Rachel Alexandra back to work in morning

Horseracing Betting Lines

06/21/2010 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra put in her first workout at Churchill Downs on Monday morning since her victory in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap. The four-year-old filly breezed a half-mile for trainer Steve Asmussen.

"She went fine," said Asmussen. "It's a ridiculously hot morning, you know. That's a big concern. It's time to get out and go north."

With Shaun Bridgmohan in the saddle, Rachel covered the four-furlongs in 51 1/5 second and galloped out five-furlongs in 1:05 1/5. At 6:30 a.m. (et) it was 81 degrees when the champion took to the track.

"I think we've got to get out of this weather," Asmussen commented. "The flag's stuck to the pole today. She acts like the rest of us do right now -- it's hot. Her weight's good and she's very sound, and her strength is good. But it's hot. We'd all feel better if it was about 20 degrees cooler."

The original plan for Rachel was for her to travel to Saratoga after the end of the Churchill Downs meet on July 4. Asmussen is now thinking about shipping the filly and his other horses earlier due to the hot weather.

Rachel won the Fleur de Lis by 10 1/2-lengths on June 12, her first win of the year. She came up short in her initial two starts of 2010. She was second to Zardana at the Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Ladies Classic and runner-up to Unrivaled Belle at Churchill Downs in the La Troienne.

Owned by Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick, the filly has career earnings of $3,216,730 with 12 wins in 17 starts.

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An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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