Rapid Redux gets back to racing Wednesday

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/03/2012 - Laurel, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following an undefeated 2011 racing season record holder Rapid Redux returns to the track Wednesday afternoon at Laurel Park. The six-year-old gelding is the 3-5 favorite for the $17,000 starter allowance at one-mile.

"There is a little cut on his right front foot," trainer David Wells said. "We are a little bit concerned about tomorrow. It is kind of up in the air. We are working as hard as we can to get it healed up for where it isn't tender. It does bother him to push on it. It is a little spot, the size of a thumbnail. I had the blacksmith take off his glue-on shoes because we thought that was aggravating but it is all coming from where he grabbed himself."

Should Rapid Redux start he will take on seven challengers as he goes after his 22nd straight victory. He won as the 3-10 favorite on December 13 for his 19th win in 2011, matching the modern mark for a single year held by Citation and early 20th-century horse Roseben. Citation equaled Roseben's record in 1948, the same year he won the Triple Crown.

"Laurel is a really good surface and hopefully we can try to extend our streak tomorrow afternoon," added Wells. "We will be on the road by 9 a.m. if everything is good to go.

"Robert (owner Robert Cole) and I talked back and forth today. Laurel lays out the red carpet every time and it is great to go there. I hope we can have this little cut to where it does not bother him. We surely don't want to get beat and I want to do what is best by the horse."

Rapid Redux earned $212,584 with his perfect record of 19 wins in 2011. With 27 victories in 41 career starts the six-year-old has banked $351,919.

For Wednesday's mile event Rapid Redux will start from post two, wearing saddle cloth number three. J. D. Acosta again is set to ride the Horse of the Year candidate.

Post-time is scheduled for 2:56 p.m. (et).

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

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Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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