Columnist Jeff Haney: Breeders’ Cup bettors stung by favorite’s injury

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. Reach him at 259-4041 or haney@lasvegassun.com. He also appears each Thursday on the Lee Pete radio show, which airs weekdays at 4 p.m. on KRLV 1340-AM.

When 4-year-old thoroughbred Dubai Millennium suffered a career-ending injury while training in England this past weekend, the aftershocks were felt half a world away on the Las Vegas Strip.

Dubai Millennium, perhaps the most talented racehorse on the planet, had been bet from an opening line of 75-1 all the way down to 2-1 in the Breeders' Cup Classic futures book at Bally's.

At that price, he was a solid favorite in the Classic -- the centerpiece of Breeders' Cup day, which is set for Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs.

He was favored, that is, until he broke his right hind leg Saturday.

"Needless to say, there was a ton of money wagered on him," said John Avello, director of race and sports operations at Bally's and Paris.

Avello's lines on the Breeders' Cup are carried by all Park Place properties, including those in Reno and Laughlin as well as Las Vegas.

"We wrote a lot of tickets on Dubai Millennium," Avello said. "After opening him as one of the longer shots on the board, we had him sitting there at 2-1."

As is always the case with this type of wager, all bets are lost on a horse who does not start for any reason.

But this is one "win" Avello won't be celebrating.

"I have mixed emotions," said Avello, a racing aficionado as well as an oddsmaker. "The sport needs horses like him to step into the limelight and grab the attention of the public. This was a horse that could have grabbed the imagination of people who are new to racing.

"It's a real blow to the game."

With Dubai Millennium off to the breeding shed, Lemon Drop Kid assumes the role of favorite in the futures book.

Fresh off his win in Sunday's Whitney, the "Kid" is a 3-1 shot at Bally's.

Also creeping back into the spotlight is Kentucky Derby champ Fusaichi Pegasus. He was bet heavily early in the year but has been resting all summer with a hoof injury.

"Pegasus is still 4-1, although in reality the odds on him should be about 10-1," Avello said. "It's a dollars issue. We have so much money already bet on him, I can't raise the odds."

Fu-Peg's connections have suggested they will race him once more -- in the Classic -- before retiring him to a lucrative stud career.

"It's clear that this horse's future is in breeding," Avello said. "I don't think (trainer Neil) Drysdale is going to push him on the racetrack. He doesn't want to take any chances."

General Challenge is a 7-1 third choice in the Classic, followed by Stephen Got Even and Behrens at 12-1. Defending champ Cat Thief hasn't attracted much interest and is listed at 25-1.

"It's become a wide-open field again," Avello said.

The book can receive 36 channels of sporting events, including the major sports plus boxing, golf and international soccer. "This places our guests inside the lines of the ultimate gaming experience," said Rich Baccellieri, assistant VP of race and sports. ...

The MGM has posted over/under lines on NFL teams' total wins for the 200 regular season. Among the major line moves so far:

Discriminating shoppers will note the MGM uses a (favorable) 20-cent line on this prop.

After opening as high as plus 4 1/2 at some spots, the Trojans are now plus 3 1/2 at most Las Vegas shops, and the line has already been adjusted to 3 at some offshore books.

Should that pattern continue, it's likely the number will settle in at 3 points by kickoff. ...

In his College Football 2000 Preview magazine, author and handicapper Phil Steele places UNLV at No. 40 in his preseason national rankings. "Another big surprise team," Steele writes.

The round prop of 8 full rounds is minus 120 either way.

"I expect good action on the fight, especially because it's at our place and there should be a pretty nice-sized crowd," Avello said. "But I expect 90 percent of it to come in Friday and Saturday. It's been kind of flat so far.

"In the past, you used to see big moves in the weeks leading up to a fight, for example, if someone got some information that one of the guys wasn't training well. But I haven't seen that happen in a while."

Mandalay Bay lists Holyfield as a minus 500 favorite, bet up from an opening line of minus 350. The takeback on Ruiz is plus 350.

Station Casinos have Holyfield minus 360 and Ruiz plus 280. (Lines are as of this morning.)