Parx Racing gaining stakes recognition

Horseracing Betting Lines

12/05/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Each year the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association re-evaluates all the stakes races in the United States with a minimum purse of $75,000. Stakes can be elevated in status, reduced or remain status quo.

Racetracks take great pride in having their stakes races given a graded status. In particular the tracks not considered major venues for racing.

This year the committee gave special recognition to stakes races conducted at Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia. The former Philadelphia Park, and before that Keystone Race Track, gained several upgrades to their stakes.

For the first time in track history a Grade I race, the highest level stakes, will be held at Parx Racing. The Cotillion Stakes for three-year-old fillies has gained the coveted position as Grade I.

The last three runnings of the Cotillion have featured the best of each year's sophomore fillies. In 2009 Careless Jewel may have been the second best filly behind Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. Prior to capturing the Cotillion, Careless Jewel won the Delaware Oaks and Alabama.

In 2010 the two best female three-year-olds, Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, hooked up in another edition of their now historic rivalry. Havre de Grace finally got the win over Blind Luck who had defeated the Delaware Park-based filly in the Alabama and Delaware Oaks.

This year's Cotillion showcased two of the top fillies in training. Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty was again facing It's Tricky winner of the Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks. Trained by Bob Baffert, Plum Pretty avenged the American Oaks loss by crushing It's Tricky by more than seven-lengths.

Joining the Cotillion and the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby on the graded stakes roster at Parx Racing are the Smarty Jones, Greenwood Cup and Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap, all three being elevated to Grade III.

Another track beaming with pride is Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia. The track's premier race, the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic, has been moved up to Grade II after just three editions.

"Every member of our team should be proud that their efforts and hard work are resulting in some historic firsts for our track," said Erich Zimny, Director of Racing Operations. "In 18 of the last 19 months, our average daily handle has grown versus the prior year's number and there are more eyes on racing in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia than there ever have been. We could not have accomplished that - or sustain it - without our event days."

Duke of Mischief won this year Classic followed by Santa Anita Handicap champ Game On Dude and Whitney Handicap winner Tizway. Eventual Pacific Classic winner Acclamation finished last in the 10-horse field.

What do each of these two tracks have in common? Casinos.

Sportbookonline Horseracing Betting News

<< Bears' Forte has MCL sprain
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte could be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Forte was hurt during the first quarter of Sunday's g

<< Bolton to appeal Cahill red card
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton announced on Monday that the club will appeal the red card issued to defender Gary Cahill during Wanderers 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Referee Stuart Attwell gave

<< Freeze leaves Arkansas State for Ole Miss
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ole Miss has named Hugh Freeze its new head football coach. Freeze spent just one season as head coach at Arkansas State and guided the Red Wolves to a record of 10-2 with a Sun Belt championship and a b

<< Moulson highlights NHL's 'Three Stars'
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Islanders forward Matt Moulson, Colorado Avalanche center Ryan O'Reilly and Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Decembe

<< Cornell's Mathews, Harvard's Ortiz win Bushnell Cup
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cornell sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews and Harvard senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz were named the 2011 recipients of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honors the Ivy League football players of year, on Monda

Ibagaza out for Arsenal clash >>
Piraeus, Greece (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olympiacos midfielder Ariel Ibagaza will miss his team's final Champions League Group F match against Arsenal on Tuesday because of a thigh injury. The 35-year-old sustained the problem in

Kentucky still No. 1; Harvard ranked for first time >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky remained the top team in the latest Associated Press men's college basketball poll, while Harvard is ranked for the first time and is among the four newcomers this week. The Wildcats kept the to

Newcastle's Taylor likely out for season >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle has confirmed that defender Steven Taylor is likely to miss the rest of the season because of an Achilles injury. Taylor suffered the injury in Newcastle's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday

Big step, but Tiger's not back yet >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The drought lasted 749 days, 107 weeks and 27 starts. Tiger Woods is finally a golfing champion once again. His win Sunday at the Chevron World Challenge was his first since the infamous car crash that de

Stanford's Luck captures Unitas Award >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stanford's Andrew Luck has been named the recipient of the 2011 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation's top quarterback. Luck threw for 3,170 yards and 35 touchdowns for a 167.5 passer r

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.