Trainer expects brighter days ahead for Mine That Bird

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/05/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight months away from racing competition proved too much for 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to overcome in his first start of 2010. The four-year-old gelding finished a disappointing eighth in Sunday's Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs.

"His first start back wasn't a successful one," noted trainer D. Wayne Lukas, "but I thought he would handle the turf a lot better than what he did. He didn't handle it that well."

Lukas, who took over as Mine That Bird's trainer from Chip Woolley, was forced to start the gelding in the turf stakes after an allowance race at Churchill failed to fill. The one-mile July 4th stakes was won by Tizdejavu in pacesetting style.

Lukas had been extremely pleased with Mine That Bird's workouts leading to the gelding's first race since November's ninth-place result in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park behind Zenyatta.

"He was training too forwardly to have him that far back," Lukas said, "but he finished up and got a little more comfortable the last three-eighths. I think it put us in a position to do something better."

Mine That Bird, with regular rider Calvin Borel in the saddle, was racing last for much of the race. He put on a small rally coming off the final turn to get up for eighth in the 14 horse field.

"He was struggling so much," Borel commented. "He kept moving back and forth, back and forth, switching leads. We will see a different horse after this, a totally different horse. He came back real good, jogging good. He was perfect, the horse is doing good. I'm telling you, get him on the dirt and you'll see a different horse."

Mine That Bird has not won since his surprise victory in last year's Run for the Roses as a 50-1 longhsot. His best race since the win was two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes when he rallied to get within a length of Rachel Alexandra.

Lukas has been saying all along that the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga on Saturday, August 7 is the immediate goal for the four-year-old.

"I'm not discouraged that I can get him where I want him," Lukas said on Sunday. "I don't think we are going to the Arlington Million. The Whitney is our goal. If we could have gotten that allowance race to go, I think it would have been a different story. I didn't want to ship and we took a shot. It is what it is. I feel very comfortable in the mornings with what I see and we'll show up in the Whitney."

The expected favorite in the Whitney is leading four-year-old colt Quality Road. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Quality Road is perfect in three starts this year, coming out on top in the Hal's Hope Stakes, Donn Handicap and the Met Mile.

Mine That Bird needs a sharp upgrade if his connections expect to capture the Whitney. As a gelding, the only way for him to make money in the future is to race... and win.

Roultette Horseracing Betting News

<< Rezai, Parra Santonja advance in Bastad
Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeded women Aravane Rezai of France and Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain were among Monday's first-round winners at the $220,000 Swedish Open. The second-seeded Rezai got past American Lilia Osterloh

<< Peng wins Budapest opener
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai was an easy opening-round winner Monday at the $220,000 Budapest Grand Prix. Peng pasted Croatian wild card Silvia Njiric 6-1, 6-3 on the red clay here. Meanwhile on

<< Dutch still have work to do against Uruguay
Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Netherlands defeated five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil in the quarterfinals, but winger Arjen Robben said afterward "we've not come here to settle for the semifinals." The Dutch lost

<< Marta helps Gold Pride pummel Beat
Kennesaw, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marta scored two goals and assisted on another as Women's Professional Soccer leaders FC Gold Pride recorded a 4-0 win over the Atlanta Beat. Marta set up the opening goal just one minute into the game when

<< This Week in Golf - July 8th through July 11th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION - UNITED STATES WOMEN'S OPEN - Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania - The top female golfers in the world are at storied Oakmont Country Club this week for their t

Celtics sign C Erden >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics added depth to the center position on Monday by agreeing to terms with Semih Erden on a contract. Details were not announced. The 23-year-old 7-footer was taken with the 60th overall s

Rose moves to No. 16 in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose jumped 19 places in the world rankings to No. 16 following his victory Sunday at the AT&T National, his second win in his last three starts on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods remained No.

LeBron James works out at his basketball camp >>
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -LeBron James took a break from his whirlwind courtship to get back on the basketball court.The NBA's most wanted man made a surprise appearance Monday at his Nike Skills Academy to work out as the sports world awaits his decision o

Kerr remains No. 1 in world rankings >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristie Kerr was No. 1 in the world rankings for women's golf for the second Monday in a row despite not playing last week. Kerr became the first American woman ranked No. 1 after he record-s

Ross agrees to join Hamilton >>
Hamilton, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran defender Jack Ross has agreed to a one-year contract with Hamilton, having been released by SPL rivals St Mirren at the end of last season. The 34-year-old had spent the last two season

With all the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, MySportsbook.com is without a doubt the coolest online sportsbook on the Internet.

At MySportsbook.com, players get to enjoy the luxury of a five star sportsbook, a racebook that's second to none, a casino with all the bells and whistles, and a swanky new poker room!

MySportsbook also has a unique games room where players can go head-to-head for cash playing such things as sports trivia and fantasy games, popular arcade games, word and memory games, and more.

Throughout MySportsbook, visitors and members are treated to informative sports news and sports betting stats Sports matchup reports and sports betting trends as well as entertaining columns written by colorful personalities.

The management at MySportsbook has been in the online gaming business since 1997. As a result of this success, management has earned a coveted spot on eGaming Review's "Power 50" list, which recognizes leaders in online gaming.

With MySportsbook.com , management's goal is to provide players with an exciting place to experience the thrill of gaming in a safe and trustworthy environment.

Thus, players at MySportsbook are assured of getting top notch customer service while having a wickedly good time.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

MySportsbook.com, Online Sportsbook and Casino, is celebrating our 9th football season online since our launch in 1997. MySportsbook.com has experienced exponential growth, having taken over $8 billion in Sports and Casino Wagers since we opened our doors.

This year we will accept over $3 billion in wagers. Tens of thousands of winning wagers are created daily for the 300,000 people that have joined our website. In August of 2005, MySportsbook.com was acquired by Sportingbet, a UK company which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Combined, MySportsbook.com and Sportingbet easily form the world's largest internet sportsbook company and one of the internet's most profitable companies. The acquisition has provided for added transparency and accountability to MySportsbook.com customers and thus provides more safety and security for our customers. Our business is audited by BDO Stoy Hayward, one of the largest auditing firms in London, and our accounts are published quarterly on the London Exchange. We encourage you to take a look around and truly hope you enjoy your experience.

Through advertising deals with the top handicapping sites in the world, MySportsbook.com reaches a global audience and is one of the most commonly visited gaming spots on the Internet.

MySportsbook.com offers the largest selection of casino games and sporting wagers on the Internet. We believe that an educated player is a more responsible gambler, thus we provide you with all of the latest news and handicapping information. MySportsbook.com is your ultimate destination for gaming information and wagering. You can start by signing up in the Casino or Sportsbook. Once you sign up you can use your same login in either the casino or Sportsbook. So do it now and start winning serious money Today!

If at any time you have a question, we have numerous people waiting to help you, so don't be afraid to call our customer service department. We do not take any telephone wagers but we can certainly answer any questions you may have about our service.

MySportsbook.com is officially licensed in Antigua as a preferred licensee recognized by the Directorate of offshore gaming of Antigua and Barbuda.

What more could you ask for from an Online Sportsbook?