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Saturday that Delhomme si

<< Els and Schwartzel share first at Doral
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els was joined atop the leaderboard by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel after Saturday's third round of the WGC- CA Championship. Els, the second-round leader, managed a two-under 70 at the TPC

<< Sam Houston State wins Southland, goes to NCAA Tournament
Katy, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilberto Clavell scored 21 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists, as the top-seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats punched their ticked to the NCAA Tournament with a 64-48 victory over Stephen

<< Richmond reaches first A-10 title game since 2002
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Anderson posted 27 points and six rebounds as Richmond advanced to the Atlantic 10 final with an 89-85 decision over 24th-ranked Xavier. David Gonzalvez added 26 points and five assists for the

Minnesota crushes Purdue to reach Big Ten final >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ralph Sampson III scored a team-high 13 points and Minnesota continued its quest to an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid with a dominating 69-42 drubbing of No. 6 Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tou

Chad Collins leads in Puerto Rico >>
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Collins found himself alone in the lead during the suspended second round of the Puerto Rico Open. Collins is six-under par through 11 holes of his second round and is in first place at nine-u

Yellow Jackets hold off NC State to make ACC final >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Favors registered 17 points and eight rebounds, as Georgia Tech overcame sloppy play down the stretch to get by NC State, 57-54, and advance to the ACC Tournament final. Gani Lawal posted 12

Zenyatta remains unbeaten with Santa Margarita win >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta made a successful 2010 debut Saturday in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational at Santa Anita Park. The six-year-old mare is now perfect in 15 career starts. Zeny

Lookin At Lucky captures Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champion colt Lookin At Lucky made a successful debut Saturday as a three-year-old in the $300,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The 2009 champion two-year-old was the even-money favorite in the sev

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.