2012 Kentucky Derby preps to be shown on NBC

Horseracing Betting Lines

11/08/2011 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six important races leading to the 2012 Kentucky Derby will be broadcast by NBC Sports. Next year's Run for the Roses will shown by NBC on Saturday, May 6.

NBC Sports, which includes NBC, CNBC and the NBC Sports Group, will begin the series on March 24 with the Spiral Stakes, won this year by Animal Kingdom prior to taking the Kentucky Derby, from Turfway Park and continue the next week with the Florida Derby from Gulfstream Park. These two races will be shown on the NBC Sports Group, formerly VERSUS.

"Turfway Park has served as the final tuneup for a number of Kentucky Derby hopefuls," noted Bob Elliston, President and CEO, Turfway Park, "and as we all know, last year's winner of the Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes, Animal Kingdom, went on to win the Run for the Roses a few weeks later. Televising these races benefits not only the host tracks but the entire racing industry."

On April 7 the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park will both be televised on NBC.

"The Wood Memorial has a long, rich history as a key prep race for the Kentucky Derby and we are elated that a national television audience will be able to enjoy the 2012 edition on NBC," said Charles Hayward, President and CEO, NYRA.

The last two prep races to be shown on CNBC on April 14 will be the Blue Grass Stakes from Keeneland Race Course and the Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park.

"These races are important steppingstones to the Kentucky Derby," said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sportsbook Betting Lines. "And this programming further demonstrates the NBC Sports Group's commitment to the sport of thoroughbred racing, which already includes long-term deals for the Triple Crown races as well as with Saratoga and Keeneland."

Skyvook Horseracing Betting News


<< Rossi replaces Mihajlovic at Fiorentina
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fiorentina fired Sinisa Mihajlovic and named Delio Rossi his replacement, as the Italian club hopes to recover from their poor start to the Serie A season. Fiorentina lost to Chievo on Sunday, and ha

<< Report: Paterno's exit being discussed
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State canceled head football coach Joe Paterno's usual Tuesday press conference amid the scandal involving the sexual child abuse charges against former Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusk

<< Bears give C Garza two-year extension
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears signed center Roberto Garza to a two-year contract extension on Tuesday. Garza, who will be with the Bears through the 2013 season, has started all eight games this season at cent

<< Paterno's Tuesday press conference canceled
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno's usual Tuesday press conference was canceled by the university as the school continues to deal with the shocking scandal involving the sexual child abuse c

<< Racing tops Arg. Juniors to take over second
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Racing used a 1-0 win over Argentinos Juniors on Saturday to remain within eight points of Apertura leaders Boca Juniors. The lone goal of the contest arrived in the 55th minute

Steelers WR Sanders out after knee surgery >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders underwent surgery on his injured knee Monday. Sanders will miss a couple of weeks with the injury. The second-year pro out of SMU suffered the injur

A sad state of affairs in Happy Valley >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The year was 1947 and Bob Higgins led an undefeated Penn State team to the Cotton Bowl to take on SMU. The powers that be for the Mustangs wanted a meeting to "discuss" Penn State's two African-American pla

Real Madrid's Di Maria suffers hamstring injury >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid midfielder Angel Di Maria injured his left hamstring Sunday in La Liga, and the Argentina international will be sidelined for an unknown spell. Di Maria, 23, left the 7-1 win over Osasuna after 5

Eagles/Giants to remain in prime time for Week 11 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants will remain the prime time game for November 20. The league finalized its schedule for Week 11 of the season and moved the game between the Titans and Falcons to

Kansas City's Sapong wins MLS Rookie of the Year >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong was named the 2011 Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Sapong totaled five goals and five assists and was the only Sporting player to feature in all 34

NFL Football Betting


BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES

It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.

BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES

All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.

COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES

Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.

TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES

Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.

RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.

PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.

JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.

SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES

I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.

VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES

Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.

DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES

Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.

SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES

I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.

BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES

Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.

BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES

Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.

RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES

A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.

PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers

Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.