Eskendereya romps in Wood Memorial

Horseracing Betting Lines

04/03/2010 - Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Eskendereya ran away down the stretch Saturday to capture the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. The victory puts the colt among the favorites for this year's Kentucky Derby.

Eskendereya, who won the Fountain of Youth Stakes by more than eight-lengths, used a stalking ride by John Velazquez to take the lead on the final turn in the Wood and post a double-digit win over five rivals.

Setting the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race was Most Happy Fella with Jackson Bend in second and the 1-2 favorite in third. Farther back was Gotham Stakes winner Awesome Act, about four-lengths behind the leader.

On the turn for home Most Happy Fella had a short lead on the inside as Eskendereya moved to the outside to draw even. Jackson Bend was running third between the top two horses.

Eskendereya took the lead entering the stretch and proceeded to widen his advantage. The chestnut colt continued to increase his lead down the stretch to eventually hit the wire with a 9 3/4-length victory.

Jackson Bend held on for second followed by Awesome Act, Schoolyard Dreams, Carnivore and Most Happy Fella.

The time for the Wood Memorial was 1:49.97 on a fast track.

Owned by Zayat Stables, Eskendereya is the top three-year-old in trainer Todd Pletcher's stable. The colt notched his third straight win with the Wood victory which was worth $450,000. He now has won four of six starts with career earnings of $725,700.

"He has all the tools that you would like to see," Pletcher noted, "and you know the things that's exciting about him is the one thing we've been very confident all along is that he wants to run the distances of you know the classic races. I don't see a mile and a quarter or even a mile and a half in this for him, he just has tremendous natural stamina. You know he's physically a strong horse, he holds up to his races well, he eats well. You know, you can sometimes, if you get a couple of races into a campaign, you'll start to see horses start to lose a little condition, a little weight and he's thriving on it. So yeah, I think you know from all those standpoints he's got all the right tools."

After finishing second in his debut last year Eskendereya won the Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont Park in October and was ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

Eskendereya returned $3.00, $2.30 and $2.10. Jackson Bend paid $3.90 and $2.60, and Awesome Act paid $2.20 to show.

The last Wood Memorial winner to capture the Kentucky Derby was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.

Mrgambling Horseracing Betting News

<< Phils place Lidge, Romero on DL to start season
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed relief pitchers Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. The move is retroactive to March 26. Lidge, who is still not in top shape following

<< Kim joins Molder in first in Houston
Humble, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Kim shot a three-under 69 on Saturday and joined second-round leader Bryce Molder, who had a 71, in the lead after 54 holes of the Houston Open. Kim and Molder are knotted at 10-under 206 and are tw

<< Avs ink defensemen Shattenkirk, Cohen
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche signed defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen to entry-level contracts Saturday. Terms of the deal were not released. Both players were instrumental in Boston University's 2

<< Motta's brace lifts Inter past Bologna
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A goal in each half from Thiago Motta helped Inter Milan secure a comfortable 3-0 win over Bologna at the San Siro on Saturday. Motta struck the opening goal in the 29th minute to give Inter the le

<< Islanders snap Senators' six-game win streak
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Tavares tallied a goal and an assist, as the New York Islanders snapped the Ottawa Senators' six-game winning streak with a convincing 4-1 win at Nassau Coliseum. Dylan Reese, Jack Hillen and Sean

Cal wins its first WNIT with win over Miami-Florida >>
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeNesha Stallworth scored 21 points, and the Cal Bears captured their first WNIT title with a 73-61 win over Miami-Florida. Alexis Gray-Lawson added 17 points for the Bears (24-14), whose previous best fini

Lyon moves into first in Ligue 1 >>
Rennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michel Bastos and Lisandro Lopez both scored early in the second half and Lyon edged Rennes 2-1 at Lorient Road stadium on Saturday to move into first place in France's Ligue 1. Lyon entered the weekend in

Barcelona cruises past Athletic Bilbao >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi scored his La Liga-high 26th goal, Bojan Krkic scored twice, Jeffren Suarez added his first of the season, and Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 on Saturday at Camp Nou. Barcelona opened a

Oakland's Crisp heads to DL with broken finger >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp will begin the season on the disabled list with a fractured left pinkie. Crisp sustained the injury while sliding into second base in the third inning of Oaklan

Alford gets extension at New Mexico >>
Albuquerque, NM (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of New Mexico and Steve Alford agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2019-20 season, school vice president of athletics Paul Krebs announced on Saturday. The Lobos are

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.