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07/17/2010 - Maineville, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Gainey fired a 10-under 62 on Saturday and extended his lead after three rounds of the inaugural Chiquita Classic.
Gainey finished 54 holes at 24-under 192 and is four strokes clear at TPC River's Bend, as that 24-under score matched the Nationwide Tour's record for most strokes under par after 54 holes.
"It's a great layout. I'm not hitting it very far off the tee, but I'm hitting pretty straight," said Gainey. "I'm just making putts. I'm hitting some solid iron shots, hitting them pretty close and making putts. That's how I've shot the numbers I've shot so far."
Arjun Atwal was 24-under after three rounds of the 2008 Chattanooga Classic. Atwal went on to victory two years ago and if Gainey can match that feat, it would be his second win of the season.
Gainey captured the Melwood Prince George's County Open and is fifth on the Nationwide Tour money list. Even without a victory on Sunday Gainey is close to being a lock for a PGA Tour card next year through his spot on the money list. But another win would put him one away from the automatic PGA Tour promotion for winning three times in one season on the Nationwide Tour.
Colt Knost shot an eight-under 64 and is alone in second at minus-20. Justin Smith closed with a birdie and an eagle for a five-under 67 and is third at 18-under 198.
Everyone will be chasing Gainey, who got off to a great start on Saturday with a birdie at three and an unlikely eagle at the par-four second. Gainey two- putted for birdie on the par-five eighth and 11th holes, but was only two ahead.
Knost made three birdies in a four-hole span from the 11th to trim the margin to one. Gainey, playing in the group behind Knost, birdied 11 and hit a spectacular second from the rough to eight feet to set up birdie at 13. Gainey gave himself a tap-in birdie at the 14th to remain two in front.
Knost stopped making birdies, but Gainey didn't. At the 15th, Gainey hit his approach to six feet and drained the birdie effort. His putter stayed hot at the very next hole when he ran home a 30-footer for birdie to move four clear of Knost.
At the last, Knost made a birdie to momentarily cut the lead to three. Gainey reached the green in two at the par-five closing hole and converted his six- foot birdie putt to reach the Nationwide Tour record books.
Chris Kirk, the leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour, posted a four- under 68 and is tied for fourth place with first-round leader Peter Tomasulo (65) and Joe Affrunti (67). The trio is knotted at 17-under 199.
Jamie Lovemark (64), Darron Stiles (64), Scott Stallings (65), Dave Schultz (63), Geoffrey Sisk (66) and Brendan Steele (68) share seventh place at minus-16.
NOTES: Only 22 players of the 68 who made the cut failed to break 70 on Saturday...Gainey, known as "Two Gloves" since he wears gloves on both hands, was a contestant on The Golf Channel's "Big Break" series...With a win on Sunday, Gainey would move to first on the Nationwide Tour money list.
<< Oosthuizen up by four at St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen has never been in
this position, but he sure seems comfortable atop the leaderboard in a major.
The South African, who held the second-round lead, carded a three-under 69
Satur
<< Phillies use four-run ninth to beat Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Gload scored the go-ahead run on a
wild pitch in a wild four-run, two-out rally in the ninth inning that
carried the Phillies to a 4-1 comeback win over Chicago in third meeting of
a four-
<< Polanco contributes big hit in return for Phils
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco made a huge impact Saturday
in his return to the lineup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The veteran infielder, who was activated off the 15-day disabled list prior
to the game, singled
<< D.C. fails to pick up option on Emilio
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and striker Luciano Emilio
have parted ways after a brief three-month reunion as United opted not to pick
up its option on the former Major League Soccer MVP.
Emilio returned to the team i
Yankees' Burnett leaves with undisclosed injury >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett left
Saturday's game against Tampa Bay with an undisclosed injury.
Burnett allowed an RBI single to Carlos Pena in the third inning and was
immediately visited
Le Toux sinks Toronto with late PK >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Le Toux's penalty kick in the 94th
minute helped the Philadelphia Union claim a dramatic 2-1 win over Toronto FC
at PPL Park on Saturday.
Toronto equalized nine minutes from time through Chad Bar
Red Sox activate Delcarmen among other moves >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated pitcher Manny
Delcarmen from the 15-day disabled list among a host of moves made Saturday.
Delcarmen last pitched on June 30 and had been on the DL with a right forearm
strain
Tolliver in record book at American Century Championship >>
Tahoe, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Joe Tolliver, the former NFL quarterback,
netted 33 points on Saturday in the modified Stableford scoring system to take
the second-round lead of the American Century Championship.
Tolliver finished two
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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