Happy Halloween! As far as I am concerned, Money Moves host Stormy Buonantony already has won the unofficial VSiN costume contest.
Some years ago, I was new to living in downtown Chicago and I walked by what looked like a horse racing-themed sports bar. So I decided to check it out.
In fact, it was an off-track betting parlor.
Thus was my introduction to betting on the ponies (and second-hand smoke).
Which brings us to Breeders’ Cup weekend.
I find handicapping the Breeders’ Cup particularly difficult, but fortunately our crew has put together a tremendous package of race previews, videos and picks.
This year, we have enlisted the help of the Daily Racing Form in addition to VSiN’s own experts and our friends at 1/ST BET. You will find everything on our horse racing page. (This link might be handy as it has DRF consensus picks and links to previews of today’s five races.)
Also new this year, we have put together a four-page PDF with the 1-2-3 picks (and confidence ratings) from Mike Somich, Dave Tuley and “Mr. Ed” Sehon. It’s a one-time purchase of $9.99 unless you are a VSiN Pro subscriber, in which case you have access to it here.
Mike and Aaron Halterman, hosts of VSiN At The Track, have been churning out videos and podcasts. >>YouTube playlist. >>Podcast episodes. I especially liked the interview with Fox Sports analyst Chris Fallica and his confidence about the Nysos in Saturday’s Dirt Mile.
Special 1/ST BET offer: Deposit and bet $200 on the Breeders’ Cup at 1/ST BET with promo code VSINBC and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a VIP Vegas Experience at Circa — including a two-night stay, a $250 food and beverage credit, your own cabana at Stadium Swim, and a behind-the-scenes visit to the VSiN studio. Plus, when you deposit and bet just $100, you’ll score a one-year VSiN Pro subscription. Sign up today.
The deadline for the inaugural 1/ST BET Breeders’ Cup Survivor contest has passed, but I asked the aforementioned Stormy Buonantony to enter it. She’s off to a 1-0 start.
- Ravens -7.5 @ Dolphins
- Chiefs -2 @ Bills
- Juvenile Fillies Race 7 (Friday): #7 Explora
- Juvenile Race 9 (Friday): #8 Ted Coffey
- Juvenile Turf Race 10 (Friday): #13 Hey Nay Nay
- Sprint Race 6 (Saturday): #12 Straight No Chaser
- Distaff Race 7 (Saturday): #8 Seismic Beauty
- Turf Race 8 (Saturday): #5 Rebel Red
- Classic Race 9 (Saturday): #7 Sierra Leone
- Mile Race 10 (Saturday): #10 Jonquil
Good racing to you all.
World Series Game 6 Best Bets
Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer is expected to return to the lineup for tonight’s Game 6 in Toronto (8 ET, Fox). Springer has missed two games with a right oblique injury.
Down 3-2 and facing elimination, the Dodgers (-145) will go with Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Kevin Gausman for the Jays (+118).
The More You Know: Although Yamamoto hasn’t needed relief help, there is a chance Shohei Ohtani could be used as a reliever, but . . . if he starts the game as the DH and then pitches, LA would lose the DH when Ohtani is pulled.
Greg Peterson weighs in with his Best Bets.
Adam Burke and Steve Makinen will file their contributions later this morning.
The Dave Ross Futures Ticket Watch: Dave, host of VSiN By The Books (7-10 a.m. ET), used a $3,000 voucher he earned in a blackjack tournament at Circa to bet on the Jays at 22-1 back in July — so a ticket worth $66,000. As he should, especially on a freeroll, he has hedged. He will win $38K if the Jays win and $20K if the Dodgers come back and win the Series.
Jackson stars in Ravens’ blowout
The Ravens (-7.5) routed the Dolphins 28-6 Thursday night to open NFL Week 9. Lamar Jackson had four TD passes in his return from a hamstring injury,
The Opta AI prop projections for the game went 27-18.
Everything we do on Week 9 will be posted here, including Steve Makinen‘s Best Bets.
North Carolina back in spotlight
We have three college football games tonight:
Memphis (-14) at Rice (7 ET, ESPN2)
North Carolina (+2.5) at Syracuse (7:30 ET, ESPN)
Sam Houston (+16.5) at Louisiana Tech (8 ET, CBSSN)
Adam Burke has this nugget in his Best Bets:
The Tar Heels have thrown for 1,183 yards, more than only nine teams and three of them – Navy, Army, and Rice – run option offenses. But I do think this is a great matchup for North Carolina’s defense and a chance to take advantage of a team with a -7 turnover margin and 16 giveaways on the season.
Steve Makinen has a play on the Sam Houston-Louisiana Tech game.
Thursday college football steam alerts from DonBest Sports:
Virginia -4.5 vs. Cal
SMU +12 vs. Miami (FL)
Get real-time steam alerts from the DonBest Screen. Sign up now for a 7-day free trial at go.donbest.com. Use the promo code VSIN10 for 10% off your initial subscription.
Everything we have on Week 10 will be here.
Tim Murray and Matt Youmans run through this weekend’s big games on the VSiN College Football Betting Podcast. >Watch. >Listen.
Circa Friday Football resumes
Matt Youmans will announce 175 picks from 25 contestants tonight on the Circa Friday Football Invitational show (7-10 p.m. ET).
Guests include Circa owner Derek Stevens, who put up the $30,000 in prize money, plus contestants Randy McKay, Jim Feist, Brett McMurphy and Tony Gordon.
Fox Sports analyst Chris Fallica has a 2.5-pint lead heading into Week 9. >>Standings. This is the last week before we start cutting the bottom two in the standings through Week 16. Brett and Jeff Petch are on the cut line.
The show is sponsored by Omaha Steaks. I’m still making my way through the Omaha menu. This week, I’ve had the chicken thighs, hot dogs and the pulled pork.
Quick Hits
NBA: Look for Best Bets from Zach Cohen and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report around mid-morning on our NBA page. Our new Opta AI NBA player props projections are here.
>>FYI: The NBA and sportsbooks are reviewing what props are offered in light of the recent gambling scandal.
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
>>FYI for you non-Nevadans: It’s Nevada Day, so the Golden Knights are playing at 1 p.m. PT. JD sent this pick: Avalanche/Golden Knights 1st period Over 1.5.
College Basketball: The 194-page VSiN College Basketball Betting Guide is available for download.
FYI: The season starts Monday. Get the DonBest Pro and College Football Rotation Guide covering the first chunk of games. (We’ll update the guide weekly as DonBest produces more rotation numbers.)
UFC: Lou Finocchiaro has his plays for Saturday’s Vegas 110 card. Dave Ross and Rob Moreno offer their opinions on the First Strike podcast and Rob has model predictions for VSiN.com.
Soccer: VSiN soccer analyst Nigel Seeley has picks for the weekend EPL menu.
