Rachel Alexandra garners Lady's Secret victory
Horseracing Betting Lines
07/24/2010 -
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year,
used a stalking ride Saturday to win the $400,000 Lady's Secret Stakes at
Monmouth Park. The champion filly won the 1 1/8-mile race by three-lengths
over Queen Martha.
Owned by Stonestreet Stable and Hal McCormick, Rachel tracked Queen Martha for
most of the race under extremely hot conditions. The post-time temperature at
Monmouth Park was 95 degrees.
Ridden by her regular jockey, Calvin Borel, the four-year-old filly drew even
with the pacesetter on the turn for home and then quickly went past the rival.
Rachel, making her second career start at the Jersey shore track, took command
at the head of the stretch and easily notched her second victory of the year.
Queen Martha was second followed by Ask the Moon, Stage Trick, Hark, Yes She's
a Lady and Fabulous Babe.
The champion stopped the timer at 1:49.78 on a fast track.
Rachel, trained by Steve Asmussen, has won 13 of 18 career starts for
$3,446,730. This year she has won two of four races for $498,376.
"She's bigger than she was last year," said assistant trainer Scott Blasi.
"She's put on weight. Last year, if you looked at her neck, it was narrow. Now
it's filled out. She's just doing great."
Last year in Monmouth's Haskell Invitational, the filly defeated three-year-
old males by six-lengths. She was perfect in eight starts in 2009.
In her most recent start this year she won the Fleur de Lis by 10 1/2-lengths
on June 12. She came up short in her initial two starts of 2010. She was
second to Zardana at the Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Ladies Classic and
runner-up to Unrivaled Belle at Churchill Downs in the La Troienne.
Sent off as the 1-10 favorite, Rachel Alexandra returned $2.20, $2.10 and
$2.10. Queen Martha paid $2.80 and $2.40, and Ask The Moon paid $3.80 to show.
At Saratoga Race Course, odds-on favorite Devil May Care came from just off
the pace to capture the $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks for three-year-
old fillies. Ridden by John Velazquez, the 7-10 favorite covered the 1 1/8-
miles in 1:49.42 on a fast surface.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Devil May Care used an outside move around the
final turn to take the lead at the top of the stretch and go on to win her
second straight race by four-lengths. Biofuel was second followed by Acting
Happy, Bahama Bound, Seeking the Title and Absinthe Minded.
Connie and Michael and Lisa's Booby Trap were both scratched from the Oaks.
Devil May Care, owned by Glencrest Farm, added $150,000 to her bankroll which
now stands at $699,000. The filly was coming off a win in the Mother Goose
Stakes at Belmont Park four weeks ago. She has won five of her eight career
starts. She has a chance to sweep the Triple Tiara series by winning the
Alabama Stakes in August.
Devil May Care paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10. Biofuel returned $4.00 and $2.60,
and Acting Happy paid $2.50 to show.
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New York's Barajas leaves game >>
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Ryan Howard als
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
Football Betting
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
NFL Betting Lines
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