Wolverhampton to hold inspection for Monday's meeting

Wolverhampton will inspect on Monday due to big freeze

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)  Wolverhampton to hold inspection for Monday By Paul Eacott 12:15PM 19 DEC 2010 

OFFICIALS at Wolverhampton will inspect the track at 6.30am to see if Monday's meeting is able to take place.

The Polytrack was described as unraceable on Sunday afternoon and temperatures are forecast to remain below freezing overnight.

Clerk of the course Fergus Cameron said: "We have got an inspection at 6.30am. The track is currently unraceable. When I left the track it was -6C and the forecast is for it to drop overnight.

"There is also the possibility of freezing fog so with thelook of that forecast we have called an inspection."

Just under four inches of snow fell at Wolverhampton on Saturday with the temperature registering a chilly -13.5C at one stage.

Deteriorating conditions at the track prompted the abandonment of Friday's twilight meeting before the last race as the jockeys, who had expressed safety concerns due to the freezing conditions, felt the situation had deteriorated to an unsatisfactory degree.

Wolverhampton is the sole surviving meeting on Monday, with the jumps fixtures at Ffos Las, Taunton and Punchestown already abandoned.

Find out what the prospects are forforthcoming fixtures in Britain and Ireland with our at-a-glance table

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Gold Cup bid a possibility for D'Haguenet

Mikael D'Haguenet fell on his first start over fences in Ireland

  PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)  Gold Cup a possibility for Mikael D'Haguenet
 By Racingpost.com staff 12:54PM 19 DEC 2010 MIKAEL D'HAGUENET, 25-1 with the sponsor for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, will be entered for the festival showpiece, trainer Willie Mullins said on Sunday.

RELATED LINKS Gold Cup betting Arkle betting RSA Chase betting Free bets  The 2009 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle winner fell at the last when in with a winning chance in the Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse last Wednesday on his first run over fences, following a long absence.

Mullins said: "He will be entered in everything at Cheltenham. He won the Ballymore over two miles five, but he has plenty of speed over two.

"The RSA is three mile one and the Gold Cupis three mile two and that's another ball game. We have never been worried about him staying. He's one of those horses that can change gear and go with faster horses as well."

He also told At The Races: "I'm looking at the entries for Christmas. He's in the two-mile novice (Bord Na Mona With Nature Novice Chase) on St Stephen's Day

Hull v Bristol City Preview

Both of these sides were tipped to make promotion pushes at the start of the season, yet so far most of their battling has been at the bottom end of the table. However, both have experienced a huge upturn in form over the past few weeks although their league positions are still lowly, with Hull sat in 19th while Bristol City are a couple of places higher in 17th. It’s certainly a completely different fixture to the last time these two met, where Hull defeated City to earn promotion to the top flight in the 2008 playoff final.

Hull come into this game with the news that their takeover has just been completed and Nigel Pearson will hope that will make for a clean start at the KC Stadium. When he left Leicester during the summer to join Hull, in the back of his mind he must have thought that the Tigers had an excellent chance of promotion having only been relegated from the Premiership last season. However, all in all the club have struggled and a return of twenty three points from the opening months of the season will not impress their supporters. However, Pearson’s men are now unbeaten in five and should they taste victory here, they should build a significant gap between them and the bottom three as the festive period approaches.

Bristol City have also experienced a dreadful start to the season although Keith Millen will be hoping that their start is firmly behind them following the past few weeks. The Robins have now won three in a row having beaten Leicester, Sheffield United and Derby. All of those games were at home but having scored seven and not conceded any, it now looks as though the Ashton Gate outfit may have finally turned the corner. With twenty six points to their name so far, they head into this game knowing that victory could even catapult them into the top half. That would be a huge achievement for Millen at this stage of the campaign after so many doubted him during the opening stages of his reign at the club.

As for team news, Hull have plenty of problems heading into this one and Nigel Pearson is set to be without four players. Nick Barmby, Richard Garcia, Mark Cullen and Daniel Ayala are all carrying injuries and have already been declared unfit to play. Bristol City also approach the match with problems and Keith Millen will have two absentees, as Liam Fontaine and Louis Carey struggle with ankle and calf problems respectively.

In terms of a prediction, we’re going to predict an away win here. Hull are without lots of players and with Bristol City on a superb winning streak at the moment, we’ll predict a narrow 1-0 win for the Robins.

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Millwall v Barnsley Preview

Both of these sides were tipped to struggle this campaign although as it stands that is completely not the case. The two clubs sit right next to each other in the table, with Millwall positioned in 12th while Barnsley are one place higher in 11th. Just one point separates the two and victory for either will propel them even closer to the top six.

Despite only entering the division, Millwall have adapted to life in the Championship superbly and judging by performances so far, it looks highly unlikely that Kenny Jackett’s men will be embroiled in a relegation scrap this term. Many of their squad have made the step up in divisions look easy and a return of twenty eight points from their opening few months of the campaign is a fantastic accumulation. Recent form has been highly encouraging as well and so far the Lions have put together an unbeaten run of four games.

Barnsley meanwhile are enjoying a successful season as well although just like Millwall, their success wasn’t predicted either. The Tykes may always be seen as relegation contenders by the bookies, but an interesting fact is that should they win this game they will have become the first team to have won 1,000 games at this level. That perhaps hints that they more than deserve their place in this league and having accumulated twenty nine points so far, they look like playoff chasers if anything. The club are currently five points behind the top six but having played one game less than many sides, Mark Robins knows that everything is possible as the festive period approaches. Recent form has been absolutely brilliant and having collected thirteen points from a possible fifteen in the last few weeks, they are definitely the team to beat as they arrive at the New Den.

As for team news, Paul Robinson is a definite absentee for the home side after the defender injured his hamstring in the Lions’ last outing. However, Kenny Jackett will be able to rely on the services of Liam Trotter who looks to have fully recovered from his hamstring complaint. Barnsley meanwhile will not be able to include influential striker Garry O’Connor who despite agreeing a permanent move to Oakwell in January, cannot feature due to his initial loan deal expiring. Iain Hume has returned from a loan spell at Preston but Mark Robins has indicated that he will not be selected and will be moved on in the January transfer window. Elsewhere, defender Matt Hill could be included in the squad following an ankle injury.

This is certainly going to be an interesting fixture with both teams in good form. Barnsley in particular have recorded some superb results over the past few weeks although through the last twelve months, their away form has been very poor. With that, we think they’ll be just about be able to get a draw here

Leeds v QPR Preview

Posted on December 18th, 2010 in English Championship

This is one of the hottest matches of the weekend with both of these clubs right up there. QPR have led the table for a while, but Leeds are one of the teams on the prowl and Simon Grayson’s side are now just five points away as they sit in 4th spot. What’s more, QPR come into this game on the back of their first defeat of the season so it’ll certainly be interesting to see how they respond.

The size and setup at Leeds meant that relegation was never something talked about at Elland Road, even if the club have only just come up from League One. However, even the most optimistic of United supporters, and there are quite a few, wouldn’t have imagined the success the club are currently enjoying. Having accumulated thirty five points from their opening games, the club are firmly in the playoffs and now trail 2nd place Cardiff by only two points. The main reason for their success is recent form and since losing 4-0 at home to Cardiff at the end of October, the Whites have been unbeaten and have won five of their last eight games.

QPR meanwhile enter this game on the back of their first defeat of the season. The R’s were truly outplayed as they went down 3-1 at home to Watford last week and that meant that their lead at the top of the table was cut to four points. It’s also allowed other teams, such as Leeds, to catch up and it’s vital now that Neil Warnock’s men respond and put that defeat behind them. However, Warnock’s men still hold many other records having not yet lost on the road and also by having the best defence in the division, with just twelve conceded so far. However, most of their wins away from home have been against sides struggling at the bottom so it’ll be interesting to see how they cope with this fixture.

As for team news, there’s just one worry for Simon Grayson as Andy O’Brien struggles with a thigh problem. However, should O’Brien not pull through, the Whites have a readymade replacement in Neill Collins. Similarly, QPR have very little to report. Patrick Agyemang is struggling with a thigh problem but Neil Warnock is hopeful of starting Rob Hulse, who was forced to miss the last game through illness.

QPR may be unbeaten on the road and may hold all sorts of records, but their form over the past month or two hasn’t been all that convincing and the R’s haven’t recorded too many wins. Leeds on the other hand seem extremely competent at the moment and with the Whites holding the home advantage, we’ll predict a win for the Elland Road outfit in this one

Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace Preview

Both of these clubs actually sit fairly close to each other in the table, with Crystal Palace down in the relegation zone in 22nd while their hosts are a few places higher in 16th. It certainly doesn’t make nice reading for either club, especially Nottingham Forest who only in May this year featured in a playoff final.

Nottingham Forest’s season has been topsy-turvy although their supporters will be thoroughly disappointed that their club doesn’t look like repeating the last campaigns success. Many thought they underachieved anyway, but Billy Davies knows that he has to lift his side from the depths of 16th considering some of the talent that is available in his squad. In fairness to Davies, recent form hasn’t been too bad and even though Forest lost their last game to Leicester, before that they were unbeaten in four. There’s no doubt that they need more wins under their belt though and Davies must be ruing the amount of lost points after drawing an incredible nine times this season.

Crystal Palace meanwhile are performing exactly as many predicted, with the Eagles facing an extremely tough battle to stay in the division. It would be unjust to say that their position is critical at this stage though, with the club only in the bottom three due to goal difference. However, it’s clear that George Burley’s men are in for a season of struggle with the club simply unable to put together any sort of form. They head into this game on the back of a defeat to Leeds and a draw to Hull and in the latter it was obvious that their main problem is goals, with the team unable to capitalize on a host of chances. What’s more, and worrying as they head into this fixture, they have the worst away form in the division having recorded just the one victory away from Selhurst Park this campaign.

As for team news, Billy Davies heads into this game sweating on the fitness of Paul McKenna and Dele Adebola. McKenna has been struggling for some time with a groin problem while the latter has also missed recent fixtures with a knee complaint. The visitors meanwhile are hopeful of including Darren Ambrose and Alex Marrow, both who missed the last game against Hull. A leg injury prevented former Newcastle man Ambrose from featuring, while Marrow has almost recovered from an ankle issue.

Only six points separate these two sides in the division although we think this will be a comfortable victory for Nottingham Forest. Despite their lowly position, Forest have one of the best home records and with Crystal Palace struggling so much on their travels, our prediction is a comfortable 2-0 win for the City Ground outfit.

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Coventry v Norwich Preview

As the weeks go by, the playoff places are undoubtedly becoming more secluded from the rest of the table. This game features two sides sat side by side in the top six, with Coventry occupying 5th spot while Norwich are in 6th. Both know that due to the competitiveness this season a defeat is unthinkable if they wish to remain in those places for the long-term.

Coventry have been between the playoffs and mid-table for much of the season although it now looks as though Aidy Boothroyd’s men are finally securing their position within the top cluster of teams. Admittedly, they have been helped by a lack of postponements, although nobody can contest their return of thirty four points from their opening games. One of the main reasons for their rise in the table has been recent form with the Sky Blues putting together a small run of four unbeaten games. They approach this encounter on the back of a goalless draw at Reading although before that they had won their last three. As it stands four points separate them from 7th place although the big carrot is increasing their gap over Norwich should they net all three points here.

Norwich on the other hand are just one point worse off than their opponents, although head into this game on the back of a 2-0 defeat at home to Portsmouth. That loss ended a decent spell for the Canaries after they went on a run of six unbeaten games. It also meant that for the first time in ten games Paul Lambert’s men failed to score and that’s something that the former Celtic midfielder will be desperate to put right. However, their position is still very strong and they could even jump into 4th spot should results go their way this weekend.

As for team news, Aidy Boothroyd will be handing out two late fitness tests ahead of this one as Sammy Clingan and Carl Baker both struggle for fitness. Clingan has been struggling with a knee problem while Baker hasn’t featured since a hernia operation some time ago. Elsewhere however, Lee Carsley is a definite absentee as the former Birmingham man misses out through suspension.. The visitors on the other hand will be welcoming back Grant Holt after the striker missed the last outing through a ban. However, Leon Barnett is out through a suspension, while Steven Smith, Andrew Surman, Adam Dury, Matt Gill and Zak Whitbread will continue to sit on the sidelines as injury hampers their season.

In terms of a prediction, we think Coventry could take the points here. Norwich have a poor record when playing the Sky Blues away and with Aidy Boothroyd’s men in such good form, we think they’ll net the victory with a 2-1 result.

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Lynch licence application adjourned

Darley sire Iffraaj extends first-crop record Presenting colt tops low key Goffs DecemberHurricane the best of Montjeu's hurdling sonsHalf-brother to Zaynar looks a future starSariska booked to Galileo for first coveringRead Full News Service Search News Archive

Dunguib 'on track' to return in the new year

Dunguib: Naas and Gowran Park among the options for Philip Fenton

  PICTURE: Caroline Norris  Dunguib 'on track' as Fenton maps out plans
 By Jessica Lamb 10:18AM 17 DEC 2010 CHAMPION HURDLE hopeful Dunguib is on course to return to the racecourse in the new year.

RELATED LINKS Champion Hurdlebetting Free bets  Possible starting points include the 2m3f Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas on January 15 and the 2m Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran Park a month later. The Grade 1 BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on January 23 has also been discussed, but trainer Philip Fenton warns it would be “ambitious for a first run of the season”.

Fenton said: “He’s grand and I’m happy with him so far. The weather would have held him up anyway as, while we have been able to keep them all ticking over, I would have liked to have done a little bit more with him if he was to be running sooner.

“He’s on track, but where he runs will depend on how ready he is when these races come up. We’ll step up his work in the next few weeks."

Dunguib, a 20-1 shot for the Stanjames.com Champion Hurdle with the sponsor, won the 2009 Weatherbys Champion Bumper and began his hurdling career in October last year, winning his first four outings before contesting the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

In finishing third behind Menorah in the Supreme, Dunguib suffered defeat for the first time over hurdles. He was then beaten again on his final start last season when sixth to Hurricane Fly in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

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Kempton bullish about King George beating weather

Darley sire Iffraaj extends first-crop record Presenting colt tops low key Goffs DecemberHurricane the best of Montjeu's hurdling sonsHalf-brother to Zaynar looks a future starSariska booked to Galileo for first coveringRead Full News Service Search News Archive

Lingfield's Saturday card hinges on early inspection

Lingfield: will work the track on Friday night to boost chances of racing

  PICTURE: Getty  Lingfield's Saturday card hinges on 6.30am check
 By Paul Eacott 12:27PM 17 DEC 2010 

LINGFIELD'S all-weather meeting on Saturday is subject to an inspection at 6.30am with temperatures expected to fall to -5C overnight and snow forecast.

RELATED LINKS Lingfield Saturdaycard  Clerk of the course Neil Mackenzie Ross said on Friday: "The forecast has been changing over the past 24 hours. Our original thinking was that it would snow mid-afternoon on Saturday, but that has changed and I have called a precautionary inspection for 6.30am.

"At the moment it looks like snow will fall from 3am onwards. It is still freezing as it stands now and temperatures overnight look very cold. The forecast is for -5C and judging from what we experienced a couple of weeks ago it could be much lower than that."

With Lingfield being forced to abandon a meeting on raceday in the last cold snap when snow settled on the track, Mackenzie Ross said the Polytrack will be prepared in a different way in order to give the meeting the best possible chance of going ahead.

"What we plan to do is keep the track moving overnight and in view of the freezing temperatures and snow we will work ita bit deeper tomorrow," he said. "It is uncharted territory but this gives us the best chance of racing."

Find out what the prospects are for forthcoming fixtures in Britain and Ireland with our at-a-glance table

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Musselburgh 'needs miracle' to race on Wednesday

Musselburgh: inspection will be held on Monday for Wednesday's meeting

  PICTURE: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)  Musselburgh 'needs a miracle' for Wednesday By Paul Eacott 2:12PM 17 DEC 2010 

OFFICIALS at Musselburgh say they "need a miracle" if Wednesday's meeting is to go ahead as scheduled.

RELATED LINKS Musselburgh card  An inspection has been called for midday on Monday and the outlook at the track was bleak on Friday after temperatures dropped to -5C overnight, leaving the course frozen.

Acting clerk of thecourse Harriet Graham said: "We are inspecting on Monday. It is forecast to barely get above freezing, so it must be doubtful whether we will race.

"I think we need a miracle as the frost is right in the ground. We need 5C or 6C for a couple of days and that is unlikely."

Find out what the prospects are for forthcoming fixtures in Britain and Ireland with our at-a-glance table

FacebookDeliciousDiggStumbleUpon Tags:  MUSSELBURGH   Comments Log in to post comment Show all comments Comments Help   RELATED STORIES Haydock calls 8am check for Saturday card 8:33am 17 Dec 2010 Lingfield's Saturday card hinges on early inspection 12:27pm 17 Dec 2010 Snowy Hereford calls Sunday check for Tuesday 12:59pm 17 Dec 2010 TOP STORIES Arctic Ascot abandons Saturday fixture 3:52pm 17 Dec 2010 Odds tumble on McCoy landing BBC award 1:15pm 17 Dec 2010 Dunguib 'on track' to return in the new year 10:18am 17 Dec 2010 All-weather fare for Scoop6 punters 1:20pm 17 Dec 2010 Lingfield's Saturday card hinges on early inspection 12:27pm 17 Dec 2010 Frozen Newcastle abandons Saturday meeting 12:13pm 17 Dec 2010 Haydock calls 8am check for Saturday card 8:33am 17 Dec 2010 Mikael and Osana fine after Fairyhouse falls 4:44pm 16 Dec 2010 Rowland Meyrick target for exciting King Fontaine 2:43pm 16 Dec 2010 Gold Cup hits milestone after prize-money boost 11:43am 16 Dec 2010 Show All Current Stories LATEST STORIES Arctic Ascot abandons Saturday fixture 3:52pm 17 Dec 2010 Taunton to hold midday inspection on Saturday 3:08pm 17 Dec 2010 Prospects 'only fair' for Monday at Ffos Las 2:30pm 17 Dec 2010 UAE: Emmrooz seals double for William Buick 2:15pm 17 Dec 2010 Musselburgh 'needs miracle' to race on Wednesday 2:12pm 17 Dec 2010 SOUTH AFRICA: English-born Bass targets Grade 1 set 1:42pm 17 Dec 2010 All-weather fare for Scoop6 punters 1:20pm 17 Dec 2010 Odds tumble on McCoy landing BBC award 1:15pm 17 Dec 2010 Snowy Hereford calls Sunday check for Tuesday 12:59pm 17 Dec 2010 Sunday inspection for Ludlow's Wednesday meeting 12:47pm 17 Dec 2010 Show All Current Stories REPORTS EXETER: Promising Wymott wins second chase 3:27pm 16 Dec 2010 EXETER: Jacob charms odds-on backers 1:57pm 16 Dec 2010 KEMPTON: Spirit Of Sharjah takes Sunbury Stakes 5:59pm 15 Dec 2010 FAIRYHOUSE: Hurricane Fly blows out Solwhit 12:58pm 15 Dec 2010 FAIRYHOUSE: Zaidpour coasts home in Royal Bond 12:14pm 15 Dec 2010 FAIRYHOUSE: Golden seals treble for Mullins and Townend 3:05pm 15 Dec 2010 FAIRYHOUSE: Jessies Dream profits from Mikael fall 2:38pm 15 Dec 2010 FAIRYHOUSE: Tranquil Sea convinces with Grade 1 win 2:01pm 15 Dec 2010 PLUMPTON: Medermit and Thornton back to winning ways 1:40pm 13 Dec 2010 CHELTENHAM: Master Minded too good for Tingle rivals 2:02pm 11 Dec 2010 Show All Current Stories WEATHER WATCH Arctic Ascot abandons Saturday fixture 3:52pm 17 Dec 2010 Lingfield's Saturday card hinges on early inspection 12:27pm 17 Dec 2010 Frozen Newcastle abandons Saturday meeting 12:13pm 17 Dec 2010 Haydock calls 8am check for Saturday card 8:33am 17 Dec 2010 Taunton to hold midday inspection on Saturday 3:08pm 17 Dec 2010 Prospects 'only fair' for Monday at Ffos Las 2:30pm 17 Dec 2010 Musselburgh 'needs miracle' to race on Wednesday 2:12pm 17 Dec 2010 Snowy Hereford calls Sunday check for Tuesday 12:59pm 17 Dec 2010 Sunday inspection for Ludlow's Wednesday meeting 12:47pm 17 Dec 2010 Carlisle abandons Sunday meeting due to frozen track 12:36pm 17 Dec 2010 Show All Current Stories INTERNATIONAL UAE: Emmrooz seals double for William Buick 2:15pm 17 Dec 2010 SOUTH AFRICA: English-born Bass targets Grade 1 set 1:42pm 17 Dec 2010 USA: Triple Crown pointers on offer at Hollywood 11:24am 17 Dec 2010 UAE: Buick and Alo Pura break Meydan track record 6:35pm 16 Dec 2010 USA: New Jersey set to authorise betting exchanges 12:31pm 16 Dec 2010 USA: Scott Lake trains 5,000th winner 9:12am 16 Dec 2010 USA: Analysis shows lower fatality rate on synthetics 4:52pm 15 Dec 2010 NEW ZEALAND: Recession bites in prize-money cuts 3:03pm 15 Dec 2010 JAPAN: Big Romance in love with Kawasaki 1:51pm 15 Dec 2010 FRANCE: Prize-money boosted for 2011 5:24pm 14 Dec 2010 Show All Current Stories RACING BUSINESS Racing needs a 'Mandela moment' - 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has match-fixing found the SPL?

Worrying signs north of the border as Scottish football has had some very unusual matches of late, backed up by suspicious betting patterns. The common denominator in both matches: Hearts.

Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings is in the spotlight this week after his red card in Tuesday night's match against Hearts was predicted by a lot of punters, particularly new ones, wanting to have bets well above the average for this usually trivial market. Several bookmakers have reported clusters of bets being placed on 'A Red Card to be awarded' at 10/1 on this match, far and above the average for a televised SPL match, with a widespread of accts, lumpy bets and numerous new accounts, particularly from the Liverpool area, where Jennings has links from one of his previous clubs, Tranmere.

SPL - Jennings in betting probe over red card

Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings has denied any wrongdoing after bookmakers began an investigation into betting patterns over the red card he picked up against Hearts at Fir Park on Tuesday.

The Association of British Bookmakers acted after a number of bets were placed on there being a red card during Motherwell's 2-1 defeat.

Jennings, after being booked by referee Stevie O'Reilly for a foul on Kevin Kyle, was shown a straight red card seven minutes from the end after putting his hand on the official's shoulder and speaking to him about a rejected penalty claim.


Hearts were also involved in a suspicious match last month against St Johnstone. Hearts won the match 2-0, but it was the first goal that caused the controversy. Kevin Kyle scored from the spot, but the penalty itself was given away by Jamie Adams, whose sister Kyle got engaged to during that week.

Sounds innocent you say, purely coincidence? This game wasn't available for live betting with many European firms as it wasn't televised, but Asian bookies who bet on just about any match via the RunningBall service (live spotters at the ground), had Hearts priced significantly under the standard pre-match odds, even after an hour when the score was 0-0. By that stage the draw should have shortened significantly, pushing the odds for both teams out noticeably. Generally, these price moves are all automated by algorithms according to the score and the clock. When they aren't, it invariably means something dodgy is up. You'll never get an official statement out of Asian bookies, but the prices tell the story. As McCririck would say 'they knew', but this time it might actually be right.

So what's the explanation behind it? Is it football's version of spot-fixing, or perhaps it's part of an evil plan to push Hearts up the table to increase their sale price or get them into the Europa League. Perhaps Jennings wanted to get pissed at Xmas didn't fancy playing against Celtic and Rangers over Xmas-New Year and told a few folks about it.

Who knows, other than there will be investigations into this, but knowing most of the lame football match-fixing investigations in the past in the UK, I doubt we'll see any guilty party locked up for a considerable period of time....Posted byScott Fergusonat12:36

green green green....

Didn't have a big balance to play with today, most of my funds are tied up in cricket or SPOTY markets, but it wasn't too hard to generate a lovely green book with a fund of about £80.Posted byScott Fergusonat15:35

Stable Watch: Julia Feilden

Julia Feilden with son - and Geegeez contributor - Ross Birkett, after winning at Newbury in June

I’m obviously biased, dear reader, having had (bits of) horses with Julia Feilden virtually since the start of her career just over a decade ago. And in that time I’ve enjoyed many notable winners: from the very first time Love’s Design won – in selling class – right up until last Friday, when Khajaaly – the Geegeez Racing Club horse – won his second straight race.

In between times, there’s been good times and bad times with the horses, but one thing has been consistent throughout: John and Julia’s affection for and total care of the horses in their stables. They’re actually quite choosy about who they train for (I obviously slipped through that net!), because they’re not interested in ‘plotting one up’, or trying to land a monster gamble.

Despite that, their horses do often contract in the betting – generally because they always radiate health thanks to the diet so lovingly prepared and administered by John, Julia’s husband. And, curiously for those unfamiliar with the stable, their horses also often win at big prices. Like Khajaaly in November at 25/1. Or Spirit of Sharjah this week at 20/1. Both horses were fancied by the stable, but overlooked in their races.

English Premier League Soccer – Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa

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NFL – New England Patriots clinch Playoffs Berth

It seems as if the New England Patriots are having a brilliant season.  There is no doubt about that. The Patriots have an 11-2 record so far into the season and the team’s smooth but powerful snow-plowing of the Chicago Bears, 36-7, at Soldier Field Stadium under heavy snow, might be the motivational boost the squad needs to finish the regular season on a high-note.

The Patriots have now won 5 consecutive games, including some important victories over powerful teams that have really proved that Bill Belichick’s team chances of making it to the Super Bowl XLV in the Cowboys Stadium on February 6, are legit. The last 5 weeks the Patriots have defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Detroit Lions, and gave the New York Jets a 45-3 crushing that was quite a warning call for the Jets.

And then came the Chicago Bears. It was snowing, windy, and simply it looked like a cold-hell for players and Chicago fans alike, as the Patriots just kept on attacking and breaking through the Bear’s offense. Just for the record, under Belichick’s guidance, the New England Patriots are 10-0 in snowy conditions. So it seems that the bears got cold.

What’s the key to the Patriots success? Well, for starters, Tom Brady is throwing like a real champ, he is fine tuning all his passes and making it very hard for the opposing team defense to pick him up. Then, there is the brilliant mix of players that Bilicheck has brought into the team. Sure, Randy Moss has been gone since early in the season, and some even question Brady’s commitment when he missed part of the preseason traning camp, but heck, the Pats got a very young defense and a extremely experienced offense, a mix that could certainly pay off at the end.

Now, the Patriots will have to face a very complicated game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The Packers are not experiencing their finest season ever, but still, although favorites, and possibly the strongest team in the league, the Pats should avoid an upset at all costs.

NFL – The New York Jets are falling off the radar

This was the New York Jets chance to make-up for the humiliating 45-3 lost against the Division leaders, heck the League, the New England Patriots. Let’s be clear on one point. So this seemed like a really great chance to redeem themselves. The Dolphins where playing at the Meadowlands and quite frankly, at 7-5 for the season, the Dolphins have been nothing but an under-par team so far this season. So perhaps that’s exactly why losing to the Miami Dolphins 10-6 at home was such an utter disappointment to the New York Jets.

Mark Sanchez could be a brilliant young quarterback at times, capable of great things. Other times, he could simply have one of those off-days we all experience in our daily lives, but his mistakes tend to have much larger repercussions. Take the Jets-Dolphins matchup for an example.

Sure, the Jets were embarrassed on the road against the Patriots, but this one hurt even more. The Jets failed to defeat the a Dolphins squad that gained 131 total yards, only completed 30 passing yards and committed 3 turnovers.

Chad Hane, the Dolphins quarterback was sincerely awful. He completed 5 of 18 for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. On the other hand, the Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez managed to play even worse, completing 17 of 44 passes for 216 yards, no touchdown passes and one interceptions. His passer rating hit a 45.3% in what has been a lopsided season for the 24-year-old quarterback.

And as if that was not enough embarrassment for the Jets, the team’s strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi viciously tripped Miami CB Nolan Carroll as he slightly ran out of bounds in apunt coverage. Yes, it was cough on National Television. If the Jets are not having a great moment, Alosi is certainly not helping, with such an unprofessional on-court tantric. He is an utter embarrassment to the team.

NCAA Football – Cam Newton wins 2010 Heisman Trophy

Cameron Jerrell Newton has had an impressive season. He has been able to leave behind the scandal and the alleged accusations following his arrival at Auburn and has focused on bringing on his A-game. At the beginning of the season, when Newton arrived to Auburn, rumor has it, the coaches warned their defensive players not to tackle Newton during the preseason training. Little did they now that no other defense could or would get to him either.

He sure is Auburn’s third Heisman Trophy Winner, but it seems that he was just taking a walk in the park, as he kept on bringing in school and conference records to his impressive curriculum. There was no doubt that the quarterback from Fulton County, Georgia, would win this year Heisman. The reason behind it was evident: He had outshined each and every other player in the NCAA and had done so while leading the Auburn Tigers into the top of the BCS rankings and straight into the Tositos BCS National Champions Bowl against the Oregon Ducks on January 10th.

As a matter of fact, Newton put in the 11th highest-ever winning margin over second place nominee Andrew Luck. To give you a better perspective, check out the following numbers. Newton received 729 first place votes, and 2263 points. If you compare that to Luck’s 78 first place votes and 1,079 points you can help but to realize that he was the solo winner of this year’s Heisman Trophy. LaMicheal James came in third with 916 points and 22 first place votes. So to give you an even wider perspective, there where 886 ballots submitted to this years award. Cam Newton was name didn’t appear in only 105 of those ballots. The bottom line: there where 105 blind voters or they simply believed that the controversy about his play-for-pay situation with Auburn, was too much of an issue to give him the vote.

He was very quiet when it came down to answering questions about the alleged accusations and the relationship he had with his father, former NFL player, Cecil Newton Sr. The NCAA had started an investigation in regards to the alleged accusations that Cam’s father had been negotiating with colleges to have his son come and play in an specific institution if some sort of monetary agreement could be made beforehand. At the end, the NCAA made a release stating that the Association had no proof against Cam Newton, but forbid his father, Cecil Sr. from making an appearance at the Heisman Trophy Ceremony.

Newton lead the NCAA in passing efficiency and stands 15th in rushing yards. He completed 3,998 total yards for the season, and counted for 49 touchdowns.  Check this out, because this is the breakdown of this 49 td’s: 28 passing, 20 rushing and 1 receiving. Yes, he can do it all.

Like we said, this is Auburn’s third player to win the Heisman Trophy. He now joins the likes of Pat Sullivan in 1971 and Bo Jackson in 1985 as the other two Auburn students to be recognized with this prestigious award.

NFL – Brett Favre didn’t make it to his 298th consecutive start

All good things must come to an end. That is one sorry reality, one unavoidable fate we all must have to accept, or at least learn how to live with it. And that must be the hardest part for the great Brett Favre. Let’s try to put it all into perspective. Brett Favre has started every single game his team has played since 1992. That is 297 games. That is 18 years of suiting up for one of the roughest and most physically demanding professional sports ever played. After 20 seasons as a professional player, Brett Favre, the quarterback that seemed made out of steel has come to a stop.

The 41-year-old quarterback has had a very rough 20th season with the Minnesota Vikings. He suffered a very rough hit against the Buffalo Bills last week when Arthur Moat hit him straight on his back and sent him straight to the ground very early in the game. Actually it was only the third play from scrimmage but it was good enough to send him away for the rest of the game.

But that was not the first beating that Brett Favre had taken this season. As a matter of fact, this one alone might rank among the roughest and most physically demanding seasons he has experienced as a professional player. He stayed in the field playing each of the games so far in the season, despite holding on an elbow tendinitis, 10 stitches on his chin and, two fractures in his left foot and constant aches in his neck, back and calf. That was before Arthur Moat hit him.

So, the bottom line is that Brett Favre’s body just simply gave up on him.  And that should perhaps be the end of his season. The Minnesota Vikings are 5-7 right now, and it seems as if there is little left for the team. The Vikings chances of making it to the playoffs this season are rather dim. And despite whatever happens at the end of the season, it is probably time for the great Brett Favre to take some time off and rest.

His career has been long, fruitful and to be sincere, there is very little left for him to prove the world. He has dominated most every possible statistic a quarterback could aim for. But this season, things have changed. He is now ranked as the 29th quarterback in the league. That is quite an inedited experience for a quarterback as Favre. He used to lead the league in passing yards and touchdown passes. Now he is toping the charts with his 18 interceptions.

On the sideline there is still the pending investigation by the NFL in regards to his alleged sexual harassment against the New York Jets pregame entertainer, Jenn Sterger. Sure there has been a lot to say in regards to the inappropriate messages he sent to her coworker, back when both worked for the Jets.

Tarvaris Jackson has started instead of Favre for the Minnesota Vikings in their game against the Jets. As of press time, there is very little chance for the Vikings to make it back from a 21-3 crushing by the Jets. With or without Favre, the Vikings are simply not having a very good season. And that’s a bit of a shame.

NBA – Boston Celtics take 10th straight win against Charlotte Bobcats

The Boston Celtics manhandled the Charlotte Bobcats as Ray Allen and Glen Davis both scored 16 points towards a 93-62 rout of Michael Jordan’s Bobcats. Oh, if you didn’t get a chance to see it, Jordan was just a bit shy of furious. And truth be said, Jordan had reasons to be so upset. The Celtics held the Bobcats to 62 points. That’s a tie for the second-fewest points scored in the franchise history, and it is a record breaker for games played at home.

The Celtics are looking strong. As a matter of fact, they are my personal favorite team to win the Championship. I do realize that this is a veteran team, that three of its starting five can’t play for 40 minutes, because let’s face it, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are not getting younger. But the team is working well. Rajon Rondo is arguably the best point-guard in the NBA, and despite his young and restless game and his inextricable poker-face, he is as committed to the team as any coach could wish. The bench is strong. That’s a plus. And then, either Glen Davis or a renewed Shaquille O’Neal are there to provide the muscle and the power under the rim whenever the team needs it.

At the beginning of the season there where three favorite teams to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship. After the summer break, and LeBron James made the one-hour-long televised decision to move to Miami  Heat, the odds shifted and for the first time in a while, the Miami Heat where the favorite team in the odds to win the NBA Championship. The LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics then followed the Heat closely in the ML price.

As the season unfold, it seemed as if the Miami Heat was more hype then talent, losing twice to division rival the Boston Celtics and certainly struggling to find a way to get the new Big Three, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade all playing in the same tempo, and ultimately as a team. As a result the Heat lost three games in a row and had to receive a warning call before they got their act together and have now linked 9 consecutive wins for a 18-8 record so far this season.

The Lakers kept on been the dominant force on the Pacific Coast, and and at 17-7 they are currently the No. 1 team in the Pacific. The Lakers had a brilliant start, linking a series of wins before the team hit a 4 game slump, falling to the Utah Jazz, the Indiana Pacers, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets.

My main concern with the Celtics is their performance down the stretch. I would rather see the team struggling a bit right now, and perhaps having head coach Doc Rivers giving the Big Three a bit more of rest. At least the players are well aware of the situation. They are not here to bring in great winning streaks but rather been utterly brilliant in the postseason and working their way pass the playoffs and into the NBA Finals. This is the Celtics last chance, at least with this squad, to bring in another ring. They have what it takes. Boston fans probably hope that they can keep this rhythm once April is over and the Playoffs kick in.

NBA – Boston Celtics in last minute win over the New York Knicks

by Stephen Lars on Dec.17, 2010, under Basketball, Sports News

One can’t help but to get excited when basketball games are decided right in the las few seconds of a game. All the stamina, all the precision and the play-making that goes on and off the court create an atmosphere that is not only thrilling but nerve-breaking. Very few sports offer that sensation, that certainty that it all can change in a matter of seconds, that the battle can be fought down to the last second, heck, down to the last fraction of a second.

That’s exactly what happened when the Boston Celtics went on to play in the Madison Square Garden in New York. They where facing no other then the New York Knicks, a team that has been seriously fighting its way back into prominence. With less then a second to go, Amare Stoudemire, received a pass and aimed for the three-pointer.

The shot was perfectly aimed, and it went straight into the basket. The Garden was filled with Knicks’ fans screaming and celebrating a the top of their longs, the Knicks went on to celebrate on their corner. It was a great shot. But it was clearly out of time. Everyone was celebrating for what could have been a 119-118 win by the Knicks to put an end to the 10 consecutive game win streak that the Celtics had fabricated. But it was the story that could almost have been.

The Celtics on the other hand were brilliant. That team has been able to keep on collecting wins despite not having either Shaquille O’Neal or Jermaine O’Neal on their team due to injury. But even without the big guys, the Big Three have been taking over. Pierced scored 32 points for the Celtics as the Celtics gave on a great fight in this 118-116 come from behind win, to now hold an impressive 20-4 record; the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Packers need a lot of Super Bowl luck

Posted on December 16th, 2010 in English Premiership

The Green Bay Packers still hold some Super Bowl ambitions, but they really hoped it was going to go better than it has.

With three games to go in the regular season they can make the play-offs but it had been expected they would lead the NFC North rather than chasing a play-off spot.

They still need to face New England, New York, and Chicago, and are also struggling with a terrible run of injuries and the Super Bowl betting odds 2011 suggest they are unlikely to be putting in an appearance at Cowboys Stadium.

Ryan Gran, Jermichael Finley, Nick Barnett, Mark Tauscher, Morgan Burnett, Atari Bigby and Cullen Jenkins are all ruled out for the remainder of the season, and it looks like Aaron Rodgers will be unavailable when they face New England.

And what a challenge they face against the Patriots as they are in superb run of form and have destroyed teams in recent weeks. The Packers are going to need wins and a lot of luck if they want to make the Super Bowl play-offs and heads could roll at the club if they miss out this season.

The injuries have ripped the Packers apart and the likes of Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn have struggled to really step up and show they are capable of changing a game.

There has just been a lack of a spark coming from the team that were one of the early favourites to win this season’s Super Bowl. If everyone was fit there is no doubting the talent among their roster, but players have been dropping left, right and centre and that has had a terrible affect on their aspirations and the Super Bowl 2011 odds reflect this.

It seems their likely to come down to a must-win game against Chicago Bears at the beginning of January, and that is not how the Packers fans expected things to pan out this season.

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Tremlett leads England charge

So for the third successive Ashes Test ten wickets tumbled on the first day, and thankfully for England it was Aussie batsmen who were dismissed for just 268.

Chris Tremlett, in for Stuart Broad and making his first England appearance since 2007, justified his selection with a fearsome spell of bowling that unsettled the Aussie batsmen from the off.

But in truth it was a true team performance from England’s bowlers, with all the frontline attack claiming at least two wickets. Australia’s latest Test match scores have been poor, and this is down to some excellent work by England’s bowlers.

Phil Hughes and uncapped Steven Smith, newcomers to a re-jigged Aussie line-up, struggled, scoring just three and seven respectively as the hosts slumped to 69-5 after lunch.

Mike Hussey, Australia’s most consistent player so far this series, lead a spirited fight back with a dogged half century. But when Graeme Swann snared the edge of his bat for 61 Australia’s soft tail was exposed.

Credit to Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson, their late rally edged Australia towards a respectable score, but in truth the damage was done and they were merely making up for the mistakes of their team-mates above them.

With England safely seeing out the day with 29 on the board the stage is set or England to take complete control of this Test match and no doubt fans will be eagerly keeping an eye on the live match score.

If they can bat for the entire day tomorrow, entirely plausible given the form of England’s top six, then they build a commanding lead to put the home side under pressure once more.

With just one more victory needed to retain the Ashes, I feel that little urn moved closer towards English hands after day one at the Waca.

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Arsenal vs Stoke City preview- December 18

Game :- Arsenal vs Stoke City

Venue :- Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, December 18, 2010

KO time:- 15.00 UK

Arsenal can temporarily go back to the top of the Premier League if they claim all three points against Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium this weekend. Bet on Arsenal vs Stoke City with PaddyPower after reading our preview..

The Gunners lost 1-0 to Man United on Monday and surrendered their spot at the top of the Premier League. With United only playing on Sunday, Arsenal can reclaim top spot with a win over Stoke.

Arsenal failed to reproduce their usual fluid game against United and had few chances of note. Young Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny is again likely to stand under the sticks with Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski both out injured. Szczesny made his first Premier League start of the new season against United and put in a more than decent performance against the Red Devils.

Samir Nasri has been in tremendous form for Arsenal recently, especially at the Emirates. In his last six home games for Arsenal, he has netted a total of six times.

Arsenal form- last five games- most recent first- Arsenal scorers in brackets-

Man United 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-1 Partizan Belgrade ( Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri)
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham ( Samir Nasri

Liverpool vs Fulham betting preview

Game :- Liverpool vs Fulham

Venue :- Anfield, Liverpool

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Kick off time :- 17.30 Local time.

After two distinctly average performances against Newcastle United and Utrecht, Liverpool will look to raise their game when they face Fulham at home this weekend. Bet on Liverpool vs Fulham with PaddyPower after reading our betting preview.

While Liverpool have not played very poorly, their performances certainly don’t resemble that of a team expected to be challenging for the Champions League. Against Newcastle, the creativity was missing; although things might have ended up differently had Fernando Torres taken a chance that came his way when the scores were tied at 1-1.

Jamie Carragher is still out for Liverpool, but they will have Steven Gerrard back for this game.

Liverpool form- last five games- most recent first- Liverpool scorers in brackets

Newcastle United 3-1 Liverpool ( Dirk Kuyt)
Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa ( David Ngog, Ryan Babel, Maxi Rodriguez)
Steaua Bucharest 1-1 Liverpool ( Milan Jovanovic)
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool ( Martin Skrtel)
West Ham 0-3 Liverpool ( Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez)

Point:- Liverpool have won their last four games at Anfield.

Fulham are sitting in 17th place in the table. The Cottagers drew another game last weekend- at home against Sunderland- their 10th league draw of the season.

Fact:- Fulham are winless away from home in the Premier League for the last twenty six trips!

Fulham fixtures- last five games- most recent first- Fulham scorers in brackets

Fulham 0-0 Sunderland
Arsenal 2-1 Fulham ( Diomansy Kamara)
Fulham 1-1 Birmingham ( Clint Dempsey)
Fulham 1-4 Man City ( Zoltan Gera)
Newcastle 0-0 Fulham

Verdict :- This is a crucial game for both Mark Hughes and Roy Hodgson as neither managers have been able to take their team to their desired respective league positions.

Liverpool have looked bereft of creativity going forward, but you’ll expect more with Gerrard back. Fulham are reasonably solid at the back- so I’ll go for a draw.

Liverpool 1-1 Fulham ( Torres/ Kamara)

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Doncaster v Middlesbrough Preview

This is certainly a fixture that features little versus large although there’s no getting away from the fact that Doncaster are the more shrewdly managed club at the moment. Despite possessing finances that are just a fraction of their opponents, Rovers are sat in a comfortable 16th position while Middlesbrough have been fighting down at the bottom all season and are in 21st.

Like most sides in the division, Doncaster have experienced something of a rollercoaster campaign and while they were in the top six just a couple of weeks ago, Rovers have now slid down to 16th following some poor results. Sean O’Driscoll may well be slightly concerned with his sides poor after the Keepmoat outfit were thrashed 5-1 to Leicester in their last outing, while they lost 1-0 in the game before that against Crystal Palace. Recent results mean they are now without a win in three and with six points separating them from both the playoffs and the bottom three, the next few weeks could be very important for the rest of their campaign. Despite this poor form, their last defeat at home came in mid-October so Donny fans should still possess plenty of optimism ahead of this fixture.

All throughout the season people have been saying that Middlesbrough must soon be set to rise from their dreadful slump although as of yet, it still hasn’t happened. Since taking over, Tony Mowbray hasn’t seen too much of an upturn in fortunes at the Riverside although having beaten high flying Cardiff in their last game, Boro fans will certainly have more confidence heading into this one. As it stands, Mowbray’s men are sat just one place outside the relegation zone, with goal difference being the only reason for that. However, with a packed Christmas schedule around the corner, Mowbray will know that it might not be long before they rise up the league if they can build on their last result.

Sean O’Driscoll has seen his side hit by injuries throughout the campaign and he looks set to be without three players for this encounter. Simon Gillett, George Friend and Mustapha Dumbuya are all on the sidelines and unavailable for selection. O’Driscoll may even turn to Bryron Webster who was recalled from his loan spell with Hereford earlier in the week. The visitors are meanwhile relying on the fitness of David Wheater and Nicky Bailey, who are both doubts for this one having missed training through injury this week.

Middlesbrough may head into this game with extra confidence following victory last week, but their whole season has been made up of one step forward, two steps back. For that reason, and Doncaster’s reasonable home form, we’re going to predict a win for Sean O’Driscoll’s men here

Mikael D'Haguenet faces nine on Irish chase debut

Mikael D'Haguenet: star staying novice hurdler of the 2008-2009 season

  PICTURE: Caroline Norris  Mikael D'Haguenet faces nine on Irish chasedebut By tony o'hehir 10:59AM 14 DEC 2010 MIKAEL D'HAGUENET, the star staying novice hurdler of the 2008-2009 season, when he was unbeaten in six starts for Willie Mullins, will face nine rivals on his Irish chasingdebut in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse on Wednesday.

RELATED LINKS Drinmore card RSA Chase betting  Runner-up on his only previous start over fences at Auteuil in May 2008 before joining Mullins, Mikael D'Haguenet missed all of last season due to a setback but is second favourite behind Time For Rupert for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Head Of The Posse, who is two from two over fences, Berties Dream, winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March and who has finished fourth on his two starts over fences, Realt Dubh, another dual chase winner, and Jessies Dream are among Mikael D'Haguenet's rivals in the 2m4f event.

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betting industry news roundup

Sportingbet Australia are banking on a change to betting in-running laws with this move to develop an IPTV betting platform. Racing provides the lion's share of their business but the big potential for growth is with sports betting. However due to a ludicrous piece of legislation, which is unlikely to be amended during the term of a minority government, you can only bet in-running on a sporting event via a voice call from within Australia.

The Queensland govt needs more tax revenue so the easiest way to do that is put more pokies in the casinos. Evil bloody things that should be outlawed but they never will. The politicians hide behind the fact that it's no more for the state, but the fact is these ones will see far higher footfall than hidden away in a suburban pub, equalling more tax revenue and more damage to the moral fabric of Qld society. At least WA continues to resist the urge.

The bidding for the UK Tote hots up with a consortium fronted by Martin Broughton lining up a bid, to add to the list of BetFred, Sportech and consortiums led by major racing owner Andy Stewart, and another by former Ladbrokes chief Chris Bell. One thing that confuses me about all of this - racing is putting their hand out for a huge chunk of the sale, yet does very little to promote the Tote. Simple changes to a few rules (deadlines for withdrawing horses, consistency in stewards' rulings, encouraging bigger fields, forcing to all jockeys to ride out to the line when prizemoney - i.e. for placings - is involved) would make tote punting far more attractive especially for single race exotics which are the bread & butter of totalisators around the world.

Speaking of totes, it's down to only Tabcorp and Tattersall's for the 2012 Victorian wagering licence renewal, which gives them the exclusive tote pool licence in the state and a monopoly on off-course betting shops. Ladbrokes and a few others were interested in it, but realistically, it was never going to go to a foreign company.Posted byScott Fergusonat16:17

would you buy a user car from this lot?

From the tail of a Guardian article discussing the substantial fall in Betfair shares today:

The slump in Betfair shares is another awkward issue for Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank which arranged the gambling company's float. It touted Betfair as a high growth investment at £13.00 in October but shareholders have now lost about a quarter of their investments. The investment bank's name was also on the ticket of this year's flotations of online grocer Ocado whose shares are down 12% and technology group Promethean World where the stock has fallen by 70%. The bank insists that it has a better record on flotations than rivals.

A sample of three probably isn't a fair assessment but considering they are blamed by some as being a significant cause of the global recession, it's not doing their reputation any favours. But it cuts staff bonuses by £5k (of an average £500k), then I doubt anyone inside will care a great deal....Posted byScott Fergusonat21:28

Cheltenham Big Race Trends

Steeplechasing is back at Cheltenham today. Hooray!

Finally, we have some jump racing, dear reader, and not just any old jump racing either. Cheltenham stage their December ‘International’ meeting over two days, today and tomorrow. And a stellar card has had a further jewel added to it in the form of the Tingle Creek, which has been re-routed from Sandown’s recent abandonment.

Whilst the majority of the big races are tomorrow, today’s Listed Majordomo Hospitality Handicap Chase (2.25 Cheltenham) has a top class alumni, which includes Mon Mome, Royal Auclair, Kingscliff and Marlborough in the last decade. A field of the class that befits such a race has assembled, and the trends seem strong if not bulletproof. So let’s try to whittle down the seventeen starters to a shortlist of plausible contenders.

First up, with the exception of 2006 winner, D’Argent, all of the other nine winners were aged six to eight years old. D’Argent at nine was the outlier. Older horses have failed to score and are struck from the field. So it’s pip pip! to From Dusk To Dawn, That’s Rhythm, Knowhere and Irish Raptor.

Now then, after that early ‘weeding of the weak’, let’s look at the race parameters today. It’s nigh on three and a quarter miles at top speed over Cheltenham’s testing circuit. No wonder that nine of the last ten winners had won over 3m1f or more. And, moreover, that eight of the ten had previously been first or second over at least three miles here at Chelters.

Neptune Collonges hasn’t, nor has Rare Bob. Nor Exmoor Ranger, Forest Pennant, Palypso De Creek, Presenting Forever or Appleaday.

Eleven down on those scores, six left standing. The remaining stats players are: Midnight Chase, Knockara Beau, Beat The Boys, Horner Woods, Faasel and Any Currency. I’d fancy the winner to be lurking in that sextet. But where exactly?

Well, eight of the last ten winners were officially rated between 132 and 150. Furthermore, eight of ten had just one seasonal run (six) or came here for their seasonal debut (two), and the other two had two and three previous seasonal runs. These two elements in conjunction suggest that Midnight Chase, impeccable flag bearer for the rising Neil Mulholland yard, has it all to do here.

Down at the other end of the weights, Any Currency has had two previous seasonal outings, and flirts with the lower reaches of the official ratings band. Neither element is sufficient to deal a killer blow, but I will look elsewhere for a more robust ‘fit’.Especially considering that, aside from the years when ten and eleven runners contested this race, the other eight had all won in fields of at least thirteen. Any Currency did win a point to point in a against thirteen rivals, but under rules the most he has vanquished at a single turn is eleven.

Of course, he was second in a field of seventeen behind Midnight Chase here last time, so I’m not sure whether those raw data actually help or hinder my point here! Ultimately, I can’t get shot of this chap whichever angle I take, and he remains a blot on my trends chart…

Knockara Beau was pulled up last time, something none of the previous ten winners did on their prior start, and there has to be a question mark against his wellbeing for a battle royale such as this. Aside from that, he has plenty going for him in the context of this race. For instance, like nine of the winners in the last decade, he has won or placed in 50% or more of his chase runs.

So too has Midnight Chase. And Beat The Boys. And Faasel. And Any Currency. Horner Woods hasn’t, and it’s quite possible that his one piece of standout form – when second in the RSA Chase here back in 2008 – was a freak of circumstance that day, never to be repeated. (There’s also an outside chance that he’ll win and make the above sentence look quite preposterous, and it’s author commensurately ridiculous!)

At this point, I’m going to reluctantly draw a line through the nine year old, Beat The Boys. His age group has a poor overall record, and his own recent form doesn’t really stand up to close scrutiny (pulled up or fell in seven of his last ten starts, though did win two of the others). The final nail in his race consideration coffin is this: all seven of the non-French-bred winners of this race had had twelve or less chasing starts. Beat The Boys, an Irish bred, will be having his nineteenth chase run and it is unlikely that he has anything hidden from the handicapper by now.

The other shortlisted nine year old is Faasel, and his life support machine, in the context of this race, is kept a-beeping by the fact that he is trained by David Pipe. The Pipe’s have won four of the last ten renewals of this affair, and whilst that normally means dad won them all, in this case it’s two apiece.

Cheltenham December Meeting Review: Festival Pointers

Posted by Matt Bisogno on December 13, 2010 · 3 Comments 

Racing at Cheltenham is rarely anything other than top class, dear reader, and the weekend just passed was like a ‘mini Festival’ with so many trainers keen to get a run into so many horses when they’d normally try to avoid meeting each other prior to the March meeting.

So what did the action tell us, aside from the fact – pointed out to me numerous times – that Faasel is not quite as reliable a stick as I’d envisaged. Trying to explain to people who simply want winners the concepts of value and the long term benefits of using trends can sometimes be pointless. So, to those who just want winners, sorry but you’ll not find any guarantees of that here on any given day.

But for the vast majority of you who understand that if you generally take 14/1 about  horses that start at 11/1 (as Faasel did), you’ll come out in front.

Onwards. What did we learn at the Cheltenham December meeting? We learnt the following:

1. Spirit River is a hurdler. He hates fences, and has now fallen on both attempts in novice chase company. Anyone who takes the 20/1 with Betfred (or even the 33/1 best price with William Hill) wants their head examining. As it stands, he must be half those odds to even line up in this race, given his high class form over the smaller obstacles. And running in a 2m5f race is a curious preparation for a two mile championship contest, in any event.

United Vs Arsenal MoneyBack

The biggest game of the season so far kicks off at 8.00pm tonight. Manchester United and Arsenal are third and first respectively going into this match, but Arsenal have played one more game than United.

United are back to full strength and due to bad weather last week they have enjoyed a good rest.

On the other hand Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas only has a “small chance” of being fit, so it will probably be a choice between Tomas Rosicky, who has started the previous two Premier League games in that role, and Robin van Persie, who is fit again and has started the Carling Cup game against Wigan and the Champions League match versus Partizan Belgrade there.

My gut feeling is United could go ballistic on Arsenal tonight, if Berbatov and Rooney are both in the mood then Arsenal’s defense will not be able to hold them. If this is the case then Paddy Power bookmakers cashback offer looks hard to beat. The offer works like this… “If there are more than four goals in the game, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on that match.”

Live full match odds are below…

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Indianapolis Colts bounced back from a 3 game slump

Thursday night, Peyton Manning went back to been Peyton Manning as he guided the Indianapolis Colts with a 319 yards and 2 touchdown performance in the team’s 30-28 win against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans’ D had to deal with vintage-like Manning as he was brilliant completing 25 of 35 passes to match Dan Marino’s record as he also hit his 63rd 300-yard-game. At 7-6, the Colts’ hopes of making into the playoffs are still alive.

It has been a while since the Indianapolis Colts head coach, Jim Caldwell, walked out of the field with a grim smile on his face. The Colts, the almighty Indianapolis Colts had been struggling significantly during their last three games. First came their visit to the New England Patriots where Tom Brady and Co. brought in their A-game and defeated the Colts by 31-28. Then the Colts went back to Lucas Oil Stadium and faced the San Diego Chargers which whooped them on their own field by 36-14, and as if that wasn’t enough, on the following week, they hosted the Dallas Cowboys who took them to overtime on the Cowboys 38-35 win. Suddenly, the Colts where seriously jeopardizing their chances of making it into the NFL Playoffs.

At 6-6, right before their game against their Thursday game against the Tennessee Titans, the Colts where in a serious need to turn this game into a winner and finally but an end to a 3 game slump. Who’s to blame? Well, it get’s tricky. An easy answer would be to take a look at the Colts Quarterback. Peyton Manning had a series of under-par performances that where critically affecting the Colts’ chances of winning games.

Against New England, Peyton Manning recorded 38 of 52 for 396 yards and 4 touchdowns. It could have been a brilliant game, had he not been picked 3 times during the game. Those 3 interceptions finally gave the win to the Pats. On the following game, playing at home, one would have guessed that Manning was going to bring on his A-game but against San Diego, Manning completed 31 of 48 for 285 yards, connecting two touchdowns but suffering 4 interceptions. There’s no way you can suffer 4 interceptions in an NFL game and somehow managed to win it. Then came the Dallas Cowboys. He completed 36 of 48 passes for a very decent 365 yards and two touchdown passes. And yet againt, the Cowboys defense was capable of picking up 4 of Manning’s passes.

So just in case you where not following the math, up to last Thursday game, Peyton Manning had thrown 11 interceptions in his last 3 games. That’s almost 4 times the number of picks he had for the entire season. Now, if Manning wanted to make a comeback and guide his team into a winning game, it had to be the Titans.

For the Titans, Kerry Collins completed 28 of 39 for 244 yards 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Titans managed to rally back into the game, but time ran out before they could seriously affect the Colt’s win. The Titans have now recorded their 6th consecutive lost. Things are not looking great for the Titans this season. Offense, Defense, Special Teams

Newcastle vs Liverpool preview

Game :- Newcastle vs Liverpool ( December 10, 2010 at St.James Park, KO 17.30 UK time)

Alan Pardew’s first game as Newcastle manager after the sacking of fans favourite Chris Houghton sees the Magpies host Liverpool in the last Premier League kickoff on Saturday.

Will Alan Pardew be victorious in his first match as Liverpool manager? Bet on Newcastle vs Liverpool with our betting partners and find out.

Newcastle put in a listless performance against West Bromwich Albion last weekend, leading to the board showing Chris Hughton the exit. The players have not been too pleased with Mike Ashley’s decision and some, like Sol Campbell, have spoken against the decision.

Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini are suspended for Newcastle.

However there is good news as skipper Kevin Nolan has made significant progress on his ankle injury, but Joey Barton will be given a late fitness test for his groin problem.

Newcastle form- last five games- most recent first- Newcastle scorers in brackets-

West Brom 3-1 Newcastle ( Peter Lovenkrands)
Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea ( Andy Carroll)
Bolton 5-1 Newcastle ( Andy Carroll)
Newcastle 0-0 Fulham
Newcastle 1-2 Fulham ( Andy Carroll)

Andy Carroll will again be vital to Newcastle’s fortunes, especially against a Liverpool defence missing Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool beat a poor Aston Villa side 3-0 on Monday despite missing star trio Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Torres will be back for this weekend’s game, which however comes too early for both Gerrard and Carragher.

Liverpool are 8th in the table with 22 points from 16 games, while Newcastle are in 12th position with 19 points from the same number of fixtures.

Liverpool form- last five games- most recent first- Liverpool scorers in brackets

Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa ( David Ngog, Ryan Babel, Maxi Rodriguez)
Steaua Bucharest 1-1 Liverpool ( Milan Jovanovic)
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool ( Martin Skrtel)
West Ham 0-3 Liverpool ( Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez)
Stoke 2-0 Liverpool

Verdict:- Liverpool have won only once away all season in the league. While Newcastle’s league form at home has not been the best, Alan Pardew will be keen to get a favourable result.

Newcastle United 2-2 Liverpool ( Carroll, Nolan/ Torres, Ngog)

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Fulham vs Sunderland preview

Posted on December 11th, 2010 in English Premiership

Game :- Fulham vs Sunderland

Barclays Premier League

Saturday, December 11, 2010- KO at 15.00 UK time.

Recommended bookmaker- PaddyPower

Two former Manchester United teammates will go head to head on Saturday afternoon as Mark Hughes’ Fulham host Steve Bruce’s Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

Fulham were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal last weekend, with two beautiful goals from Samir Nasri proving to be their undoing. The Cottagers did fight hard in the game though but had nothing to show at the end for their efforts.

Diomansy Kamara scored Fulham’s only goal of the game against Arsenal and is expected to keep his spot in the side ahead of Andy Johnson, who has not fully recovered from his illness.

Fredrik Stoor, Bobby Zamora and Philippe Senderos all remain sidelined for Fulham, but Carlos Salcido could make a return against the Wearsiders.

Fulham fixtures- last five games- most recent first- Fulham scorers in brackets

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham ( Diomansy Kamara)
Fulham 1-1 Birmingham ( Clint Dempsey)
Fulham 1-4 Man City ( Zoltan Gera)
Newcastle 0-0 Fulham
Chelsea 1-0 Fulham

Sunderland are sitting in seventh place in the league table going into this fixture, while Fulham are just one place above the relegation zone. However Sunderland’s poor away form means that Fulham will fancy their chances of getting something from this game- the Wearsiders have won only one out of eight in their trips away from the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland beat West Ham United 1-0 at home last weekend with Jordan Henderson’s goal proving to be the difference between the two sides.

Titus Bramble, Michael Turner and Fraizer Campbell are out for Sunderland, while Asamoah Gyan and Craig Gordon will have late fitness tests.

Sunderland form- last five games- most recent first- Sunderland scorers in brackets-

Sunderland 1-0 West Ham ( Jordan Henderson)
Wolves 3-2 Sunderland ( Darren Bent, Danny Welbeck)
Sunderland 2-2 Everton ( Danny Welbeck

Tottenham vs Chelsea preview

Game :- Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea

Barclays Premier League

White Hart Lane, London

Sunday, December 12, 2010.

Kick off :- 16.00 UK time.

Sunday’s last Premier League clash sees Carlo Ancelotti’s out of form Chelsea take on Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Bet on Tottenham vs Chelsea after reading our betting preview.

Chelsea have struggled to reproduce the form that saw them race to the top of the Premier League early in the season. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are now third in the table with 30 points from 16 games. They have won only one of their last six games in all competitions and went down 1-0 to Olympique Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Chelsea form- last five games-most recent first- Newcastle scorers in brackets-

Olympique Marseille 1-0 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-1 Everton ( Didier Drogba)
Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea ( Salomon Kalou)
Chelsea 2-1 Zilina ( Daniel Sturridge, Florent Malouda)
Birmingham 1-0 Chelsea
Sunderland 3-0 Chelsea

Frank Lampard is still out for Chelsea as Ancelotti will not risk him directly in such a high profile game without testing his fitness.

Tottenham Hotspur are fifth in the table, just four points behind Chelsea. They topped their Champions League group by drawing 3-3 with FC Twente in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Spurs still have Niko Kranjcar and Rafael van der Vaart out, while Younes Kaboul will have a late fitness test. Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate continue to be long term absentees.

Here is an important fact- Chelsea have not won on their last four trips to White Hart Lane. Tottenham have won three of those fixture, with one game ending in a high scoring 4-4 draw.

Tottenham form- last five games- most recent first- Tottenham scorers in brackets-

Birmingham 1-1 Tottenham ( Sebastien Bassong)
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool ( Own goal, Aaron Lennon)
Tottenham 3-0 Werder Bremen ( Younes Kaboul, Luka Modric, Peter Crouch)
Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham ( Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Younes Kaboul)
Tottenham 4-2 Blackburn ( Gareth Bale

Seamers fire blanks in Melbourne warm-up

It was billed as a “shoot-out” between England’s back up seamers to decide who would replace the injured Stuart Broad for the third Test in Perth.

But after three awkward days in Melbourne against Victoria, which yielded just one wicket between them, the selectors will be just as puzzled as they were at the start of the match.

Tim Bresnan was the man who struck, snaring Ryan Carters during Victoria’s first innings. But that was as good as it got for the England quicks, whose threat quickly fizzled out.

Bresnan remains he favourite to make the side for Perth, mainly due to his greater experience and ability with the bat. Chris Tremlett has the build to take advantage of the bouncy Waca pitch, but a quiet game may persuade the selectors that he isn’t quite ready for a recall.

Ajmal Shahzad was always the wildcard option having began the winter with the A side. A flurry of wickets may have tempted the selectors to throw him in, but match figures of 0-75 are unlikely to have earned him a staring place in Perth. The Ashes betting offers suggest England will look for a bit more experience.

It was wicketkeeper Matt Prior who stole the headlines with a gutsy century on the final day. A top order collapse saw Prior come in with the score 55-4 chasing 311 for victory and anyone who has bet on the Ashes should pay attention to the way Prior turned things around.

But with that target beyond them Prior played for the draw, taking 20 overs to make it from 75 to 100. It maintains England’s unbeaten run down under though and means they can head to Perth full of confidence.

Quite who will be lining up in place of Broad though remains to be seen – a golden opportunity to stake a claim has been missed by all three of the contenders at the MCG.

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Exciting times for Spurs as cup draw awaits

Posted on December 14th, 2010 in English Premiership

Tottenham’s fearless approach to Champions League football this season has meant they will miss many of Europe’s leading lights in the next round.

Six months ago the Spurs fans would have jumped at the chance to play Barcelona or Real Madrid in the second round. But such has been their performances this season they now have a real chance of facing those sides in the latter stages.

Harry Redknapp’s has sent his sides out with an attacking intent, a refreshing “you score two, we’ll score three” approach that sits well with a side containing so much attacking talent.

And so far it has produced results. They were the top scorers in the group stages, hitting two or more goals in every game, including six in two games against reigning European champions Inter Milan. Anyone looking to bet on Champions League winner should remember the upsets Spurs have caused.

The draw for the quarter-finals takes place on December 17 and will pit Tottenham against either Lyon, Valencia, Kobenhavn, Roma, Marseille, Milan. Italian duo Roma and Milan are perhaps the stand out one to avoid, with the rest certainly beatable. Anyone looking to place a Champions League bet may want to wait until after the draw before committing themselves.

Their bold attacking approach may eventually end on defeat – it hard after all to see Spurs outscoring the likes of Barca. But they should be applauded for the way they have taken to Champions League football this season.
After so many seasons with the same four English teams it is refreshing to see a new side tackle the competition with infectious enthusiasm – and long may it continue.

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Australian racing sets the standard again

Australian racing is right up there with the best of the world on many fronts - the flagship event of Aus racing, the Melbourne Cup gets a local (not national unfortunately) public holiday; the prizemoney at stake considering the number of race meetings held each year; the facilities at Flemington; the press coverage etc... But the one issue where it really stands head and shoulders above UK racing in particular is stewarding and the regard for punters.

National stewards decide to put punters first in overhaul of rules

STEWARDS from around the country emerged from a two-day conference in Launceston with the punter in mind. A revamp of betting deductions issued when horses are scratched late, an overhaul of the rortable jockey-challenge betting, the old commission-agent bogey, etc, were on the agenda.

Leading form student and respected punter Dominic Beirne overhauled the antiquated betting system. ''It will be a much fairer system and most kind to the punter,'' Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy said yesterday.

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Trainers will soon have to report all relevant procedures administered to a horse. At present, wind operations, bone-chip removals, etc, do not have to be reported, although there is a rule where a trainer has to report to stipes anything that may affect a horse's performance in the week before a race. ''The rule currently is in relation to what's happened in the lead-up to a race,'' Murrihy said. ''Stewards believe it should be mandatory to report things like wind operations and this will be made public.''

Also in the article was a mention of changes to a particular betting market, jockey challenge, where rorting has been noticeable in recent months. The Jockey Challenge is betting on the rider with the most wins (but also carries points for placings) across a meeting. Certain people had exploited markets by learning of last minute pick-up rides before the media and betting firms. Some punters won out of it, but THE MAJORITY lost - thus stewards acted to shut down the exploitation to protect the rank and file punter.

Never let it be forgotten - it is the rank and file punter who funds the industry. Piss them off by inconsistencies which see them lose more/faster than they should, and they will find other hobbies to spend their money on.

Here's more on the mechanics of the changes to the non-runner deductions scale.

Deductions - better go coming for punters

“Currently, let’s say you’re betting on a country meeting and they are betting 170 percent, the scale is designed down at 105 to 110 percent and it’s a bonanza for bookmakers.

“This scale takes into account the prices of all horses in the race and the percentage that’s being bet.”Posted byScott Fergusonat11:40

Betfair shares rebounding

Britain starts to thaw out and Betfair's share price starts to rise again. As I surmised last week, the icy weather appeared to be the trigger behind the plunge in price down to a low of 1150p on Friday. Seven days later, it's up over a pound to 1263p.

English Premier League Soccer – Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea

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NCAA Football – Auburn and Oregon take a go at the National Title

The BCS National Championship Game has been mostly reserved for college football blue bloods and football programs that have at least one National Championship on their pedigree. And yet, slowly but surely, both Auburn and Oregon have managed to finish a flawless season and at 13-0 and 12-0 respectively, are now going to play for the National Championship on January 10 at the Tositos BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona.

Get ready because this game is going to get as offensive as one can wish. Two of the finest offensive squads we have seen in the recent years are going to put all they’ve got on the line. The two top ranked teams in the country, are going to make it into the game and the stakes are high. Auburn has won every game of the season, including the Southeaster Conference Championship Game against South Carolina, 56-17. That is right after taking an intense 28-27 win over the defending Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

On the other hand, Oregon has been outstanding in the PAC-10, making everybody know that after its second consecutive win in its conference, the Oregon Ducks are the new team to defeat in the Pacific 10 Conference. Forget USC, the Trojans were not even close, after the Ducks took them down 53-32 on October 30, and then kept on with their run to win each and every game of the season, including the Ducks 37-20 win over Oregon State, to secure their PAC-10 championship.

This is Oregon’s first chance to win the National Title. Auburn has one National Title on its pedigree, but it came back in 1957, way before the BCS was born in 1998. So it is quite a thrill to have a contender in the National Title Game who could be in its way to win the program’s first National Title ever. So, extra Kudos for Oregon for making it into the Tositos National Championship Bowl. As a matter of fact, only one other program, Virginia Tech back in 1999, has played in the BCS Championship Game without holding a National Title on their history.

This is also the second time ever, after Nebraska and Miami that two teams make it to the BCS Championship Game for the first time ever. This is also the first time that two teams that where not ranked inside the AP Poll’s top 10, at the beginning of the season manage to make it into the National Championship Game. At the beginning of the year, the Oregon Ducks were ranked 11th while the Auburn Tigers where second in their own state, behind coaching legend Nick Saban and the defending champions Alabama. The Tigers were ranked the 23rd team in the Nation at the beginning of the season.

Here is one extra little detail to bring into this equation. It seems very plausible that by the time the Tositos National Championship Bowl is played, Auburn will have the privilage to start Cam Newton, not only as one of the finest quarterbacks the sport has seen in recent years, but also as the Heisman Trophy winner. That could bring on a special little ingredient into the mix. Last season the trophy went to Mark Ingram from Alabama, and he was key in the Crimson Tide’s sweet performance in the Championship game. Perhaps this year, if the Heisman goes to Newton, there will be a good chance that he could guide the Tigers to their second National Championship.

NBA – The San Antonio Spurs are having a brilliant start

The San Antonio Spurs are experiencing one of their best starts ever. At 17-3, the Spurs are first in the Southwest Conference, and as of press time, they hold the best record in the Nation. With a winning percentage of .850, the Spurs have had a stronger start than the National Title contender, Boston Celtics, at 16-4 and a .800 winning percentage, and the Defending Champions the LA Lakers, that have recorded 14 wins and 6 defeats so far this season.

But is this early success from the San Antonio Spurs legit? It’s a bit hard to say. Tony Parker, despite his personal problems and the filling of his divorce with tv-star Eva Longoria, has been quite fantastic in the Spurs last games. As a matter of fact, Parker was responsible for 19 points in the Spurs 109-84 bashing of the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.

Their almost perfect record is not really fair to the fact that the Spurs are one heck of a fighting team. Their success so far this season could be defined by an overwhelming drive: they just won’t give up. Here is a fact: The Spurs have fallen behind by 15 or more points in 4 games this season, and yet, have found their way back into a winning game. The Spurs 25-point win over the Hornets is their largest winning margin of the season.

And they were quite brilliant later in the second quarter when shooting from outside the perimeter. It seems like this is a very good winning formula for the Spurs. San Antonio has won each and every of their last 7 games in which the team 10 or more 3 pointers. And it seems that both Spurs strongest players, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are really hitting it off this season.

There is just one big issue when it comes to assessing the Spurs early success. They still have not played some of the strongest teams in the country, and it is hard to asses their game until they take a game against, let’s say, the LA Lakers with Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant on the starting 5, or the Boston Celtics with Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on the floor. Sure enough, they defeated the Chicago Bulls 103-94 early in November, and defeated the Orlando Magic 106-97 at San Antonio, but it really is hard to predict whether the team is actually as good as it sounds.

Now, the Spurs have been quite brilliant playing straight up. Surprisingly enough, the team has also been quite successful when it comes to playing Against The Spread. As of press time, the Spurs ATS record sits at 12-7-1, for a very respectable 63.2 percent of success when taken on straight bets. The team is just slightly surpassed by the Dallas Mavericks when it comes to wagering against the spread among the best teams in the Southwest conference. As of press time, the Mavericks as 12-6-2.

The Spurs are 9-2 at home and 8-1 on the road. The Spurs have had a strong start and have had a good series of wins during the last 10 games. At 8-2, they are still very well off. Let’s just wait and see if they can keep up this rhythm into the postseason, where it matters most.