Odysseus one to beat in Blue Grass Stakes

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04/07/2010 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Derby winner Odysseus heads a field of nine in Saturday's 86th running of the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The 1 1/8 mile race comes three weeks before the 136th Kentucky Derby.

With Rajiv Maragh again in the saddle, Odysseus will start from the inside post. Maragh has been aboard for all four of the colt's career starts. The colt is 7-2 in the morning-line.

"He is a big, powerful horse and I think that race (Tampa) was a great experience for him," Maragh said. "He proved he can overcome a fight and I think he can move forward off that race."

Odysseus is owned by Padua Stables and trained by Tom Albertrani. The chestnut colt has won his last three starts after finishing second in his career debut. The Tampa Bay win by a nose was worth $180,000 to bring the colt's bankroll to $219,920.

"That's our target, to get this horse to the Derby (Kentucky)," Albertrani said. "We think he's certainly good enough to belong with that group."

Last year General Quarters came out of the Tampa Bay Derby to win the Blue Grass.

Pleasant Prince, Florida Derby runner-up, will break from post six with Julien Leparoux riding. The chestnut colt, 3-1 in the program, is owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trained by Wesley Ward.

Going after just his second win, Pleasant Prince was fourth to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth Stakes before losing to Ice Box in the Florida Derby. Eskendereya won last week's Wood Memorial by almost 10-lengths.

Pleasant Prince has earnings of $197,620 in seven career starts.

Dogwood Stable's Aikenite has drawn post eight with award winning jockey Garrett Gomez coming in for the mount. Gomez is the regular jockey for champion colt Lookin At Lucky. The Eclipse Award winning jockey won the 2006 Blue Grass with Sinister Minister.

Aikenite, trained by Todd Pletcher, is coming off a third-place finish to Eskendereya in the Fountain of Youth. He began the year with a disappointing sixth-place result to Winslow Homer in the Holy Bull Stakes.

"We like the fact that he has been on the muscle these past few weeks," said Dogwood President Cot Campbell. "It's a definite change from his attitude over the winter, as far as his morning works go. He has an easy-going way about him and has always saved the best of himself for the afternoons."

The colt was third in last year's Hopeful Stakes followed by a second in the Dixiana Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

"We know he runs well over Keeneland's Polytrack, having finished second in the Dixiana Futurity last year," said Pletcher who also trains Eskendereya.

Aikenite concluded 2009 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita where he was fifth behind champion Vale of York. He has one win in six career starts for $251,000.

Pletcher also trains Interactif for the Wertheimer Brothers. The colt will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano from the far outside post. Pletcher is a two-time winner of the Blue Grass, Bandini (2005) and Monba (2008). Bejarano won the 2007 running with Dominican.

Interactif was second this year in both the Hallandale Beach and San Felipe Stakes. Sidney's Candy won the San Felipe before capturing the Santa Anita Derby last Saturday.

Both Pletcher horses are 4-1 in the morning-line.

Here is the complete field for the Blue Grass in post position order: Odysseus, Rajiv Maragh, 7-2; First Dude, Ramon Dominguez, 8-1; Stately Victor, Alan Garcia, 30-1; Make Music for Me, Mike Smith, 6-1; Codoy, John Velazquez, 30-1; Pleasant Prince, Julien Leparoux, 3-1; Paddy O'Prado, Kent Desormeaux, 10-1; Aikenite, Garrett Gomez, 4-1 and Interactif, Rafael Bejarano, 4-1.

The Blue Grass has a post-time of 5:30 p.m. (et) and will be broadcast on NBC.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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