Clippera Basketball Betting News

<< Jazz roll over Rockets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mehmet Okur poured in 21 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots, as the Utah Jazz used a late surge to take down the Houston Rockets, 104-95, at Toyota Center. Paul Millsap added 20 poi

<< Durant paces Thunder to seventh straight victory
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant extended his streak of games with 25 or more points to 26, scoring exactly 25 in Oklahoma City's 99-86 win over the new-look Dallas Mavericks. Durant got points 24 and 25 on a floater wit

<< Richardson paces Suns over Grizzlies
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson had the hot hand for Phoenix, going 12-for-17 from the field for 27 points in the Suns' 109-95 road win over Memphis. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Robin Lopez

<< Rose leads Bulls in blowout of Knicks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose did not need to log heavy minutes in his return from a left hip ailment, totaling 29 points in just over 27 minutes to lead Chicago in a 118-85 rout of the slumping New York Knicks at the Uni

Webster's long-distance marksmanship propels Portland past Clippers >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martell Webster made a career-high seven three-pointers on his way to tying a career-best with 28 points, as the Portland Trail Blazers handled the Los Angeles Clippers, 109-87, at the Rose Garden.

Celtics fend off Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce scored 17 points and Rasheed Wallace provided a bench spark with 17 points as well in Boston's 95-92 victory over Sacramento. Ray Allen scored 15 points and Eddie House added 12 for B

Brown's career night propels Kobe-less Lakers past Warriors >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shannon Brown netted 12 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers won their fourth in a row - all without superstar Kobe Bryant - this time beating Golden State, 104-94, at Staples

Verdasco bows out in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco lost in straight sets to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in first-round action Tuesday at the $1.226 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships tennis event. Chardy defeat

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.