Canadian International and E.P. Taylor Stakes on for Sunday

Horseracing Betting Lines

10/18/2007 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 70th running of the $2 million Canadian International has attracted a field of 12 turf runners and the $1 million E.P. Taylor Stakes has a field of 10 fillies and mares set to compete on the grass Sunday afternoon at Woodbine.

The 3-1 morning-line favorite for the International is Quijano of Germany. The five-year-old will be ridden by Andrasch Starke from the far outside post. Trained by Peter Schiergen, Quijano has won 12 of 15 lifetime races, including a win in his last start on September 2.

Local runner Sky Conqueror is the 4-1 second choice in the program. Sky Conqueror won the 2006 Sovereign Award as Canada's champion turf horse. Javier Castellano comes north to ride the five-year-old from post four.

Trained by Darwin Banach for owner Bill Sorokolit, Sky Conqueror has earned more than $1.8 million in 19 career starts win seven victories. He is a two- time winner of the Northern Dancer Stakes here and was third in last year's International.

"We might be in a position where he will be overlooked after finishing third in the Nijinsky (Stakes, August 26) and then eighth in the Mile," said Banach. "It's a different role for him to be in. Usually, everyone is thinking about his late kick and when he'll come charging. But he's not the type you want to overlook for a minute."

Ask, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, is the 6-1 third pick in the morning-line and will break from post nine with jockey Ryan Moore. The four-year-old has won both of his starts this year and can give his trainer another win in this event. Stoute won here in 1996 with Singspiel.

Here is the complete field for the 1 1/2 mile race in post position order: Marsh Side, Emma-Jayne Wilson; Oracle West, John Murtagh; Windward Islands, Todd Kabel; Sky Conqueror, Javier Castellano; Stream of Gold, Eddie Castro; Irish Wells, Olivier Peslier; Honolulu, Michael Kinane; Cloudy's Knight, Ramsey Zimmerman; Ask, Ryan Moore; Linda's Lad, John Velazquez; Sunriver, Garrett Gomez and Quijano, Andrasch Starke.

The field for 1 1/4 mile E.P. Taylor Stakes is topped by three-year-old Sealy Hill. The filly swept the Canadian Triple Tiara for three-year-old females.

Sealy Hill is owned by Melnyk Racing and trained by Mark Casse. She won the Woodbine Oaks, Bison City Stakes and the Wonder Where Stakes. Initially she was disqualified to third in the Bison City. An appeal hearing reversed the disqualification to give her the Triple Tiara.

Sealy Hill will start from post three in the ten horse field with Patrick Husbands again in the saddle. In her last start, Sealy hill was second to Essential Edge in the Canadian Stakes at Woodbine.

Essential Edge will break from post eight with Jono Jones riding. Owned by Chiefswood Stable, the four-year-old has earned nearly $500,000.

Here is the complete field for the $1 million Taylor Stakes: Elle Runaway, Eddie Castro; The Niagara Queen, Emma-Jayne Wilson; Sealy Hill, Patrick Husbands; Mrs. Lindsay, John Murtagh; Four Sins, Michael Kinane; Sans Souci Island, Mike Smith; Safari Queen, John Velazquez; Essential Edge, Jono Jones; Hostess, Channing Hill and Barancella, Javier Castellano.

The E.P Taylor Stakes has a scheduled post-time of 2:59 p.m. (et) and the Canadian International is set for 4:05 p.m.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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