Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 9:49 a.m.
Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. Reach him at (702) 259-4041 or [email protected].
Station Casinos propositions on Sunday's Coca-Cola 600:
Chevrolets to finish in top 10:
over 4, even money
under 4, -130
Fords to finish in top 10:
over 3.5, even money
under 3.5, -130
Dodges to finish in top 10:
over 3, +105
under 3, -135
Winning car number:
even number, -200
odd number, +170
Winning car number:
0-23, -110
24-99, -120
Winning manufacturer:
Ford/Dodge, -150
Chevrolet, +120
Las Vegas oddsmakers give rookie driver Danica Patrick a solid shot at making history Sunday by becoming the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500.
Odds on Patrick winning the race range from roughly 6-1 to 10-1 in a majority of sports books around the city, placing her just behind the favorites in the erstwhile "greatest spectacle in racing."
Only Helio Castroneves, Sam Hornish Jr. and Tony Kanaan are consistently listed at shorter odds in local casinos.
Count Micah Roberts, sports book director at Palace Station, among those showing respect for Patrick -- as a fan as well as an oddsmaker.
"There's a huge amount of hype around this story," said Roberts, a specialist in motor sports wagering. "You hear a lot of people saying, 'Ah, there's no way a girl can win.' But you know what? A girl never had this type of car before."
Patrick, who will start on the inside of Row 2 in the No. 15 Argent Pioneer Honda on Sunday, qualified fourth at 227.004 mph and had the fastest lap of any driver this month (229.880 mph) in unofficial practice.
Patrick, 23, made a basic error on the first lap of her qualifying run that cost her an even more impressive finish.
"If it wasn't for that nervous first lap, she would have been on the pole," Roberts said. "The only question mark is that she's a rookie. Not that she's a woman -- that she's a rookie.
"And from that standpoint, she's a true rookie -- not like some of the other drivers who are considered rookies in the race but are actually some of the greatest drivers in the world."
Patrick is currently 9-1 to win the Indy 500 at Station Casinos after Roberts took some bets on her at 15-1, he said.
The odds on Patrick to win opened as high as 40-1 in Las Vegas, but dropped quickly once fans and bettors saw her strong showings in practice.
"When she ran well in qualifying, we got a lot of action on her," Roberts said.
Three female drivers have competed in the Indy 500 before this year -- Janet Guthrie in 1977, '78 and '79; Lyn St. James seven times from 1992-2000; and Sarah Fisher five times from 2000-04.
Guthrie's ninth-place finish in 1978 was the best among that group, prompting a betting proposition this year Roberts has posted asking bettors to wager on whether Patrick will finish 1st through 9th, or 10th through 33rd.
Early action has backed Patrick, Roberts said. The price on "10th through 33rd" opened at minus-160 (bettors risk $1.60 to win $1) but has been bet down to minus-120.
"We are getting action on her to finish first through ninth," Roberts said.
Roberts also placed Patrick in a head-to-head matchup against Scott Sharp at Indy, with Patrick a minus-130 favorite, and in a cross-race matchup against Jeff Gordon's finish in the Nextel Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Gordon is one of the favorites to win his race Sunday, but he could be hampered in the betting matchup by the larger field of drivers in the Coke 600, especially if both drivers' races do not pan out as expected.
"If they both finish in last place, Patrick would still win (the betting proposition) handily," Roberts said.
The Imperial Palace on the Strip is offering a particularly attractive price on Patrick to win -- odds of 18-1 were still available Tuesday. The IP also had Sharp, another top contender, listed at 18-1, along with Stations.
A spokesman for the Imperial Palace said officials with that property are not currently speaking to the media.
To the dismay of purists, from a betting perspective the Indy 500 is no longer racing's greatest spectacle; in fact, it won't even be the greatest spectacle of this Sunday.
Roberts said he expects to accept more money in wagers on the Coca-Cola 600 than on the Indy 500 -- yet another illustration of NASCAR's phenomenal popularity among sports fans as well as gamblers.
Betting action on Indy car racing "doesn't come close" to that on NASCAR, Roberts said, though Patrick's presence in this week's race should help generate more interest than usual.
"I wish her much luck, and I hope she does it," Roberts said.
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