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07/04/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Red Mike, ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, went wire-to-wire to claim victory in Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate at Woodbine Race Course. The 1 1/4-mile race is the beginning of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was in attendance for the 151st Queen's Plate.
A field of 13 Canadian-bred three-year-olds left the starting gate for the top thoroughbred race in the Great White North. Plate Trial runner-up Mobilizer and Woodbine Oaks champ Roan Inish were the 7-2 co-favorites.
Big Red Mike and Hotep were both 5-1 when the gate opened and that's how they ran as the race developed. Big Red Mike set the pace along the inside with Hotep racing second to the outside.
The pair remained in their positions up the backstretch and into the far turn. Making a slight move around the final turn was Mobthewarrior and Roan Irish.
Trained by Nicholas Gonzalez, Big Red Mike still had the lead coming off the turn for home and into the stretch. The chestnut gelding could not be overtaken down the stretch and went on to post a 1 1/4-length win over Hotep with Roan Irish third and Giant's Tomb rallying to finish fourth.
Rounding out the order of finish was Mobthewarrior, Dark Cloud Dancer, Smart Sky, Moment of Majesty, Who We Gunna Call, Mobilizer, Ghost Fleet, Vicar Street and D's Wando.
The time for the Queen's Plate was 2:04.89 on Woodbine's synthetic surface.
The victory was worth $600,000 for owner Terra Racing Stable and gave da Silva his second straight win in the Queen's Plate. Last year he won aboard Eye of the Leopard.
Big Red Mike was coming off a win in the Plate Trial on June 13. In that contest he also set the pace and was able to re-rally for the victory. The gelding has now won three of six career starts for $761,101, all at Woodbine.
"The thing that impressed me the most was when he got engaged, carrying 126 pounds and first time going that far. I was very proud of him that he dug in the way he did. He beat some good horses," said Gonzalez about the Plate Trial win. "The horse is a fighter. He's won on the inside before. He's fought some tough hard races on the outside. He's just that kind of horse where the competition is good for him."
This was the first Queen's Plate win for both the owner and trainer.
Big Red Mike returned $12.00, $6.30 and $4.40. Hotep, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, paid $6.90 and $4.70, and Roan Inish paid $4.30 to show.
The Triple Crown will continue with the Prince of Wales Stakes on Sunday, July 25 at Fort Erie Racetrack and the Breeders' Stakes on Sunday, August 15 back at Woodbine.
<< Bay and Pagan help Mets bounce Nationals
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay knocked in four runs, as the New
York Mets used an early surge to beat Washington, 9-5, in the finale of a
four-game set at Nationals Park.
Angel Pagan had three hits and drove in a pair f
<< Longoria sparkles as Rays down Twins
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria went 3-for-5 with three runs
batted in and finished a home run shy of the cycle, as the Tampa Bay Rays
downed the Minnesota Twins, 7-4, in the finale of a four-game set at Target
Field.
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Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Power put on a dominating performance
to win Sunday's IZOD IndyCar Series race, while his teammate, Ryan Briscoe,
finished second to give Team Penske a 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen
Interna
<< Posada leaves Sunday's game
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada left
Sunday's 7-6 victory in 10 innings over Toronto due to a sprained right ring
finger.
Posada apparently suffered the setback when he was hit in the hand by a pitch
Tizdejavu wires Firecracker, Mine That Bird an also-ran >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tizdejavu, ridden by Jesus Castanon, led
every step of the way to win Sunday's $205,625 Firecracker Handicap at
Churchill Downs. The race featured 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird
making
Gwynn's hit lifts Padres over Astros in ninth >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Gwynn singled in the game-winning run
in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift San Diego to a dramatic 3-2 win over
Houston to finish off a four-game set.
Yorvit Torrealba led off the decisive frame
Yankees activate Thames from DL, option Huffman >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Yankees activated outfielder Marcus Thames
from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday, and optioned outfielder Chad Huffman
to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Thames arrived just in time to record the game-
Dodgers top D'Backs on Kemp's homer >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp blasted the game-winning two-run
home run in the eighth inning to carry Los Angeles to a 3-1 comeback win over
Arizona to wrap up a three-game set.
Rafael Furcal doubled and scored twice for
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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