George Steinbrenner's best chance in Kentucky Derby

Horseracing Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday the sports world lost one of its most recognizable figures when a heart attack claimed the life of George Steinbrenner. The owner of the New York Yankees passed away at the age of 80.

While best known as the owner of the Bronx Bombers, the Ohio-native was very much involved in thoroughbred racing. He raced under the name of Kinsman Stable and bred horses at Kinsman Farm in central Florida.

"The thoroughbred racing world joins the rest of the sporting community in mourning the death of George Steinbrenner," said Alex Waldrop, President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. "He was a devoted owner and breeder and philanthropist for more than 40 years, and his Kinsman Farm near Ocala, FL, produced numerous stakes winners. His many contributions to our sport are greatly appreciated, and he will be sorely missed."

Steinbrenner never won a Triple Crown race, though he had serious contenders for the Run for the Roses. In 2005 he even had the post-time favorite for the 1 1/4-mile race at Churchill Downs.

Bellamy Road, a colt purchased by Steinbrenner, had won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct prior to starting in the Kentucky Derby. The three-year-old was made the 5-2 favorite for the race over Arkansas Derby champ Afleet Alex, Santa Anita Derby winner Buzzards Bay and Blue Grass Stakes champ Bandini.

Ridden by Javier Castellano, Bellamy Road sat third at the start behind pacesetters Spanish Chestnut and Going Wild. Coming off the final turn, Steinbrenner's colt was second, only a head in back of stablemate High Fly.

But Bellamy Road picked the wrong year to challenge for the lead in the Kentucky Derby. The fast pace (the first six furlongs went in 1:09 2/5) took its toll on the front-runners and a pair of longshots Giacomo (50-1) and Closing Argument (71-1) came charging down the stretch to finish first and second, respectively.

Steinbrenner's horse couldn't keep up and faded to seventh in the 20-horse field. Bellamy Road was one of six Kentucky Derby starters that Mr. Steinbrenner had.

Bellamy Road was not entered in the remaining two Triple Crown races, but he came back to finish second to Flower Alley in the Travers as the 2-1 second choice.

In his career Bellamy Road won four of seven starts with one second-place finish and banked $811,400.

"The two best horses I ever trained,' said Nick Zito, "were Unbridled's Song and Bellamy Road."

Along with his involvement with Major League Baseball and thoroughbred racing, Steinbrenner was a benefactor of the Penn Relays track and field carnival. His father, running for MIT, was the 1927 high hurdles champion at the Franklin Field event. George was a hurdler at Williams College and the Lockbourne Air Base.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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