Three added to 2010 Hall of Fame class

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/09/2010 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Historic Review Committee of the National Museum of Racing has announced that nineteenth century horse Harry Bassett, trainer Michael Ernest 'Buster' Millerick and jockey Don Pierce have been elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.

These three join former Horses of the Year Point Given and Azeri, along with Best Pal and retired jockey Randy Romero in completing the 2010 Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony is to be held on Friday, August 13.

Harry Bassett was a champion at age two in 1870, unbeaten champion at three and a top handicapper at four. He was bred by A.J. Alexander and raised at Woodburn Farm in Kentucky and was owned and trained by Col. David McDaniel.

As a two-year-old he won the Nursery Stakes at Jerome Park and the Supper Stakes at Pimlico. The following season he captured the Belmont Stakes, Jersey Derby, Travers Stakes and Kenner Stakes.

Harry Bassett also posted victories as a three-year-old in the Champion Stakes and Bowie Stakes. His 14 race win streak was stopped in his four-year-old campaign by Longfellow in the Monmouth Cup. Three days later he defeated Longfellow in the Saratoga Cup

Harry Bassett completed his career with 23 wins in 36 starts and earnings of $55,920.

Michael Ernest 'Buster' Millerick was a trainer for almost 50 years, retiring in 1984, and won 1,886 races and trained 54 individual stakes winners. His best horse was probably Native Diver who entered the Hall of Fame in 1978.

Native Diver won 37 races, including 34 stakes, in 81 starts with over $1 million during seven seasons. He won three straight Hollywood Gold Cups from 1965-1967 and as an eight-year-old captured the Del Mar Handicap and won both the Los Angeles Handicap and San Carlos Handicap.

Don Pierce rode for 30 years and retired with 3,546 wins, 351 stakes victories in 28,740 mounts. He concluded his riding career with purse earnings of $39,018,422.

Pierce won the Santa Anita Handicap four times from 1960 to 1972. From 1969 to 1973 he won each running of the Los Angeles Handicap as well as five runnings of the Santa Anita Oaks. In addition, he won the Del Mar Debutante and Hollywood Oaks four times each and the Del Mar Derby, Del Mar Oaks, Santa Monica Handicap, Santa Ana Handicap and Santa Margarita Handicap three times apiece.

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With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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