Friday, July 31, 2020

Coast to Coast Horse Betting Action Kicks Off The Month of August

The 2020 Triple Crown series has been turned upside down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Crown Jewel of this three-race run is the Kentucky Derby which is traditionally run the first Saturday in May. That race had to be pushed back to September 5. The Preakness Stakes will be run on Saturday, Oct. 5 and the Belmont Stakes already took place on June 20.

In preparation for this year's Kentucky Derby, certain races run after early May become part of the prep race schedule. Two examples were July's Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey and the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 8. In between those two races are smaller prep events like this Saturday's Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California.

This ungraded event has two strong Kentucky Derby contenders in the field. The first is trainer John Shirreffs' Honor A.P. This three-year old colt is coming off an impressive victory in this year's Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He is listed second on BetOnline's Kentucky Derby futures at +500. Tiz the Law still tops that list at +200 after winning this year's Belmont Stakes.

The other colt to watch in Saturday's Shared Belief is trainer Bob Baffert's Uncle Chuck. Sired by Uncle Mo, this three-year old won the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby his last time out. His futures odds to win the Kentucky Derby at BetOnline are tired for third with Art Collector at +800.

The main event at Del Mar on Saturday's card is the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes. Back on the East Coast, the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes highlight's Saturday's race card at Saratoga. I covered both of these races in this week's horse betting report for Scores & Stats.

Kick Off August With Coast-to-Coast Grade 1 Horse Races This Saturday

Friday, July 24, 2020

Which NFL Team Wins The Most & Fewest Games this Season?

Every NFL fan and bettor continues to hope and pray there will be a 2020 NFL season. The escalating coronavirus pandemic poses its own set of difficult challenges. Finding common ground between the NFL team owners and the NFLPA to get it done is no longer a slam dunk.

Glaring through that dark shadow of obstacles in playing a regular 16-game schedule (starting the second weekend in September) is that huge ray of hope the NFL can figure everything out in a very limited time frame. Online sportsbooks such as MyBookie are counting on it. They have filled their NFL betting board with a full lineup of futures and prop bet options for the 2020 season.

One that stands out from all the rest is a pair of props covering wins and losses. Based on the full 16 games, the first prop covers odds for teams winning the most games. The other posts odds for teams winning the least.

At the top of the list for a number of futures and props is the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Backed by veteran head coach Andy Reid and the richest quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes, it is easy to see why they are favored to repeat as world champs. The Chiefs also top the betting list to win the most games in the regular season among the NFL's 32 teams.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Jacksonville Jaguars. They hold the dubious honor of being the top contender to land the first overall pick in next year's NFL Draft with the fewest wins.

There are plenty of good reasons to go chalk in each of these props. Yet, there is some solid value in betting a few teams a bit further down the list. Using the posted odds at MyBookie, I released my value plays in the following post BETTING 2020 NFL REGULAR SEASON SPECIAL WIN/LOSS SEASON PROPS ONLINE.

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Special NBA Bubble Props

When it comes to top-rated online sportsbooks like MyBookie, you can basically bet on anything. This is especially true this year with the coronavirus shutting down most major sports and sporting events earlier this year. In an effort to restart its season, the NBA has moved to Orlando for the next few months. The general idea is to play all the games in one centralized location to keep the players and coaches in a protective bubble.

An eight-game regular season is scheduled to start on Thursday, July 30 followed by the annual run through the playoffs to the NBA Finals. Along with betting lines for the opening games and futures odds to win a conference title and NBA Championship, MyBookie has also released betting odds for a list of special NBA Bubble props.

A few of the betting options cover the odds for LeBron James and James Harden testing positive for COVID-19. Another prop covers players get thrown out of the bubble for breaking league rules. You can also bet on any team going 8-0 in its next eight games.

Check out this week's post Online Betting Odds For Special NBA Bubble Props for all of my "best bet" picks for these props/

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Betting Saturday's Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park

As one of the signature summer horse races on the schedule, this Saturday's Haskell Stakes takes on a special role this year as a key Kentucky Derby prep. Normally run under invitational status as a lead-in race for a few Breeders' Cup events, this year's Haskell will be staged as one of the last big preps ahead of the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5. The race features a few of the best three-year old Thoroughbreds in the nation looking to lock-up a spot in this year's 'Run for the Roses' at Churchill Downs.

The field for Saturday's featured race at Monmouth Park in New Jersey is set at seven with a trio of top contenders joining four hopefuls at much longer odds. The favorite at 4/5 odds on the morning line is trainer Bob Baffert's Authentic. He will try and bounce back from a second-place finish in this year's Santa Anita Derby.

The second-favorite at 5/2 odds is Dr. Post. Trained by Todd Pletcher, he is more than capable of winning on Saturday. This Kentucky-bred three-year old is coming off a second-place finish in June's Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.

The third contender on the list is trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.'s NY Traffic. Listed at 7/2 odds on the morning line, this New York-bred three-year old is looking to join Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law as another Empire State product at the top of the Kentucky Derby futures list.

Out of the other four entries for Saturday's Haskell, Jesus' Team at 15/1 remains on my one to watch list.

Please check out my recent post on this race for Scores & Stats as part of my weekly horse racing coverage for this popular sports betting site.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

2020 NFC East Picks & Predictions

The betting odds to win the NFC East this season at most online sportsbooks favor the Dallas Cowboys with the Philadelphia Eagles a close second. Much farther down the list are the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, who combined to win just seven games last season.

The Eagles won the division title last season with a record of 9-7 and for the fourth season in a row either Philly or Dallas claimed the top spot in the standings.

Looking ahead to this season, those two teams should once again battle it out for division title honors. The Cowboys are hoping that new head coach Mike McCarthy can get this team to finally live up to expectations and make a serious run at a Super Bowl title. The Eagles are hoping that they can return to the form that led to a Super Bowl Championship in 2017.

For my complete breakdown of the NFC East and betting picks for the final 2020 standings, please click through HANDICAPPING THE 2020 NFC EAST BETTING ODDS.

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Betting Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest

Betting on sports and sporting events has been rather thin since mid-March when the coronavirus shut down the biggest betting leagues. The NBA, NHL and MLB all have plans in place to return to live action. However, that will not take place until late July at the earliest. With the biggest summer holiday weekend of the year, the actual 4th of July offers up one a classic competition you can bet on right now.

Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in New York is not just a classic event. It is a highly popular betting event with the top online sportsbooks. In a special piece this week for EasyMobileCasino.com, I covered a few of the top prop bet options on the board at Bovada and MyBookie as two of the best online betting sites.

It is not too late to get in on all the action. For a quick guide on betting this iconic food eating competition, please check out the following link:

WHERE CAN YOU BET THE ANNUAL 4TH OF JULY NATHAN’S HOT DOG EATING CONTEST ONLINE?