Canadian Carpentier wins Busch pole in Montreal

Autoracing Betting Lines

08/04/2007 - Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Local hero Patrick Carpentier captured the pole for Saturday afternoon's NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. The No.22 Armando Fitz Dodge circled the 2.710-mile road course in one minute, 42.086 seconds (95.531 m.p.h.).

By comparison, when Formula One qualified at the track in June the winning time by two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso was 1:14.942 and when Champ Cars raced there in 2006 Sebastien Bourdais won the pole with a time of 1:20.005.

The pole victory was the first of Carpentier's Busch Series career in his first start.

"If I would have read in a book about a perfect race at a perfect time and perfect timing with NASCAR, it couldn't be better than this," said Carpentier.

Starting alongside the Canadian will be another fan favorite "Mad" Max Papis who posted a second-best time of 1:42.148 seconds.

Three-time Watkins Glen winner Ron Fellows (1:02.419) and Boris Said (1:02.424) will make up row two.

The top-four drivers could all be called "road-course specialists" and the first Busch Series regular is Marcos Ambrose, starting fifth.

Of course, points leader Carl Edwards, starting 15th, leads the usual NASCAR suspects across the border. He continues to dominate the series holding an 852-point lead after another top-five finish last week at O'Reilly Raceway Park. It was his 13th top-five (including four wins) in 22 starts.

Other Busch Series regulars who crossed the border include last week's winner Jason Leffler, David Ragan, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Stephen Leicht and Ambrose.

The race is scheduled to drop the green flag at 3:30 p.m. (et).

Sportbettingcenter Autoracing Betting News

<< A-Rod youngest to 500 home runs
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to reach the 500-home run plateau, belting a three- run home run in the first inning of Saturday's game against Kansas City. Rodriguez,

<< Radwanska, Dushevina advance at busy Nordic Light Open
Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and eighth-seeded Russian Vera Dushevina each advanced to the final at the Nordic Light Open. Radwanska needed to win a pair of matches after rain halted

<< Ochoa leads by six at St. Andrews
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorena Ochoa kept her foot on the pedal and her game in drive while a field of challengers threw theirs into reverse. The Mexican star took a big step towards winning her first major champion

<< Yankees activate Hughes
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have activated rookie pitcher Phil Hughes from the 60-day disabled list Saturday. Hughes, who has been out since straining his left hamstring on May 1, will start Saturday's game a

<< Mitre, Marlins take on Jennings, Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Sergio Mitre goes for a second straight win and fourth in five decisions tonight when the Florida Marlins host the Houston Astros in the second test of a three-game series at Dolphin Stadium. Mitre, 26, al

Colts drop Simon >>
Terre Haute, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts ended their first week of training camp by cutting veteran defensive tackle Corey Simon on Saturday. Simon, the No. 6 overall selection in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Philade

Johansson leads in Russia, nearing first win in 10 years >>
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Per-Ulrik Johansson shot a five-under 67 Saturday and will carry a four-shot lead into the final round at the Russian Open Golf Championship, looking for his first win in 10 years. Johansson was at 1

Ferguson leads Rangers over Inverness >>
Inverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Ferguson netted two goals to lead Rangers over Inverness, 3-0, at Caledonian Stadium on Saturday in the Scottish Premier League opener. Nacho Novo also scored for Rangers, which are hop

Tigers place Miller on DL, recall Rodney >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers placed rookie left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a left hamstring strain. The team recalled right-hander Fernando Rodney from Triple-A Toledo

D-backs claim Kennedy off waivers from A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks continued to use the waiver wire to add to their roster as the club claimed pitcher Joe Kennedy off waivers from the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. On Friday, Arizona claimed i

Horse Betting

(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.