As you already know, TK is going to be a bit light on content for the summer. It just had to be like that; we all got burnt out (get it? Burnt Toast) and the writing seemed forced and not up to the high standard we have set here at the House that Toast Built. To get us back in gear, here are some random sports related thoughts that I have.
What a chode
NBA Referee Scandal
I really hate that this is a story that is headlining most sports coverage these days. We all know that Tim Donahey is an admitted cheater and that he altered (or at least attempted to) the outcome of many games. We also know that the NBA is the shadiest organization in sports, so this shouldn’t have come as a complete shock. There have always been rumblings of draft lotteries being fixed for certain teams and/or players. There are almost never sweeps in the playoffs (because the NBA wants more TV money) and no lead is ever safe. Just look at this year’s playoffs: there were at least 4 giant comebacks in the Lakers-Spurs and Lakers-Celtics series’ alone. Is this because the teams don’t try hard all the time? Possibly. Could it be because the refs either choose to or are told to keep it close? Also a possibility. The point is, that nothing that comes out of Donahey’s mouth should be so ground breaking that we stop the presses for it. I know he claims that the refs handed Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals to the Lakers. But this is an admitted cheater, why is his word worth anything? Just like with Matt Walsh and “Spygate” (stupid name and why do we always have to call everything a “gate”?), the timing is a bit curious and you really have to consider the source. Plus, it’s in the past and there’s nothing that can or will be done about it now. So quit updating me every hour as to the on goings of this scandal (I’m talking to you SportsCenter/Around the Horn/PTI/NBA Live/NBA Countdown…) and focus on sports.
Way to step up Kobe...
NBA Finals
I’ll be honest; I did not see this coming. Heading into the series I thought that the Lakers were clearly the favorites, even if Boston won 66 games this year. They had played better in the playoffs, seemed to match up well, and had a deeper bench. It all added up to the Lakers taking the crown in 5 or 6 games—or so I thought. Then I realized four important things: Kobe is not MJ—not even close, Pau Gasol sucks, Paul Pierce is really good, and Ray Allen isn’t finished yet. Add it all up and you get Boston in 6. Oh well, at least KG gets a ring. I think everyone in Minnesota can appreciate that.
The men who should be playing in the House that Ruth Built in early July
MLB All Stars
The All Star game is coming up in just a few weeks. The one thing I’ve always hated about MLB’s version of this gathering (other than the whole “It Counts Now!” angle) is the mandatory representative for each team. Do baseball officials really believe that a ton of people in Pittsburgh, who wouldn’t have watched otherwise, are going to tune in just to see Jason Bay come in as a defensive replacement in the 6th inning, only to be pinch hit for right awa? C’mon. It’s absurd and it takes at least 3-4 spots away from deserving players every year. That said, here are the guys I think should make the All Star teams (position players only) without the mandatory representative rule:
Note: A bunch of these guys won’t make it because of fan voting. “Oh, Ichiro? I’ve heard of him.” It's just another reason why the Mid Summer Classic is a joke.
American League: C—Joe Mauer, AJ Pierzynski 1B—Kevin Youklis, Justin Morneau 2B—Brian Roberts, Ian Kinsler 3B—Alex Rodriguez, Joe Crede SS—Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria OF—Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley, Carlos Quentin, Manny Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez
Thoughts: A lot of Rangers considering they're not a very good team. By the way, what happened to the shortstop position in the American League? Was it that long ago that it was the glory position in all of baseball? Back when A Rod, Nomar, and Jeter were at the top of their game and a guy like Tejada couldn't even crack the lineup even with his ridiculous numbers. Now? Christ, I could make the league and hit .260 and probably be a reserve.
National League: C—Geovany Soto, Benji Molina, Russell Martin 1B—Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard 2B—Chase Utley, Dan Uggla 3B—Chipper Jones, David Wright SS—Christian Guzman, Hanley Ramirez OF—Nate McClouth, Lance Berkman Ryan Braun, Ryan Ludwick, Alfonzo Soriano
Thoughts: NL catchers are very good this year. I could have put Brian McCaan on this team too and he would have deserved it. Nice to see McClouth having a good year for Pittsburgh. Xavier Nady is a strong candidate for the Pirates too. I put Soriano on even though he's been injured because he's been absolutely dominant when he's been in the lineup.
Bristol is about to be empty during Week 1 of the NFL season
MNF—Pack/Vikes
I just read the other day that ESPN is pulling out all the stops for the first Monday Night Football game of the year. The game features the Purple playing in Green Bay against the Packers, and I guess that Brett Favre’s jersey is going to be retired (cute). Apparently this is a big enough deal that the MNF crew will be live in GB, along with the 7 man NFL Countdown crew, PTI, SportsCenter, and at least 4 sideline reporters, not to mention all of the camera and technical crews. Seriously? This isn’t going to be some sort of significant or historical moment in the annals of football. It’s the first Monday game of the year and they’re retiring a guy’s jersey. I honestly cannot believe how much the media D rides Favre. Do you think he gets chaffed from ESPN sucking him off so much? I know that the World Wide Leader is known for overdoing things at times, but this takes the cake. I guess I’ll just have to be ok with the world watching as we kick the sh*t out of the Packers on the first stop on our Ass Kicking Tour 2008. Per Jarred Allen’s warning, I really hope Aaron Rogers took out some extra life insurance. 
Easy there Tiger...
Chad Johnson, Adam Jones, etc.
Speaking of things that I don’t understand, can someone please explain to me why A) NFL Live is on every single day, but Baseball Tonight isn’t and B) I have to hear about guys like Chad Johnson and Adam Jones (I’m not going to call a grown man “Pacman”) every day? Our country is obsessed with the negative, and nowhere is it more prevalent than in professional sports. We constantly focus on the negative (Michael Vick, Spygate, Steroids, etc.) and give it way too much coverage to the point where it is glorified. As a professional athlete, you get more time on TV and in the papers if you do something bad than if you’re staying clean and having outstanding personal or team success. Then we wonder why high school and college athletes consistently get busted for using performance enhancing drugs, partying all night, and doing all sorts of other dumb things. Just because Chad says he’s not coming to camp and then shows up doesn’t mean that I need round the clock coverage of his OTA’s. Stop giving these guys so much attention.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Q's News
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Update
It's been a while since we've posted and the sign above says it all. To be honest, the TK house got busy and weren't that motivated to write. After some discussing and an idea from a friend, we'll be taking a hiatus until the late summer/fall. And by "we," I mean myself. Truthfully, I'm not motivated to write at all and I don't want to do a POD everyday with no stories. That's lame. I've spoken to Q, and he'll be writing about twice a week coming up here. He's our Twins expert, so expect a lot of baseball talk. A lot. Come fall, we'll have football (college and NFL), a new TV season, baseball playoff races heating up and college basketball season in close proximity to write about. Plus, the start of the OJ Mayo era in close range.
So, keep coming back this summer to see what Q has. He'll be holding down the fort. Just found out Dogg we'll be jumping in when he can also. And, I'm sure I'll jump in a roundtable now & again with those two and maybe a cougar city article will pop up. We'll be in full force come mid Augustish. Sorry for the lack of material and have a good summer!
-Fuzz
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
POD
Dogg: That dunk by Maxiell was absolutely nasty. I think he was about 2’ in from the free throw line when he took off. This Boston-Detroit series has been much more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. Yeah, there isn’t a lot of points being put up on the board but it is extremely intense. Hard fouls every night and you can see how much both teams want this series. I hope it does come down to game 7 in Boston. Detroit has dealt with that in previous seasons so it would be fun to see the outcome of a game of that magnitude...On a side note, I really with the T-Wolves could draft a player like Maxiell that late in the draft and have him pan out. I think this our year that we hit it big in the draft!
Fuzz: Why can't I do something like this? That is complete bullshit. I would pay $500 to do that once. Some guys can literally jump out of the gym and I'm jealous as hell. I think Boston is in a must win situation for Game 5. I know they won one in Detroit but I don't see them winning game 6 if they lose game 5. They need a big home win tomorrow night. I don't think this is the year for the Wolves, not with McHale still involved. I see us drafting flops...again. We have to be the worst NBA franchise ever. I see them contracting teams down the road because they have too many and we'll be one of them for sure.
Q: Dude, Jason Maxiell is an athletic freak. If it wasn't for him and McDyess, the Pistons would be done by now. Instead, they've got a fighting chance in Game 5. Stu Scott said on SportsCenter last night that 83% of series tied 2-2 had the winner decided by the outcome of Game 5. So I guess you could say that it's a huge game. I know people are going to say that since Detroit won a game there already that they have the advantage. I disagree. I just don't see that team going into the Garden and winning twice in one series. Boston in 7 is the new pick.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Playing the Lottery
On Tuesday night, the NBA held their annual Draft Lottery to determine the order of picks 1-13 in June’s amateur draft. As was the norm for most of the first ten years of the franchise’s existence, as well as the last few years, the Timberwolves were prominently involved. Here is our expert takes on some of the proceedings from the lottery. Obviously we will have a more in depth look once we get closer to the actual draft weekend.
Question 1: The Chicago Bulls and their 1.7% odds became the second least likely team in lottery history to land the #1 pick last night (second only to the 1993 Magic). Two part question: was this a fix? Who do they take at #1?
Dogg—I don’t think it is ever a fix but ridix for sure. I think they take Derek Rose. The Bulls have a number of players worth something to other teams so I would be dealing some players for sure. I would deal Gordon/Deng/Hughes, Gooden/Nacioni because they have too many guys who can play ball. I would personally deal Gooden and Gordon for picks or a better top player. Whatever they decide to do, the Bulls should be near the top of the Eastern Conference next year.
Who gets to live in MJ's shadow?
Fuzz—Tim Donaghy is out of the league so I don’t think it was fixed---kidding. I don’t think it was fixed, I just think the Bulls got extremely lucky and something like that never happens to our club in town. We’ve never had the first pick and we have been an abysmal franchise. That’s the part that sucks. Anyways, I see the Bulls taking Beasley. This is a hard pick in the sense that they have a ton of forwards and a ton of guards. Beasley or Rose is going to add more competition to their team and bump someone out. They could be looking to trade some of the riff-raff on their roster to clear some things out. With guards Hinrich, Gordon Duhon, and Hughes, I see them going with the forward Michael Beasley.
Q—Apparently I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the group. I feel like the NBA is the shadiest professional sport, by far. Can you imagine the uproar if an NFL official was being charged with fixing games? NFL Live would be on 24/7. Somehow the NBA manages to sweep it under the rug. There have been a ton of sketchy lottery proceedings as well: the Knicks getting Ewing, the Magic getting Shaq, etc. 
Yeah, this was legit...
Now you have the Bulls, a major market team (and former home of Basketball God) who is down on their luck and needs a boost, beating unbelievable odds to get the first pick and their choice of two instant League studs. Naw, that’s not fixed at all. Anyways, I think they should take Beasley with the makeup of their team. They have some talented guards and he would make their team much more complete. That said, I think they’ll end up taking Rose because everyone is scared of passing on the next Chris Paul.
Question 2: The Wolves landed at #3--not great, but not terrible either. This means they have their pick of anyone outside of Beasley and Rose. Make your case for who we should pick and why.
Dogg—I think this draft is loaded with players. I believe our franchise will take Brook Lopez or O.J. Mayo. What do I think we should do? After pondering about the draft I think we should trade down and get D.J. Augustin. Try and move into the 1st round with another pick and take Robin Lopez or Roy Hibbert. I know both won’t be NBA superstars but I’m still a firm believer that this team needs a true center who can rebound and play very good defense and take the load off Big Al a little bit. Maybe even a guy like Kosta Koufos if he can manage to guard low post players effectively. He seems to be a little perimeter oriented but he’ll be a good offensive player in the NBA.
TKOT's choice for the 3rd overall pick
Q—For sure we should take Lopez. He’s already proven that he can score the ball, plus he’s seven feet tall. At the very least he’ll be a presence defensively and on the boards, maybe more than that. I know the “experts” are going to yell until they are blue in the face that Mayo is the 3rd best player in this draft, but I don’t like him for the Wolves. We have some talent at the guard position; we don’t have a center. If you can get a center to pair with Big Al for the next 10 years, you’re rebuilding project is going well.
Fuzz—Brook Lopez, Center. Our main needs are at Center and Point Guard. He fills one of these needs. He isn’t going to be a sexy pick, but we’re rebuilding here. We aren’t making the playoffs next year with anyone we draft, so I would like to go with a solid 7-footer. He’s not a stiff. He has moves and a reliable jump shot already. Plus, he in no way will demand the ball to score, leaving our main man Jefferson free to do what he does best. We’d have a very good frontcourt for years to come with Lopez.
Question 3: Ok, now for a little negativity. We know that McHale destroys just about everything he touches, so what is the worst case scenario for our pick and why?
McHale might draft this guy just based on this picture
Q—Is it possible for us to run out of time and lose the pick? If not, then it has to involve us taking some foreign pud (copyright Kevin Kelly) who never leaves his homeland or sees the inside of the Target Center. Since there are one or two guys like that projected in the top part of the draft, the likelihood of this happening seems extremely high right now.
Dogg—We take Danilo Gallinari from Italy. I know the league has some great foreign players but odds tell us that most foreign players don’t pan out in the NBA.
Fuzz—A lot of people are jumping on the OJ Mayo bandwagon. He’s the risk/reward guy. Before the college season, he was the #1 pick. Now, he’s somewhere in the top 5. I’ve never liked him, so I don’t want him but I’m afraid we’re going to take him. I think he’s an egomaniac that has a piss poor attitude. The worst case scenario is for Mayo to turn out to be a superstar only to pull a Marbury and ship himself out of here. I’m stereotyping here, but guys like Mayo don’t want to be “stuck” here in Minnesota. We take him 3rd, he rips it up and he’s gone in three years. That would suck…
Does this look like a guy who would want to stay in Minny?
Question 4: One last Wolves question: we have two of the top four picks in the second round. What are some names that you'd like to see us go after with these picks?
Fuzz—I think those picks will be based off what we do with our 1st rounder, obviously. If we take Lopez, we’d go with someone smaller with these picks. Vice versa if we take a guard/forward. Anyways, if there were a way that we could trade these picks to move up to the late first round and take a guy like Ty Lawson, I wouldn’t be pissed. I don’t know if this is even a possibility, but I would like them to make a move up if they could.
Potential 2nd Round Pick?
Dogg—If we take Brook Lopez with the #3 pick I say we roll with Ty Lawson early in the 2nd round. He is small but he’s got strength so I wouldn’t worry about him getting abused in the low post. This team needs a true PG and I think Ty Lawson can be effective in this league. The other guy who I think could have a solid NBA career coming out of the 2nd round is D.J. White from Indiana. He seems he could be that guy off the bench who averages 10 and 5 which every good team needs.
Q—These guys hit the nail on the head in that picks 31 and 34 depend entirely on who we take at 3. Since this isn’t the NFL, I seriously doubt that we’ll be able to move up by exchanging the two of them either. So if we take Lopez at 3, then I’d like to see us go after at least one guard, maybe two. Some guys I wouldn’t mind seeing us take in the 2nd round include: Ty Lawson, Kyle Weaver, Davon Jefferson, and Wayne Ellington.
Question 5: Make a call--who is the sleeper in this draft that no one is talking about right now?
Fuzz's Sleeper: Donte Green
Fuzz—Jerel McNeal. Kidding, he fucking blows. I like Donte Green from Syracuse. He’s been overshadowed since day one. He was a top 10 freshman coming in last year, but all the accolades went to Beasley, Rose, Love, & Mayo. He’s a big kid at 6’10, 225. He averaged nearly 18 points and 7 boards a game his freshman year. A few casual college hoops fans don’t even probably know who he is. He projects in the mid 1st round and could end up being the steal of the draft. His perimeter game improved greatly and if he could be a #3 in the NBA, he’d be lethal.
Q's Sleeper: Davon Jefferson
Q—I really like Davon Jefferson out of USC. He’s a 6-8 wing who can score, rebound, and defend. Obviously, as is the case with most draft sleepers, it is going to depend on who he gets drafted by. If he can get on a team where he can fill a niche, a la Brandon Bass in Dallas, then he could be very good. I’d love to see the Wolves pick him up at 31 to come off the bench as Brewer’s sub when he inevitably gets benched.
Dogg's Sleeper: Kyle Weaver
Dogg—I like Kyle Weaver out of Washington St. He knows how to play tough defense coming from that school and seems to have good NBA game. I’ve seen him in the low block and also on the perimeter with scoring abilities from both positions. I would love to see the Wolves select him in the 2nd round.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Voices from a Stranger
The fellas are back from HK Stables to give you a recap of the Preakness this past weekend.
The H from HK Stables
Two down and one to go for Big Brown's chase at the elusive Triple Crown of horse racing.
HK stables again, back to recap everything that went down this weekend involving the Preakness and local live racing at Canterbury Park. 
Preakness-
Once again, Big Brown, showed on Saturday why he is currently considered the best horse in the country. Big Brown in his past two races has won by a combined total of 10 lengths over the competition, and has looked unstoppable. Most who caught the race on Saturday from Maryland noted that Big Brown actually took it easy coming down the stretch and the jockey has been quoted as saying "I eased him up. There was no reason to keep pushing him; he had the win wrapped up". Big Brown is still searching for competition and may find it in a Japanese import known as Casino Drive in the final race towards horse racing history.
The win was pretty inevitable as all who took note could have told you and this was no clearer than in the winner's payouts. Big Brown was the clear 1-5 favorite and only paid out $2.40 for the win bet. He also was the lead horse in the following payouts: $36.60 exacta, a $336.80 triple and a $1,192.30 superfecta. Big Brown has made it hard for all of us bettors out there to make money and this will continue into the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
HK stables does not want any credit for those who took our advice and played Big Brown in the favorite over the field bet, but congratulations to those who took it. As for the two of us, we split up a fairly hefty Trifecta bet (see photo) only to come out slightly ahead. This is what will happen when there is a heavy favorite and a weak field; just how the Preakness shaped up. 
Canterbury-
Members of HK and Bluewater Stables were in attendence for this past weekends live racing at Canterbury Park, with some members attending the races Friday through Sunday. There were two major races on Saturday with the 10,000 Lakes stakes and the Lady Slipper stakes. Both races paid $50,000 to the winners.
In the 10,000 Lakes Stakes (boys only), Bankers D Light edged out the competition winning over Trickeyville Dew and Bee o Bee Bob. The filly paid out nicely for those who had here parlayed into exotic bets such as Exactas, Trifectas and Superfectas, as she was a long shot going in at 10-1 (morning line)
In the girls' race, the Lady Slipper Stakes, it was A.J. Banks and jockey Scott Stevens brining the win home for trainer Todd Hoffrage. A.J. Banks (7-2 morning line) beat out Hills of Ireland and Pretty as a Smile to claim the $50,000 stakes at Canterbury.
On a side note a new partnership was formed at Canterbury on Sunday afternoon with the newly named Tres Borrachos (named after the horse in the Preakness race) all holding winning Trifecta tickets. H, K and Moe all bet the same trifecta combination (without knowing it) in race 6 yesterday paying off $110.80 for the $1 investment! Needless to say the Oil Cans (Fosters Beer) were flowing after that, and the Tres Borrachos all left the track Sunday with cash in our pockets. 
The K from HK stables says:
I couldn't have thought of a better weekend to take in the races. The official formation of Tres Borrachos was one of the highlights of my young horsemen career and I couldn't have been more proud of the handicapping we completed that race. That seemed to be the start of something good, the very next race, we didn't handicap the same race but Borracho Moe's horse beat mine out by a nose in a photo finish for the show and he won another, smaller trifecta. Even though I lost, it's always more fun when the horse you liked at longer odds makes a run for the money. Borracho Moe and I are also on the lookout for the owner of a certain horse that absolutely screwed us both on a rich trifecta. When we find that horse, it's going to the glue factory. Borracho Moe wasn't the only hot handicapper this weekend, I managed to pick A.J. Bakes in the Lady Slipper, a nice $68 exacta payout. And finally, Borracho Hill hit the biggest winner of the weekend, taking the field over Trickeyville Dew in 10,000 Lakes Stakes. Unfortunately, after a few too many Oil Cans on Saturday, I was literally a Borracho and threw the damn ticket away. I got you on that Borracho Hill.
As for Big Brown, nobody is going to beat this horse. End of story.
Three weeks until we find out if Big Brown can end the 30 year Triple Crown drought...
Picture of the Day
Dogg: Garnett just laid a load on Paul’s grill.
Q: There's a lot of inappropriate things that could be said about this picture. The bottom line is that the Celtics may not be as good as everyone thought they were. It took an improbable game from THe Truth to get them to the conference finals. Their opponent, the Pistons, are one of the few teams that have proven they can win on the road, plus they're rested for the series. I got Detroit in 6.
Fuzz: I agree with Q in that the Celtics aren't as good as we thought. It's strange because they won 66 games but seem to be just hanging on in the playoffs. Why? Maybe it's because Ray Allen still hasn't showed up. Or they aren't even coming close to a road victory yet. I think they'll need to win at Detroit in order to win the series because I don't see the Pistons losing every road game. They are too much of a veteran team to do so. Buuuutttt, I still like the Celtics taking the series. I think a lot of people will be on the Pistons bandwagon, but I'm taking the Celtics in 7.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Voices from a Stranger--Preakness Preview
HK stables back at you again for another preview of one of the horse racing worlds Triple Crown events. This week we are taking a look at the second jewel in the crown; The Preakness from Pimlico Park in Balitmore Maryland.
CURLIN wins the 2007 Preakness
The Preakness being held on May 17th this year, has a long history, running for the first time in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby. Many people will write off the Preakness as the worst of the 3 triple crown races. What it does do, is set the stage for a possible Triple Crown winner (a horse that wins all 3 Triple Crown races; Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes). Throughout the 125 year history of the Triple Crown ONLY 11 horses have accomplished the goal, and not one has done it since AFFIRMED in 1978.
Typically, the Preakness is run by the winner of the Kentucky Derby; this year Big Brown, as well as other horses that didn’t quite perform as well as they had hoped. This year however, only one other Derby contestant, Gayego, will try for another shot at Big Brown. Many people say that this is due to the fact that Big Brown is the best horse they have seen and can not be beaten, others say it is just too quick of a turn around to run another race (2 weeks) for these young horses. Recapturetheglory, who finished 5th, at the Derby behind Big Brown was scheduled to race, but was with drawn due to fever and will not risk further sickness or injury to try and catch Big Brown. Gayego, may be the only real threat that Big Brown would face in the Preakness after he got off to a bad start in the Derby and finished 17th out of 20.
BIG BROWN
Other contenders to Big Brown’s race towards the first Triple Crown in 30 years are Behindatthebar, Kentucky Bear, and Macho Again. Of those three many feel that Behindatthebar is the closest competition that Big Brown will face. He did win his last start just before the Derby, winning the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland , but was purposely kept out of the Derby. His trainer, Todd Pletcher has said, “it was too soon for him to come back (for the Derby), I am much happier with these 4 weeks off to get ready for the Preakness.” The other MAJOR area for concern, especially for me is that the only other starts of Behindthebar’s young career have all come on synthetic tracks, never racing in a major stakes race on a dirt track. As we all found out in the Derby, the previous synthetic track horses did not fair well.
K of HK stables says:
The Preakness is going to be a race for second place. Desormeaux can run BIG BROWN in reverse and he’ll still win by three lengths. GAYEGO is the only derby horse to take on the challenge at Pimlico on Saturday and I don’t know that this colt has what it takes to pull it out. I’m not going to put too much time in trying to handicap the Preakness because I’m that unimpressed with the contenders and I’m just that confident BIG BROWN will completely clobber these horses. I don’t remember the last time I used the word “clobber”, but this is as good of an occasion as any to put it in my vocabulary. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too excited about BIG BROWN’s starting position in the Derby, but I did know this horse was good. The fact that he won from that post, and in such amazing fashion, proves (affirms if you will) win the Triple Crown. For those of you who don’t get my pun, AFFIRMED was the last horse to accomplish this feat, way back in ’78. I am not nearly as excited for the Preakness as I was for the Derby but any horse race is an exciting horse race….except harness racing I guess. YUCK!
Harness Racing!!
Current odds for the Preakness on Saturday, the 17th (after post positions were announced):
Post/Horse/ML Odds
1 Macho Again 20-1
2 Tres Borrachos 30-1
3 Icabad Crane 30-1
4 Yankee Bravo 15-1
5 Behindathebar 10-1
6 Racecar Rhapsody 30-1
7 Big Brown 1-2
8 Kentucky Bear 15-1
9 Stevil 30-1
10 Riley Tucker 30-1
11 Giant Moon 30-1
12 Gayego 8-1
13 Hey Byrn 20-1
H of HK stables wagering guide for the Preakness:
Win bet: Big Brown
There is no doubt this horse will win….unless…..never mind he WILL win
Exacta Box bet: Big Brown with ALL as well as ALL with Big Brown
HK touched on this last week following the Derby as our new favorite betting option when there is a clear favorite, and then the outside chance that a long short could win (great for big races and sloppy tracks). You are placing 2 bets, one as the main bet and one is sometimes referred to as the “hedge bet” or covering you’re a** if the favorite you pick does not come in first he can still come in second and you would win the bet.
The theory behind the bet is that you have a favorite, Big Brown, and then a bunch of other longer shots who could win. Ultimately, with the bet you are hoping that any other horse comes in first and Big Brown will come in second, this will pay out much higher than the flip side of the bet.
The cost of the bet will be a bit higher than a traditional bet, such as win, place or show, but you are betting multiple combinations of scenarios, as long as the favorite you have picked comes in first or second.
Win/Place/Show bet: Kentucky Bear
I placed this same bet on Eight Belles at the last minute before the Derby and made a decent return. If the final odds drop to 12-1 or 10-1 on this horse, I may rethink this, but for now I will be putting a little change on the horse named after Krebs if he moved to live closer to the Derby.
Example ticket of the Exacta bet explained above
K of HK stables wagering guide for the Preakness:
As for bets, I’m with Hill on this, I’m going to place BIG BROWN over the field and hope the long shot places. I’m also going to take the Field over BIG BROWN (now that sounds like a porn flick), and secretly hope that somebody edges him by a nose. My choice for the sleeper is TRES BORRACHOS. Until about five minutes ago, I didn’t know what a borracho was but I found out it means drunk in Spanish. Hopefully the trainer gives him some Corona before post time. The U.S. Treasury tells me that my economic stimulus check will be deposited by Friday, if so, look out Canterbury!
That’s it folks. Not much else to be said. The Preakness is not the most exciting of the three Triple Crown races, but as stated, you should watch; you may be witnessing history in the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. GO BIG BROWN!! RIP EIGHT BELLES, you are with us at every race.
-HK stables.
