Betting Picks

In what should be an excellent betting race with a solid field of contenders, Grade 1 racing returns to Aqueduct Race Track in New York this Saturday with the running of the $750,000 Cigar Mile. The race has drawn a field of 10, led by Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Sharp Azteca.

How bad has it gotten for the Cowboys, you ask? Playing at home against their arch rivals the Washington Redskins, the 'Boys are betting underdogs. Can one player make that much difference? It would appear so. Since running back Ezekiel Elliott began serving his six-game NFL suspension, Dallas is 0-3, have lost two in a row at home and been outscored by a margin of 92-22.

When the Kansas City Chiefs throttled the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in their season opener, it looked as if Andy Reid's team was finally ready to take the next step, make some noise and go deep into the playoffs. But the Chiefs are now on a 1-5 slide since their 5-0 start and a Kansas City postseason appearance can no longer be considered a certainty.

Perhaps the most important jump race in the UK, the Cheltenham Gold Cup for 2018 will be run on Friday, March 16, the final day of the four-day Cheltenham Festival. The early future bet line at Bovada has jump racing star Thistlecrack as a very tempting 5-1 favorite.

The Baltimore Ravens are the kings of nothing - in more ways than one. The Ravens have posted thee of the seven shutouts recorded in the NFL this season. But with a mediocre 5-5 record, the Ravens hover on the cusp of playoff contention. They'll get another shot at a zero sum game on Monday night when they are home to face the mediocre offense of the Houston Texans.

Just a couple weeks after the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the racing world returns to Del Mar race track for the running of the $300,000 (G1) Hollywood Derby. The historic race has drawn a well-matched field of nine three-year-old colts set to go 1 1/8 miles on the turf course.

It's getting colder outside, but the chase for a spot in the starting gate for the 2018 Kentucky Derby is starting to heat up. The battle for points to earn one of the 20 starting spots is at Churchill Downs this weekend, with 14 runners entered in the (G2) Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

Like the rest of us, I think oddsmakers can get caught up in rivalry week and abandon their usually sound logic - or maybe they are just eager to stuff themselves full of turkey this Thanksgiving and didn't do the research. Either way, Boston College at Syracuse is a weak line.

It's rivalry week in NCAA football and that means wherever you look, there are big-time games available for wagering. Some will impact the national championship race, while others will simply offer regional bragging rights for another year. But one thing you should remember when betting on rivalry games - you should throw the records and the odds out the window, because emotion often carries the day in these games.