Quality Road heads Whitney Invitational

Horseracing Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quality Road, trained by Todd Pletcher, tops a field of six for Saturday's $750,000 Whitney Invitational at Saratoga Race Course. The winner of the 1 1/8-mile Whitney gains automatic entry into this year's Breeders' Cup Classic.

Owned by Edward Evans, Quality Road will be ridden by John Velazquez from post three. The winner of last year's Florida Derby has been made a heavy 2-5 program favorite for the Whitney.

"I think we have a fit and happy horse, which is the goal," Pletcher declared.

Perfect in three starts this year, Quality Road has a career bankroll of more than $1.6 million with seven wins in 10 lifetime starts. The colt is coming off a win in the Met Mile on Memorial Day at Belmont Park.

In February he won the Donn Handicap by more than a dozen lengths at Gulfstream Park. Quality Road began his 2010 season in January by taking the Hal's Hope Stakes at the south Florida track.

Last year at Saratoga, Quality Road won the Amsterdam Stakes and was third to Summer Bird in the Travers.

Quality Road has been second most of the year in the National Thoroughbred Poll behind undefeated mare Zenyatta.

"I think Quality Road certainly belongs in any conversation about the best horse in training," Pletcher noted. "I think if you look at his Donn Handicap, for example, that was just an unbelievable race, and then to come back with a similar performance in the Met Mile - we believe he is the best horse in training."

Stephen Foster champ Blame will make his second career start at Saratoga in the Whitney. The four-year-old won last year's Curlin Stakes for three-year- olds.

Trained by Al Stall, Jr., Blame will be ridden again by Garrett Gomez from post two and is the 4-1 second choice.

"I believe he will improve off his Stephen Foster victory; hopefully, the trip will work out tactically," said Stall. "At least with a smaller field, he won't be hung out in the 11 hole.

"He can handle anything. Nothing bothers that horse. We're ready for the task. This is his third race this year. We're excited to be here and run in the Whitney. We are ready to take on all comers. I'm looking forward to it."

Blame has earned better than $1 million for owner Adele Dilschneider. In 10 career starts the colt has seven wins, including his last four in a row. This year he also won the William Donald Schaefer Stakes at Pimlico.

Also in the field are 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Suburban Handicap champ Haynesfield and Met Mile runner-up Musket Mam.

Here is the complete field for the Whitney in post position order: Mine That Bird, Calvin Borel, 12-1; Blame, Garrett Gomez, 4-1; Quality Road, John Velazquez, 2-5; Haynesfield, Ramon Dominguez, 12-1; Jardim, Julien Leparoux, 30-1; and Musket Man, Rajiv Maragh, 6-1.

Post-time for the 83rd Whitney is set for 5:50 p.m. (et).

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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