Tizdejavu wires Firecracker, Mine That Bird an also-ran

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/04/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tizdejavu, ridden by Jesus Castanon, led every step of the way to win Sunday's $205,625 Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs. The race featured 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird making his 2010 debut.

The one-mile turf event had a field of 14 horses even with the scratch of Tybalt. Mine That Bird was the 5-2 favorite and last year's runner-up Inca King was 5-1. Tizdejavu and Public Speaker were both 4-1.

Tizdejavu got an excellent start and quickly took the lead. The five-year-old took the field around the clubhouse turn and into the backstretch. Running in second was Inca King ridden by Victor Lebron.

Mine That Bird with Calvin Borel riding was racing last for much of the race, his first ever start on turf.

Trained by Greg Fox, Tizdejavu extended his lead as the field entered the stretch with Public Speaker joining Inca King in second. The pacesetter hit the wire 1 1/2-lengths ahead of Public Speaker who nosed out Inca King for second-place.

Mine That Bird had a late rally coming into the stretch, but never offered any challenge to the leaders.

Completing the order of finish was Veiled Prophet, Unbridle's Dream, Skipadate, Wise River, Mine That Bird, Pop Tarrt, Attempted Humor, Driving Snow, Baryshnikov, Euroears and Orthodox.

Tizdejavu completed the mile in 1:35.98 on a firm turf course.

Owned by Michael Cooper and Pamela Ziebarth, Tizdejavu added $116,016 to his bankroll. The veteran runner has won eight of 16 career starts for $693,153. The Firecracker is the third straight win for the five-year-old.

Last month at Churchill Downs, Tizdejavu defeated Public Speaker by half a length in the Opening Verse Stakes.

Tizdejavu paid $10.20, $5.00 and $3.60. Public Speaker returned $4.60 and $3.80, and Inca King paid $4.20 to show.

Sporstbook Horseracing Betting News

<< Rose hangs on to win AT&T National
Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A week after coughing up the final-round lead, Justin Rose made sure it didn't happen again. Rose parred his final seven holes Sunday to post an even-par 70 and win the AT&T National at Aronimink Gol

<< Big Red Mike captures 151st Queen's Plate
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Red Mike, ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, went wire-to-wire to claim victory in Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate at Woodbine Race Course. The 1 1/4-mile race is the beginning of the Canadian Triple

<< Choi beats 3 Kims in playoff to win Jamie Farr
Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Na Yeon Choi made a short birdie putt Sunday to win a four-way playoff at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, picking up her third career LPGA Tour victory. Her opponents in the playoff? Three players with t

<< Bay and Pagan help Mets bounce Nationals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay knocked in four runs, as the New York Mets used an early surge to beat Washington, 9-5, in the finale of a four-game set at Nationals Park. Angel Pagan had three hits and drove in a pair f

<< Longoria sparkles as Rays down Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and finished a home run shy of the cycle, as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Minnesota Twins, 7-4, in the finale of a four-game set at Target Field.

Gwynn's hit lifts Padres over Astros in ninth >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Gwynn singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift San Diego to a dramatic 3-2 win over Houston to finish off a four-game set. Yorvit Torrealba led off the decisive frame

Yankees activate Thames from DL, option Huffman >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Yankees activated outfielder Marcus Thames from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday, and optioned outfielder Chad Huffman to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Thames arrived just in time to record the game-

Dodgers top D'Backs on Kemp's homer >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp blasted the game-winning two-run home run in the eighth inning to carry Los Angeles to a 3-1 comeback win over Arizona to wrap up a three-game set. Rafael Furcal doubled and scored twice for

Uggla stars as Marlins take one from Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla went 2-for-4 with a home run and drove in all three Marlins runs, while Ricky Nolasco struck out 11 over seven innings to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Braves with a 3-2 win. Nola

What they said about Aronimink >>
Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aronimink Golf Club was in the spotlight this week as the host of the AT&T National. It was the first big event since the 2003 Senior PGA Championship, and few would say the AT&T wasn't a s

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

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.