Race On Ecabroni Rousing

Horseracing Betting Lines

Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Todd Pletcher has been dominating the Sam F. Davis Stakes in recent years and has another opportunity to win the event with its 32nd renewal on Saturday. The $250,000 stakes, with a field of 11 three-year-olds, will be conducted over a distance of 1 1/16-miles. Pletcher, who has won the last two and four of the last six editions, has entered Ecabroni for St. George Stable. The gray colt has drawn post four with Javier Castellano riding. Castellano won last week's Holy Bull Stakes for Pletcher aboard Algorithms at Gulfstream Park.

 

Also coming in from Gulfstream is Reveron, winner of the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year's Day. Owned by Stipa Racing Stable, Reveron will be ridden by Fernando Jara from post 10.

 

Local winner Prospective has drawn the far outside post with Luis Contreras keeping the mount. Trained by Mark Casse, the colt won Tampa's Pasco Stakes last month at odds of 5-2.

 

Here is the full field for the Davis in post position order: State of Play, Alan Garcia; Holy Highway, Angel Serpa; Battle Hardened, Julien Leparoux; Ecabroni, Javier Castellano; Moroccan Brew, Ricardo Feliciano; Neck 'n Neck, Jose Lezcano; Fox Rules, Huber Villa-Gomez; Ravelo's Boy, Jeffrey Sanchez; Burning Time, Leandro Goncalves; Reveron, Fernando Jara and Prospective, Luis Contreras.

 

Former winners of the Davis include General Quarters in 2009 and Any Given Saturday in 2007.

 

Baffert will also start Westrock Stables' Sky Kingdom in the Lewis. The colt will be ridden by Martin Garcia from post five.

 

Sky Kingdom, 6-1 in the program, was fourth in the CashCall, but came back last month to win an allowance race at Santa Anita. In five starts he has two wins for $125,930.

 

Rousing Sermon will be taking on Liaison for a third straight time. The veteran of six starts was second to the Baffert horse in both the Real Quiet and CashCall Futurity. Hollendorfer's horse won the California Cup Juvenile last October and has banked $274,000.

 

Here is the complete field for the Robert B. Lewis in post position order: Isn't He Clever, Corey Nakatani, 6-1; Liaison, Rafael Bejarano, 9-5; Groovin' Solo, Victor Espinoza, 12-1; I'll Have Another, Mario Gutierrez, 12-1; Sky Kingdom, Martin Garcia, 6-1; Rousing Sermon, Joe Talamo, 5-2; Empire Way, Joel Rosario, 6-1 and Chips All In, Alonso Quinonez, 6-1.

 

Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday gets solidly onto the Kentucky Derby trail with the running of the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes. The 32nd edition of the 1 1/16-mile race has attracted a field of 11 three- year-olds and is the final local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby on March 10. Heading the field as the 3-1 morning-line favorite is Reveron, winner of the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year's Day. Owned by Stipa Racing Stable, Reveron will be ridden by Fernando Jara from post 10.

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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.

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