Haskell Invitational Free Trifecta Picks

The Sunday afternoon at Monmouth Park in New Jersey is the running of the 50th Haskell Invitational. This $1 million Grade 1 stakes race for three-year old thoroughbreds will be contested on the dirt track at Monmouth over a distance of 1 1/8 miles. Heading into Sunday's main event on a jam-packed race card, Irish War Cry has been listed as a 5/2 favorite on the morning line odds. Also in the field is Time Line (3/1), Practical Joke (4/1) and McCracken (9/2) to round out the top four contenders to win this race.

The link below is to my complete preview and free trifecta pick for this year's Haskell Invitational for SBR Picks as part of my weekly horse racing betting report.

LINK: Horse Racing Betting: Irish War Cry Leads Deep Field at Haskell Invitational

Cardinals at Cubs MLB Weekend Series Free Pick

It's 'Game On' in the NL Central Division title race with four of the five teams within 4.5 games of one another in the current standings. While the Milwaukee Brewers are mired in a five-game losing streak heading into this weekend's series against Philadelphia on the road, the Chicago Cubs will look to extend their six-game winning streak when they play host to the rival St. Louis Cardinals for three games starting this Friday in a 2:20 p.m. start at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs are just a game in back of the Brewers at 49-45 overall and the Cardinals (46-49) are 4.5 games off the pace following a 2-2 split with the New York Mets this week. These two have already met nine times this season with Chicago holding the 6-3 edge following a three-game sweep against its bitter division rival at Wrigley in early June. The series price for this weekend's NL Central clash should favor the Cubs and BetAnySports has listed Chicago as a -145 favorite for Friday's Game 1 with Jake Arrieta on the mound. St. Louis is set as a +135 underdog and it will turn to Carlos Martinez as its starter for Game 1.

The link below is for my complete series preview and free pick as previously posted on ScoresandStats.com


LINK: MLB WEEKEND SERIES BETTING REPORT AND FREE PICK- ST. LOUIS AT CHICAGO

Diamondbacks at Braves MLB Weekend Series Free Pick

Baseball is back in business following this week's MLB All Star break and starting this Friday night at SunTrust Park is an interesting three-game matchup between a pair of second-place NL teams trying to make up some ground in their respective division title race.

Arizona fell to 7.5 games in back of the blazing Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-7 slide in its previous 10 games before the break, but at 53-36 overall, the Diamondbacks remain in the thick of the NL playoff race. Atlanta is 9.5 games in back of Washington in the NL East with an overall record of 42-45 and while the Braves can still make things interesting over the next few months, their margin for error is pretty slim given the number of teams ahead of them in the wild card standings.

BetAnySports has set the series price at -110 for both teams in what should be a close, hard-fought battle over the next three days. As part of my weekly MLB betting previews for SportsBooks.net, I decided to take a closer look at this matchup for my free weekend series pick. Please check out the link below for my complete preview and pick.

LINK: MLB Weekend Series Betting Report and Free Pick: Arizona at Atlanta

Betting on the Philadelphia 76ers Making the Playoffs in 2018

I have always been a huge Philly fan since I grew up less than 30 minutes from Veterans Stadium and the Spectrum. Both of these storied structures have since been replaced with a trio of venues that include Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles, Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies and the Well Fargo Center for both the Flyers and the 76ers. I have since moved to sunnier and warmer digs on the southeast coast of Virginia, but in my heart and mind I will always been a die-hard Philly fan.

It has been lean times for the Philly faithful with all four teams floundering through their regular seasons for the past few years. Watching any of the four teams in the playoffs has been a pipe dream right across the board. With the MLB regular season approaching its midway point with next week's All-Star break, the Phillies have the dubious honor of owning the worst record in the Majors. The Flyers missed the playoffs this season in a league where almost every team plays in the postseason. The Eagles are coming off back-to-back 7-9 campaigns and do not even get me started on how bad the Sixers have been over the past four years.

The one benefit of being a very bad basketball team is the chance to draft some of the top college players in the land. The 76ers decided to take the long and winding road towards rebuilding this once proud franchise by drafting some of the top college players that needed to take some serious time off to recover from injury. Joel Embiid had to delay his rookie year an entire season before almost winning rookie of the year honors in the mere 31 games he played in 2016/2017. Ben Simmons was last years No. 1 pick and followed in Embiid's footsteps by missing his first season due to injury. Philly used the No. 1 pick in this year's draft to select Markelle Fultz and the most exciting thing about this acquisition is that we will get to see him play in his true rookie year.

I am not suggesting that the 76ers are ready to take on Cleveland or now possibly Boston for the NBA's Eastern Conference, but I am suggesting that the big three in Philly with some help from a rapidly improving supporting cast are ready to take that next step from "Trust the Process" to "Welcome to the Moment" to make its first postseason appearance since 2011.

Below is a link to a recent article I wrote for ScoresandStats.com detailing my reasons for why I am betting on the Sixers making the playoffs next season.

LINK: BETTING ON THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS MAKING THE NBA PLAYOFFS IN 2018

Yankees at Astros MLB Weekend Series Free Pick

One of the top MLB series on the slate this weekend is a three-game set between two of the best teams in the American League this season. The New York Yankees are a game off the pace in the AL East at 42-35, while the Houston Astros have jumped out to a 13.5-game lead in the AL West behind a MLB-best record of 54-26. BetAnySports has opened Houston as a -150 favorite on the series price for this matchup with the betting odds set at +130 that the Yankees get the best of things over the next three days.

As part of my weekly MLB betting previews and free picks for Sportsbooks.net, I took a closer look at this big AL tilt to come up with my 'best bet' play on the series price at the link below.

LINK: New York at Houston MLB Weekend Series Betting Report and Free Pick

NASCAR Takes its Turns on the Road Course at Sonoma

Twice a year NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series abandons its weekly ritual of left turns around an oval for a road course layout similar to Grand Prix racing. The first stop on this two-race circuit for the 2017 racing season takes place this Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in California. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 provides an excellent test of driving skills for all the Cup Series drivers while also offering a great opportunity for motorsport bettors when it come to cashing in a winning ticket for this event.

Please check out the link below at SBR Picks for my complete preview for Sunday's race as well as my free betting picks to win based on the odds posted by BetAnySports.

LINK: NASCAR Betting: Road Course Racing at Toyota/Save Mart 350

Free NBA Draft Position Prop Picks

The clock is winding down to the start of tonight's NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn; however it is not too late to place a few timely bets at BetAnySports on some of the position props that have been released in conjunction with this highly anticipated event. Last minute trades could alter the entire proceedings to add even more drama as the night unfolds, but I have come up with my "best bet" prop bet picks for a trio of top prospects as far as when they should come off the board.

Please check out the link below for my top NBA position prop bet picks in an article I wrote this week for Scores & Stats.


LINK: 2017 NBA Draft Position 'Best Bet' Prop Picks