Ice Box heads Belmont field of 12

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby runner-up Ice Box has been installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.

Neither Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver nor Preakness champ Lookin At Lucky will race Saturday in the 142nd edition of the 1 1/2-mile Test of Champions, the first time since 2006 that the Belmont will be without both winners of the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

Preakness runner-up First Dude is the second choice at 7-2 and Withers Stakes champ Fly Down is third at 9-2.

Ice Box, trained by Nick Zito, will start from post six with Jose Lezcano in the saddle. Zito is also the trainer of Fly Down, who will be ridden by John Velazquez and will break from post five.

"Ice Box, we tried to duplicate the same training method as before the Derby," Zito said. "We sharpened him up before the Derby; we're doing the same thing before the Belmont and hoping it works. Fly Down had the same workout before the Dwyer [Stakes]. We put a lot of miles on them every morning, because it's in [their breeding] to go a distance of ground.

"Hopefully, they'll have that firepower in the end. It's not an exact science, as you can see. Those workouts, regardless of whatever, it's not how you get the horses to go a mile and a half, a mile and a quarter, a mile and an eighth -- it's what they do every single day."

Owned by Robert LaPenta, Ice Box was the winner of the Florida Derby and was fifth in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, both at Gulfstream Park. The chestnut colt has career earnings of $906,534 with three wins in eight starts.

Fly Down, owned by Richard Pell, was sixth in the Louisiana Derby and is the winner of three of five lifetime starts for $182,070.

Zito has won the Belmont twice before, with Birdstone in 2004 and Da' Tara two years ago. Da' Tara was owned by LaPenta.

First Dude will start from post 11 with Ramon Dominguez in the saddle. Dale Romans trains for Donald Dizney.

This year the colt was fifth in the Florida Derby and third in the Blue Grass Stakes. He skipped the Kentucky Derby before his second-place finish to Lookin At Lucky in the Preakness.

In a seven-race career he has just one win, four seconds and a third for $352,160.

Here is the complete field for the Belmont Stakes in post position order: Dave in Dixie, 20-1, Calvin Borel; Spangled Star, 30-1, Garrett Gomez; Uptowncharlybrown, 10-1, Rajiv Maragh; Make Music for Me, 10-1, Joel Rosario; Fly Down, 9-2, John Velazquez; Ice Box, 3-1, Jose Lezcano; Drosselmeyer, 12-1, Mike Smith; Game On Dude, 10-1, Martin Garcia; Stately Victor, 15-1, Alan Garcia; Stay Put, 20-1, Jamie Theriot; First Dude, 7-2, Ramon Dominguez and Interactif, 12-1, Javier Castellano.

Post-time for the Belmont Stakes is scheduled for 6:27 p.m. (et). The latest weather forecast for the race calls for a slight chance of a thunderstorm and post-time temperature around 75.

Wagersport Horseracing Betting News

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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