Chapter Seven and Betterthancheddar win in Breeders Crown

Horseracing Betting Lines

10/29/2011 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-year-olds Chapter Seven and Betterthancheddar won their respective races to highlight the 2011 Breeders Crown Saturday night at Woodbine Race Course. A dozen championship harness races were conducted worth more than $6 million.

Taking over from Manofmanymissions down the stretch, 7-5 favorite Chapter Seven captured the $610,000 Three-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot. Driven by Jeff Gregory, Chapter Seven trotted the mile in 1:53. Gregory substituted for Tim Tetrick who, along with several other drivers, could not reach Woodbine from New Jersey due to a snow storm

Hambletonian winner Broad Bahn finished second in the 10-horse field with Canadian Trotting Classic champ Daylon Magician in third. Kentucky Futurity winner Manofmanymissions had the lead at the top of the stretch, but broke stride to allow Chapter Seven to assume the lead.

Cane Pace champ Betterthancheddar made a late move along the rail down the stretch to win the $500,000 Three-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace. With Mark MacDonald driving, the colt paced the mile in 1:49 2/5.

Meadowlands Pace winner Roll With Joe finished second and Adios Stakes champ Alsace Hanover was third in the 10-horse field.

The night began with Frenchfrysnvinegar winning the $300,000 Trot for Older Fillies and Mares. Driven by Jody Jamieson, the six-year-old covered the mile in 1:53 3/5.

The $600,000 Two-Year-Old Filly Trot went to Check Me Out. The 2-5 favorite went the mile in 1:54 4/5 with Ron Pierce driving.

Odds-on favorite Economy Terror came storming down the stretch to capture the $600,000 Two-Year-Old Filly Pace. Driven by Brian Sears, the 3-4 favorite stopped the timer at 1:51 equaling the track record.

Post-time favorite Sweet Lou ran away from his nine rivals to win the $650,000 Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace. Driven by Dave Palone, the 6-5 top choice set a world record of 1:49.

The $600,000 Two-year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot went to 9-2 third pick Uncle Peter. With Dave Palone substituting for Jimmy Takter in the sulky, the colt covered the mile in 1:55.

Odds-on favorite Anndrovette captured the $300,000 Older Filly and Mare Pace. The four-year-old, with Luc Ouellette driving, paced the mile in 1:49 2/5.

In the $600,000 Older Colt and Gelding Trot, 3-5 favorite San Pail held off European invader Rapide Lebel with Randy Waples driving. Controlling much of the pace, the seven-year-old gelding went the mile in 1:51 4/5.

Driver Jody Jamieson notched his second win of the evening with Monkey On My Wheel taking the $500,000 Three-Year-Old Filly Pace. The 5-1 selection paced the mile in 1:49 3/5.

In the $500,000 Three-Year-Old Filly Trot it was 3-5 favorite Cedar Dove matching the stakes record. Driven by Ron Pierce, Cedar Dove went the mile in 1:53 3/5.

Bettor Sweet, third in last year's race, captured the $500,000 Older Colt and Gelding Pace to close the program. Sent off at 8-1, the six-year-old gelding covered the mile in 1:48 4/5. Driver John Campbell recorded his 45th Breeders Crown victory and went past the $20 million mark. Foiled Again, the 8-5 second pick, was the runner-up with even-money favorite We Will See getting third in the 11-horse field.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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