horse 5

Las Vegas - Waking up early, at least here on the West Coast, for a little Premier League action over in England, and gonna rock Everton over Burnley. The Toffees, yea, Toffees, are sitting in the sixth slot in the league standings, just four points off an invitation to the UEFA Champions League. And they'll need to defend home field against the visiting Clarets who are way down in 15th place. Burnley has scored only two goals in the last four games, and will be without striker, and second leading goal scorer, Ashley Barnes. I'll have a cup of coffee with a little Toffee on the side!!!

On to the college hoop board, and its gotta be Alabama over Tennessee. The Tide rolled yesterday, actually STEAMROLLED Mississippi State, 85-48. The defense was, lets say STIFLING. What does that mean? They held the Bulldogs to 1 of 19 from downtown. ONE OF NINETEEN!!! That translates to 5.3%. Did I say FIVE POINT THREE PERCENT? Man, have not seen that kinda D since the '85 Bears! And if you think 'Bama might be a little tired after that kind of effort. UH UH. They played FIFTEEN kids against the Bulldogs. Didn't even know they had that many on the team. In the only meeting this season, Alabama beat Tennessee IN Knoxville back in January, 71-63. Gotta ROLL with the TIDE!!!

And if you like the ice, grab the Lightning and watch them strike down the Predators.

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Just heard from Mr. Pony, Martin Calia, and he has some action for all the horse lovers today...take it away Martino...

Another Derby prep with valuable points on the line in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. It's #11 on the card and will be run at a mile and sixteenth for 1 million bucks! The winner will receive 50 points for first place and probably an entry into the Kentucky Derby on May 1st. Let's not beat around the bush here. If you think, as I have read and heard, that this is trainer Bob Baffert's 'B' horse, you're sadly mistaken. I would say Concert Tour (2-1) is more 1A to the trainers 1 (Life is Good). Concert won his last race, the Grade 2 San Vincente, on 2/6 at Santa Anita. He owns the top Beyer in this field (94) and is working lights out. That last 6f work in 111 and change was a bullet and it looks like if he is ready to roll. Here are a few stats. Baffert is 35% when he runs a horse in 2 sprints then sends him in a route race. Also, jockey/trainer combo of Baffert and Rosario at 55% the last 2 months. Other contenders are #1 Caddo River, trained by Brad Cox and #6 Keep me in Mind, trained by Robert Diodoro.
The bet : #7 Concert Tour a full Benjamin across the board, win, place & show, and $10 exacta #7 over the 1 and 6.
Enjoy!