Arsenal out to win one for Ramsey

Soccer Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury suffered by Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is still fresh in the mind of many of his teammates, who are getting set to host Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The promising teenager had his season cut short last weekend when he suffered a horrific broken leg against Stoke City after a late challenge from Ryan Shawcross, and now the rest of the Gunners are using the incident as motivation.

"After the Stoke game we didn't see Aaron because he went straight to the hospital," midfielder Emmanuel Eboue told the league's official website. "I am so, so disappointed about what happened.

"Sometimes in football these things happen but we want always to play for him.

"Burnley is a very difficult game for us, we know that. But we will try our best to win it for Aaron Ramsey."

In addition to winning the game for Ramsey, a victory would also pull Arsenal level on 61 points with league-leaders Chelsea, who will be in action in the FA Cup this weekend.

Arsenal has won three straight games in the league since losing back-to-back contests to Manchester United and Chelsea, and with a favorable schedule the rest of the way, Arsene Wenger's side is confident that they can provide a serious challenge for the title.

Burnley is hoping to just survive relegation over the remainder of the season as the club sits in 19th place, but just one point from safety.

A disappointing home loss to last-placed Portsmouth last time out didn't help the cause, and making matters even worse is the fact that Saturday's game is away from Turf Moor, where the club has earned just one point from 14 away contests.

However, Burnley's Leon Cort feels that his side is capable of taking points away from its trip to London if they go into the match with the belief that they can do it.

"The whole country believes we're going to go there and get wiped clean," Cort told the club's official website. "But if we go there and believe, do what we can do and stay strong as a team, I believe we can cause an upset.

"You can't go there and roll over because they will punish you. Obviously it's going to be a very tough game and our away form isn't great, but we have to go there and keep believing."

With many other Premiership clubs taking part in FA Cup play this weekend, there are only three other matches on the fixture list.

One features second-placed Manchester United visiting Molineux Stadium to face relegation-battling Wolverhampton, with United moving to the top of the league with a win, while bottom-half sides West Ham and Bolton square off at Upton Park, and Everton goes for its third win in four games when they entertain Hull City on Sunday.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.