This year’s Preakness will boast a large field of contenders as twelve horses have been entered for the race. Some notable horses that will run in the Preakness include Kentucky Derby winner I’ll have Another, Creative Cause, Bodemeister, and Went the Day Well.

In handicapping this race, the odds from offshore racebooks have the favorites as:

1) Bodemeister (+300): Trainer Bob Baffert enters Bodemeister into the Preakness after the horse was unable to hold on in the Kentucky Derby. With exceptional early speed, Bodemeister will look to wire the field as there will not be any other horses in the field to push him early on in the race like Trinniberg did in the Derby. As long as Bodemeister is not too tired from all of the racing he has done recently, he should find himself in the mix at the Preakness.

2) I’ll Have Another (+300): Sure to be one of the betting favorites come post time, I’ll Have Another will look to become the first Kentucky Derby winner to win the Preakness since Big Brown in 2008.

3) Went the Day Well (+800): Went the Day Well had a strong finish in the Derby as he charged into 4th place after running in 17th for most of the race. With about half of the Preakness Stakes field having ran in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, it would not shock anyone if this horse was able to duplicate his Derby run and beat those same horses down the stretch at the Preakness. Also, trainer Graham Motion won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom and would love to add a Preakness Stakes title to his record.

Some notable horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby but will not run in the Preakness are Dullahan, Trinniberg, and Hansen. With these horses out of the mix, newcomers such as Hierro, Tiger Walk, and Teeth of Dog will get their chance at winning a Grade I stakes race. Post time is scheduled for 6:18 P.M. Saturday afternoon.

The Preakness is always held on the third Saturday of May and is the second most popular Grade I stakes race behind the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness is a little bit shorter of a race than the Kentucky Derby as the total distance is 1 3/16 miles, or 9.5 furlongs, compared to 1 1/4 miles for the Derby. This shorter distance typically gives frontrunner horses an advantage over the other longer Triple Crown races as the horses have less distance to travel.

The Preakness Stakes is sometimes known as “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans” as the winning horse is blanketed with Black-eyed Susans in the winner’s circle. In addition to the Black-eyed Susans, the winner receives $1 million, making the Preakness one of the most lucrative races on the horse racing schedule.

Even though it is still very early in the season Boston will look to continue its hot streak and gain some more ground in the AL East standings. Ucabet oddsmakers currently have Tampa Bay as a -145 favorite and Boston as a +125 to +135 underdog.

Tampa Bay Rays have also been playing well as of late as they are riding a three game win streak of their own after beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on Tuesday night. The first game of this shortened series will see Clay Buchholz take the mound for Boston and Jeremy Hellickson for Tampa.

While Buchholz has an 8.31 ERA on the season, the young right hander has pitched considerably better in his last few outings. In fact, Buchholz had his best outing of the season to date in his last start against Cleveland when he went 6 1/3 innings allowing only three earned runs. Buchholz will try to duplicate his April 14th start against Tampa Bay when he went seven innings and gave up five runs in route to a 13-5 Boston victory.

Hellickson is coming off a good start as well for the Rays. In his last start against Baltimore, the young righty lasted 6 2/3 innings and only allowed three earned runs while getting a no decision. On the season, Hellickson is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA. However, during his career the Rays’ pitcher is 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA against Boston.

With both pitchers about equal in talent and results thus far on the season, oddsmakers are seeing this game as a virtual coin flip. Currently, the Dodgers are a -110 favorite while Arizona is listed as Even Money. This sportsbook has all the Runlines, Totals and Moneylines for all MLB games.

One positive Arizona can take into tonight’s game is that they know they will not have to face Matt Kemp of the Dodgers as he was placed on the 15-day DL after last night’s game. The loss of Kemp will certainly hurt the Dodgers’ offense but should not cripple the team’s chances of continuing their winning ways.

Starting Pitchers:

Arizona’s Wade Miley will be making his fourth start of the season since filling in for injured starter Daniel Hudson. Overall, Miley has not pitched too poorly this season posting a 3-1 record and a 2.76 ERA. However, Miley had a rough relief outing against the Dodgers last year where he gave up three hits and two earned runs in just one inning of work.

Chad Billingsley gets the start for the Dodgers and hopes to perform a little better than his last time out. Billingsley left his last start in the fourth inning when he was lifted for a pinch hitter. On the season, Billingsley has been decent posting a 2-2 record and 3.32 ERA. His numbers over the last five years against the Diamondbacks are about the same as he has gone 8-7 with a 3.85 ERA.

The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 7:05 pm. Currently, the Cardinals are the oddsmakers favorite to win the game at -160 while the Cubs are a +145 underdog. The sportsbook has this game, as well as all the other MLB betting action, with Runlines and Totals as well.

St. Louis hopes this series turns out a little bit differently than the one played in Chicago where their bullpen blew two of the games in the late innings. The Cardinals will turn to veteran Jake Westbrook in the opener of the series. Westbrook is have a great season to date, posting a 4-2 record with a 1.76 ERA. However, over the last five years, Westbrook has struggled against the Cubs with a 3-2 record and a 5.40 ERA. When he faced the Cubs this season on April, 15th, Westbrook pitched very well throwing seven innings and only allowing two runs on four hits.

The Cubs will counter Westbrook with their ace, Ryan Dempster. Dempster is still in search of his first win on the season, but it has not been because of poor performances. Dempster has a 0-1 record with a 1.02 ERA and has not gotten the run support to get in the win column yet. The Cubs will do their best to score a few runs off of Westbrook early and hope Dempster calms down and pitches another gem. Over the last five years, Dempster is 4-4 with a 4.14 ERA against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Capitals are looking to do something they have never done before: win a Stanley Cup. The Rangers are looking for their first conference finals since 1997, three years after having won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years.

The Rangers have been made -140 favorites as expected by bookmakers, with gamblers getting the vig and +120 odds if they take the underdog Capitals. The Total has been set at 4.5, with +125 odds for the Over.

New York is hoping history will be on their side, as the Rangers are 4-0 in Games 7s hosted in their famed arena in Manhattan. It’s also the location of one of the most improbable comebacks, with the Blue Shirts scoring the game typing goal on the powerplay with just 7.6 seconds left in regulation, then the game winning overtime goal also on the powerplay with less than two minutes having elapsed in the extra frame.

However, the Capitals have head-to-head history on their side, as the Rangers have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs in two of the past three years by the Capitals, who’s only previous Stanley Cup appearance was a 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. Olaf Kolzig was the goalie.

The top seeded Rangers were taken to Game 7 last round by the 8th seeded Ottawa Senators, and will be seeking to shut down Alex Ovechkin, whose been given limited ice time this post season, but has made the most of his time, including scoring the opening goal just two minutes into Game Six.

First played in 1891, the French Open takes place at famed stadium Roland Garros and is one of the four Majors held throughout the year. With no tie breaks in the fifth set, the French Open is widely regarded as the most demanding and physically grueling tennis tournaments in the world.

Recent Results

The Men’s side of the French Open draw has been dominated by Rafael Nadal in recent years. The Spaniard has won this tournament six of the last seven years and two times straight. He had won four times in a row before losing to Roger Federer in 2009. In fact, Nadal and Federer have met in the finals of the French Open four of the last six years.

On the Women’s side, the story is much different as there has not been a dominant player on the WTA tour in some time. There has been a new winner each of the past four years and it would not surprise anyone if there was a new winner this year as well. Svetlana Kuzentsova, Francesca Schiavone, and Li Na are the three most recent French Open winners and should figure prominently in this year’s tournament as well.

Favorites to Win

Men’s Draw:

1) Rafael Nadal: As to be expected, the six time French Open winner, Rafael Nadal, is the odds on favorite to win this year’s French Open. Nadal is currently listed as a -140 favorite.

2) Novak Djokovic: Djokovic has had the most amount of recent success on the ATP tour and is regarded as the best player in the world right now. While clay is not his best surface, Djokovic should find himself playing well into the tournament. He is currently at +175 to win the French Open.

3) Roger Federer: Another main stay of the French Open finals is Roger Federer. If the Swiss player can get his game into form, no one would be surprised to see him playing for another French Open title. His +1000 odds might be enticing enough for bettors to take a chance on him this year.

Women’s Draw:

1) Victoria Azarenka: The women’s side of the French Open draw is much more wide open. Victoria Azarenka is the odds on favorite to win the tournament at +175, but this surface might not be conducive to her style of play.

2) Petra Kvitova: Kvitova is the second favorite to win the French Open at +500. Currently ranked #4 in the world, Kvitova has the skills required to make a long run at the French.

3) Maria Sharapova: Always a fan favorite, Sharapova sits at +800 to win the French. If Maria can stay mentally sharp throughout the tourney, she may just have what it takes to win this Major.

The HP Byron Nelson Championship is one of two PGA Tour events that are named after a professional golfer. The other event is the Arnold Palmer Invitational. One reason why the HP Byron Nelson Championship is such a popular tournament on the PGA Tour calendar is that it is the leading fundraiser for charities on the PGA Tour. During the course of its existence, the HP Byron Nelson Championship has helped raise more than $121 million for various charities.

With a $6.5 million purse, the HP Byron Nelson Championship is sure to draw some of golf’s biggest names. The winner of this tournament will take home $1.17 million for his efforts. Defending champion Keegan Bradley is expected to be one of the top golfers in attendance as he looks to win his second title. Bradley won the HP Byron Nelson Championship last year for his first PGA Tour victory. The win catapulted Bradley to go on and win the PGA Championship and be named the 2011 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Other notable golfers expected to be in attendance are Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. Mickelson will play in the HP Byron Nelson Championship for the first time since 2007 and look to keep his 2012 momentum going as he is currently third on the 2012 money list and just finished in third place at the Masters. In addition to Mickelson and Singh, the HP Byron Nelson Championship will also see seven of the top twenty five on this year’s money list play in the tournament, including as Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, and Carl Pettersson. The event will be held May 17th to May 20th.

While the PGA futures odds for this tournament have not been posted yet, you can expect to see Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh among the favorites.

The Yankees are 16-13 on the season and sit in third place in the AL East while the Rays have a 19-11 record and are tied for first in the division with the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees would love to take another game in this series and gain a game on the Rays in the early part of the season. Tampa Bay is 3-1 versus the Yankees this year.

Jeff Niemann will start for the Rays and has been decent so far this season. With a 2-3 record and 4.05 ERA, there is definitely some room for improvement for the big right hander. Perhaps Niemann will see that improvement against the Yankees tonight, a team in which he has a career 3-0 record and 3.10 ERA.

Rookie David Phelps will make is second Major League start, and first in the Bronx, tonight against Tampa Bay. Phelps did not have as good of a start his last time out against Kansas City as he would have liked, only lasting four innings. But, the righty did only give up six hits and two earned runs.

Tampa Bay has been one of the better defensive teams this season by only allowing 4.2 runs per game. On the other hand, the Yankees continue to be one of the better offensive teams in all of baseball, averaging 5.03 runs per game.

The current baseball betting odds for tonight’s game are New York Yankees -133 and the Tampa Bay Rays +125

Check out NBA Odds for this matchup closer to game time at Ucabet.

New York went 36-30 SU and ATS this season while Miami was 46-20 straight up and 32-34 against the point spread.

The Knicks won Game 4 on Sunday by an 89-87 score and covered the spread as a 7.5-point home underdog. The score was under the total of 184.5.

The win allowed the Knicks to stay alive in the playoffs. They now trail the best-of-seven series 3-1 and can be knocked out of the postseason with a loss in Miami on Wednesday.

Miami is 7-3 SU but just 5-5 ATS in the head-to-head series over the past 10 meetings. New York is just 1-6 SU in the last seven meetings and 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings.

There is a major under trend as the total has gone under in four of New York’s last five games overall, in nine of Miami’s last 10 games overall, in six of Miami’s last seven games at home, in eight of the last nine meetings between the teams overall, and in four of the past five meetings in Miami.

Miami is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games overall, and 22-3 SU in its last 25 games at home.

New York’s has the 11th ranked defense in the NBA while Miami has the 7th ranked offense.

With so much on the line in this fight, UFC fans will have plenty of reasons to watch this bout. Some astute MMA fans do not feel Poirier should be as big of a favorite as he is in this fight. Currently, Poirier is a -500 favorite while Jung is hovering around +300. Poirier detractors will point the fact that he has not faced that tough of competition during his five bout win streak to justify such high odds. On the other hand, Jung has faced much more polished fighters and should not be as big of an underdog in this fight. While Jung may not win the match, there is a lot more value betting on the Korean Zombie than there is betting on Poirier.

The other big fight that night is Donald Cerrone going up against Jeremy Stephens. Both fighters are coming of losses in their last fight and will undoubtedly be looking to get back in the winning corner. Stephens is regarded as the one fighter who has enough power to overcome Cerrone’s tendency to relax defensively when he gets in exchanges. It will be interesting to see how Stephens decides to employ this advantage during the fight. Another aspect of this fight to think about and consider before placing a wager is how Stephens will counter the length advantage behind Cerrone’s kicks and punches. This length advantage may be too much to overcome and limit the chances Stephens has to exert his power.

Currently odds makers have Cerrone as a -300 favorite and Stephens as a +240 underdog. However, expect this match to be closer than the odds indicate.