Haskell to go national on ABC

Horseracing Betting Lines

05/11/2010 - Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One year after the filly Rachel Alexandra made history by winning the $1 million Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park announced that the race will be televised on ABC.

"This is a terrific opportunity to grow the Haskell on a national stage," said Bill Knauf, assistant vice president and general manager of Monmouth Park. "Airing the Haskell on ABC will ensure a greater audience to showcase North America's richest invitational race, and historic Monmouth Park as well."

The Haskell is the track's premier race and will be held Sunday, August 1. The ABC telecast will be from 5 to 6 p.m (et).

"The Haskell has clearly stamped itself as the next logical step following the Triple Crown," Knauf said. "Adding the national broadcast is just one more step forward as Monmouth prepares to offer the highest purses in the nation during our Elite Summer Meet."

Run at a distance of 1 1/8-miles, the Haskell has attracted some of the best three-year-old thoroughbreds to ever run. Rachel Alexnadra was voted 2009 Horse of the Year in part because of her victory in the race.

In 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ Big Brown made his first start following a loss in the Belmont Stakes in the event. War Emblem, the 2002 Derby and Preakness winner, also won the Haskell after coming short in the Belmont Stakes.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.