Hambletonian to remain at Meadowlands
Horseracing Betting Lines
01/17/2012 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harness racing's premier event, the Hambletonian, will continue at The Meadowlands through 2014.
An agreement has been reached between the Hambletonian Society and Meadowlands leaseholder Jeff Gural.
As part of a three-year agreement to keep the mile race for three-year-old trotters at the New Jersey track, beginning in 2013 the race will revert to same-day heats to determine the race finalists. The Hambletonian has been held at The Meadowlands since 1981 and elimination heats have been conducted a week before the final.
"We look forward to continuing the long relationship that the Meadowlands has had with the Hambletonian Society," emphasized Gural. "I am thrilled that they have agreed to revert to the previous format of two heats on the same day, which I think will increase the excitement of the event dramatically."
This year's Hambletonian will be held on Saturday, August 4 with a final purse of $1.5 million. The 2013 edition will have a guaranteed purse of $1 million.
"We look forward to a new era with Jeff Gural," said Tom Charters, president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society. "The Hambletonian has flourished under the management of the NJSEA over the years and we feel confident that growth will continue with the New Meadowlands LLC and the changes we are making to the race. We think returning to heats will be exciting for the fans, particularly those onsite at The New Meadowlands facility on a day that is always the sport's greatest showcase."
Beginning in 2014 older trotters will be able to compete in a new event, the $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity. The new race will be conducted at 1 1/8-miles with as many as 16 trotters allowed to start.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Flacco and Ray Rice have been waiting three years to get back to this spot, and if the Baltimore Ravens hope to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2001, they'll need their dynamic duo to ta
<< Servia lands ride for 2012
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oriol Servia will drive for Dreyer &
Reinbold during the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season, the team announced on
Tuesday.
Servia finished fourth in IndyCar points last year, driving for New
<< Pirates, Karstens agree to one-year deal
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year
deal with pitcher Jeff Karstens, thus avoiding arbitration.
Karstens finished 2011 with a 9-9 record and a 3.38 earned run average, the
best of his career, in
<< Illinois State adds six mid-year transfers
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois State football coach Brock Spack
announced on Tuesday the addition of six mid-year transfers, including five
from Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
All six players are eligible immediately and can par
<< Counsell joins Brewers front office
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have named former
infielder Craig Counsell as a special assistant to the general manager.
Counsell wrapped up a 16-year big league career in 2011 with the Brewers, for
whom he pla
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have fired head coach Jim Caldwell. More to follow.
Baltimore avoids arbitration with Johnson >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to terms
with pitchers Jim Johnson, Darren O'Day and Dana Eveland on one-year
contracts, avoiding arbitration.
Johnson, 28, appeared in a career-high 69 games
Yankees avoid arbitration with Chamberlain, Robertson >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with
pitchers Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson on one-year contracts, avoiding
arbitration.
Chamberlain's 2011 season was cut short due to Tommy John surgery. T
Red Sox ink Ellsbury to 1-year deal >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and outfielder Jacoby
Ellsbury have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a contract for the 2012 season.
Ellsbury is coming off a bounce-back season after injuries limited him to 18
game
Fisher set to rebuild Rams >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Fisher was officially introduced as the
new head coach of the St. Louis Rams on Tuesday and said he is ready to get
the franchise "back on the map."
Fisher will take over a Rams team that was 2-14 u
Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.