Delsing leads by one in Minnesota

Golf Betting Lines

06/16/2007 - Byron, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time Nationwide Tour winner Jay Delsing posted a four-under 68 Friday to move one stroke clear of the field after two rounds of the Showdown at Somerby.

Delsing, who was one of five first-round leaders, completed 36 holes at 11- under-par 133.

Lee Williamson (64) and Jeremy Anderson (66) share second place at minus-10. Seven more players at tied for fourth at nine-under-par 135.

Delsing started on the back nine Friday and birdied the first two holes he played to move to minus-nine.

He collected birdies on 15 and 18 to make the turn at 11-under. Delsing, a former member of the PGA Tour, birdied the first before running into trouble.

Delsing tripped to back-to-back bogeys from the second at Somerby Golf Club to slide to minus-10. He got one stroke back with a birdie on the par-five fourth.

The 46-year-old Delsing parred the final five holes to grab the 36-hole lead for the fifth time in his Nationwide Tour career.

"I know what I've got to do, I've got to get myself as low as I can," Delsing admitted. "There's still so much golf left. I just want to be the one leading on Sunday."

Williamson dropped in birdies on the second and third, but gave both of those strokes back with a double-bogey on the fifth. He made the turn at minus-three thanks to a birdie on the seventh.

The 27-year-old, who has missed the cut in four of his last six starts, caught fire around the turn. He eagled the par-five 11th and followed with a birdie on 12.

Williamson's lone mistake on the back came at the par-three 13th, where he stumbled to a bogey. He bounced right back with a birdie on 14 and an eagle on the short par-four 15th. Williamson closed with his third eagle of the back nine at the 18th to end in a share of second.

"I've never had three eagles in a competitive round," stated Williamson. "I'm not sure if I've ever had two."

Anderson climbed the leaderboard with three birdies on the front nine, to turn in seven-under. After a birdie on 10, Anderson bogeyed No. 11. He posted three birdies over the final five holes to end at 10-under.

Chris Riley, a former American Ryder Cupper, carded a four-under 68 to end in a share of fourth. He was joined at minus-nine by Chris Anderson, Richard Johnson, Tim O'Neal, Mark Brooks, Greg Chalmers and Esteban Toledo. Six players are one shot back at minus-eight.

The cut line fell at four-under-par 140 with 69 players moving on to the weekend. Among those missing the weekend were Carlos Franco, Jason Buha, former Masters champion Larry Mize and two-time PGA Tour winner Len Mattiace.

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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.