Zenyatta makes history with Vanity win

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/13/2010 - Inglewood, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta remained undefeated with a third straight win in Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. The undefeated mare ran her career record to 17 straight wins.

Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta breaks the tie she had with legendary horses Citation and Cigar. Her 17 lifetime victories gives her $6,074,580 in career earnings, including the $150,000 from Sunday's win.

Zenyatta, trained by John Shirreffs, faced five challengers in the 1 1/8-mile race. She settled into her usual last place position.

Setting the pace was Miss Silver Brook along with Cherryblossommiss. Running in third was Zardana followed by Will O'Way and 2-1 second choice St Trinians.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Zenyatta was about a dozen lengths off the lead as the field went up the backstretch. The 1-2 favorite, carrying 129 pounds, began to advance as the field entered the far turn.

Gaining ground on the outside around the turn was St Trinians and jockey Martin Garcia. On the final turn Zardana, also trained by Shirreffs, had a short lead as St Trinians moved into second and Zenyatta was quickly third in the six horse field.

Entering the stretch, St Trinians had the lead with the favorite second. In mid-stretch it appeared that the win streak was coming to an end. St Trinians still had the lead inside the furlong pole as Zenyatta continued her rally.

It was not until just before the wire that Zenyatta caught St Trinians and was able to get in front to win the by a half-length. Zardana finished third followed by Will O'Way, Miss Silver Brook and Cherryblossommiss.

The champion stopped the timer at 1:49.01 on Hollywood Park's synthetic. Last year she won the race in 1:48.15 and in 2008 covered the distance in 1:49.51.

"That mare ran her eyeballs out," Smith exclaimed. "She hit her real good stride about 100 yards out and I knew she had it."

"It's always a horse race, you never know what's going to happen," said the winning trainer.

Shirreffs notched his fifth win in the Vanity. Along with the three wins by Zenyatta, he also won with Hollywood Story (2006) and Manistique (1999).

Zenyatta began her 2010 campaign by winning the Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita Park and followed with a 4 1/4-length win as the 1-20 favorite in Oaklawn Park's Apple Blossom Handicap.

The last two years Zenyatta has been voted champion older female and for 2009 finished second for Horse of the Year to Rachel Alexandra. She won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic and last year became the first female to capture the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Zenyatta returned $3.00 and $2.10, and St Trinians paid $2.20. There was no show wagering.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.