Rachel Alexandra staying loose in Big Easy

Horseracing Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 12 hours after the New Orleans Saints captured Super Bowl XLIV, the other champion residing in the Big Easy took to the track for a jog.

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra took a jog around the Fair Grounds early Monday morning. The four-year-old filly galloped around the track as she prepares for her first race of 2010.

Monday's gallop came just two days after Rachel worked four-furlongs with exercise rider Dominic Terry. In Saturday's workout the double Eclipse Award winner covered the half-mile in 50 3/5 seconds.

"She's very special," said trainer Steve Asmussen on Saturday. "I thought she looked beautiful. She went :50 3/5 today off of her :52 the other day. I think that's pretty much the progression that we're expecting."

Last Thursday at Oaklawn Park it was announced that the Arkansas track will increase the purse for the Apple Blossom Stakes from $500,000 to $5 million if both Rachel and champion mare Zenyatta start in the April 13 race.

While the owners of both thoroughbreds have expressed interest in the offer, none have committed themselves to the race.

Rachel Alexandra is co-owned by Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick, and Zenyatta is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss.

Zenyatta, who is stabled at Hollywood Park, won the 2008 Apple Blossom while Rachel won two stakes last year at Oaklawn Park.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.