Also-eligibles approved for Preakness

Horseracing Betting Lines

12/20/2011 - Laurel, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the heels of also-eligibles being approved for the Kentucky Derby, the second jewel of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown will also allow substitutes.

Beginning with the 2012 edition, the Preakness Stakes will permit two horses to be designated as also-eligibles. Churchill Downs announced last week that the Kentucky Derby will have four also-eligibles.

"It is very similar to what Churchill is doing for the Derby," said Maryland Jockey Club racing secretary Georganne Hale. "It enables us to still run a full field of 14 if there is a late scratch by 9 a.m. Friday morning. We have set the deadline because on that afternoon advanced wagering starts on the Preakness."

At its month meeting Tuesday at Laurel Park, the Maryland Racing Commission approved 146 days of racing in 2012 for Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course. The approval came after last week's agreement by the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on the dates.

"We are very pleased to be racing next year," said Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas. "I would like to personally thank Governor O'Malley, his chief legislative officer Joe Bryce and the Maryland Racing Commission, especially John McDaniel, for mediating the process. This agreement provides a foundation for continuing efforts to create a long-term solution to Maryland racing."

Laurel Park will have a winter and fall meet in 2012 and Pimlico, home of the Preakness, will conduct a spring meeting. The Laurel Park winter race meet will begin on Wednesday, January 4 through Saturday, March 24.

The 137th Preakness Stakes will be held on Saturday, May 19.

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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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